No. 36 “Make it pop.”

something’s off & I can’t say what.

Clients often sense something’s not quite there before anyone can name it. That instinct is useful.

Ask what people should notice first. The fix is usually one bold thing & more space.

Ask: “What should people see first?”

Nobody knows who said it first, but almost every designer has heard it.

In 2019, Kyle Carpenter, editor of Clients From Hell, told the AMA it really means “make something stand out.”

Fair enough. That’s a great brief.

• Hal Conick, “‘Make It Pop’ Doesn’t Mean Anything,” AMA Marketing News (2019)

Save this for the next time someone asks you to make it pop.