Are You Mocking Me?

I am helping a client design a magazine.

Client: “I need the twelve pages designed by Tuesday.”

Me: “It’s Sunday; that’s not nearly enough time for a final design.”

Client: “What about a draft or a mock-up? Since, you know, it’s faster than doing the final design. Can you make a draft by Tuesday?”

Me: “I can try.”

And on Tuesday, I send him the mock-up.

Client: “It needs more… lines and stuff.”

Me: “It’s a mock-up. There will be ‘lines’ later on, in the final version.”

Client: “Since a mock-up is faster, can you update the mock-up to make it look exactly like the final design for what the magazine will look like? By tomorrow?”

Me: “What? No… What? You want a mock-up that will look exactly like what the final version will look like?”

Client: “Exactly.”

Me: “That’s not a mock-up. The final design will take much more time.”

Client: “That’s why we’re doing a mock-up! Because it’s faster, and you get the same result!”