Since leaving university back in 2002, and working in the design industry both within agencies and later founding my own studio in 2008, I’ve worked with a lot of people.
Patterns emerge over two decades, and one of the clearest is this: there’s a common cast of archetypal clients who, intentionally or not, can make the design process far more challenging than it needs to be. I call them Design Villains.
Now, before the pitchforks come out, it’s worth stating a very real caveat – and it’s important to say this clearly:
You never truly know what someone is going through.
Everyone has a life outside of the project you’re working on. Stress, pressure, insecurity, personal difficulty, workplace culture, or even just a bad week can dramatically influence how someone shows up in a creative process.
Many “villainous” behaviours don’t come from malice, they come from misunderstanding, overwhelm, or circumstances you’ll never see.
So these Design Villains aren’t about shaming people.
They’re about recognising the patterns so we can handle them, work with them, and set boundaries that keep the creative process healthy for everyone involved.
And with that spirit in mind, here’s one villain who appears regularly in our industry…
Mr “That’ll Only Take Five Minutes”
Mr Five Minutes is one of the most deceptively charming design villains. On the surface, they seem harmless, even friendly. They never raise their voice, they never demand the impossible (in their mind), and they genuinely believe they are asking for something tiny.
The issue is: His definition of five minutes is a lie. Not a malicious lie, but a dangerous one.
Their Signature Move
They slide into your inbox at 4:57pm on a Friday with:
“Could you just quickly tweak this? It should only take five minutes.”
To them, it’s a “small” request.
A “quick tweak” often includes:
- Opening a buried project file from three years ago
- Discovering none of the assets link anymore
- Realising the typeface isn’t on your system
- Updating a template that was never actually a template and was probably a ‘five minute’ request five years ago!
Five minutes? Nope.
Why This Happens
Mr Five Minutes is rarely malicious but he is misinformed.
They assume:
- Creative software behaves like Microsoft Word
- Design files open instantly
- Edits process themselves
- Creative energy is an always-on tap
- Your time is endlessly elastic
He doesn’t understand the difference between effort and impact—and often sees things through the narrow lens of how long it would take him to make the change, if he had the software, the skills, or the willingness to learn.
Why They’re a Villain
Because they unintentionally undermine:
- Your time
- Your process
- Your boundaries
- And sometimes, your sanity
What they see as small is, in reality, cumulative. A steady flow of “five-minute” requests can swallow entire days.
Worse, if left unchecked, his expectations grow.
If you bend once, they assume you can bend again.
And again.
And that you want to.
Survival Strategy
Over the years I’ve tried to develop a technique for keeping Mr Five Minutes under control, without burning bridges or sounding like you’re reading from a legal contract… it is not easy. What I try and do is:
1. Acknowledge positively
“Thanks for sending this over—it’s totally doable.”
2. Give the real requirement
“This update will take around X hours, so I’ll need to schedule it for [date] to fit with the current workload.”
3. Offer a clear path forward
“If that timing works, I’ll get it booked in. If you need it sooner, I can reshuffle but there may be an additional charge.”
This structure does three things:
- Shows you are willing, not obstructive
- Educates them on the actual time required
- Sets boundaries without sounding defensive
It retrains the villain.
It professionalises the relationship.
Best of all? It sometimes turns future “five-minute” requests into proper, scoped pieces of work.
The goal isn’t to fight villains, it’s to disarm them
Most “villains” aren’t bad people—they’re just unaware of what good design actually requires. When you can reframe the conversation, set expectations, and create a process that protects your time, even the most persistent Five-Minuter becomes manageable.
Recognising patterns — and learning how to navigate them with clarity, boundaries, and a bit of humour — is what keeps the design process healthy for both sides. And Mr “That’ll Only Take Five Minutes” is just one of many characters who show up in the creative world.
I’ve been writing extensively about other Design Villains too. If you want to know more, just reach out.
