🧑‍🍳 Too Many Cooks in the Creative Kitchen: How to Save Your Next Design Project

The old saying, "Too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the broth," isn't just about culinary disasters—it’s a perfect metaphor for what happens when a critical project lacks a clear, singular decision-maker. This issue is a silent project killer, and in the world of creative services, it's particularly potent.

As a design agency, our goal is clear: to capture your audience, build a memorable logo, and develop a brand that will grow and elevate your business. Unfortunately, when the kitchen is overflowing with opinions, the result is often a diluted, uninspired mess.

❌ The Anatomy of a Project Gridlock

We recently faced this scenario with a client looking to launch a new business. Our standard process for logo and brand development is structured for efficiency: we provide three initial concepts, and then we work with one lead person to refine the single version that best fits the business’s overarching vision.

We always preface our kick-off meeting by explaining that having a Single Point of Contact (SPOC) is the best, most efficient path forward.

What actually happened? The client invited multiple stakeholders—each with their own title, preferences, and internal agenda—to the review call for the three logo versions.

Instantly, the meeting stalled. One person loved the font of version A but the color of version C. Another insisted on a symbol that our research showed wouldn't resonate with their target market. The feedback wasn't consolidated; it was conflicting, contradictory, and served no unified purpose. When you have too many voices dictating the final look, the choices become not just difficult, but paralyzing. The project grinds to a halt.

🧐 Why "Design by Committee" Fails

In a creative project, success hinges on a clear, singular vision. When that vision is filtered through five or six different internal perspectives, it doesn't get better—it gets compromised. This is what we call Design by Committee, and it leads to several damaging outcomes:

Diluted Vision

A truly effective logo is bold and focused. Consensus design often strips away the unique edge, resulting in a bland, inoffensive mark that fails to stand out or appeal to the target audience.

Wasted Time and Budget

Every conflicting opinion requires clarification, internal discussion, and often, an unnecessary round of revisions. This chews up valuable time, pushes deadlines, and drains the project budget.

Erosion of Trust

When the agency's professional recommendation is undermined by a chorus of internal non-experts, it erodes the relationship and makes delivering a high-quality product exponentially harder.

✅ How to Prevent Too Many Cooks: A "How-To" Guide

Avoiding this costly trap requires clear boundaries and a commitment to structure from both the client and the agency.

For the Agency - Set Clear Expectations Early

For the Client - Appoint a Single, Empowered Leader

A focused project, driven by a single, powerful voice, is not only more efficient but also far more likely to produce a brand that is cohesive, impactful, and ready to elevate your business. Clarity of leadership leads to clarity of design.