The week moved fast.
Every morning I opened the project file, worked through the brand system, sent Raina a progress update and waited.
She was a responsive client. No delays, no ignored messages. She would review what I sent, mark her corrections clearly and send it back within the hour.
Logo direction, she wanted cleaner lines, less curve in the letter forms.
Color palette, she approved the primary pink immediately but pushed back on the secondary tones until we landed on a warm ivory and a deep muted gold that worked better than anything I had originally proposed.
Typography, two rounds of revisions and she signed off on a pairing that felt modern without losing warmth.
My other projects took a back seat. Not intentionally at first but Raina's briefs were detailed and she moved quickly and before I realized it she had most of my working hours.
I watched two of her streams during the week, not as a viewer, as research.
Studying the pacing, the way she framed herself on screen, what the current overlays were doing wrong, where the visual language was breaking down. It was easier to design for someone when you understood how they occupied a space.
By Thursday the brand system was in its third iteration and sitting well.
The avatar was the next problem.
She had been clear about what she wanted.
More range. More emotional legibility. Reduce the cartoon, keep the warmth.
It was detailed character work and character work was not my strongest area. It was Kuro's.
I texted her.
For the avatar redesign I want to bring in our motion designer. His name is Kuro. He is the best person for this specific deliverable.
"Would you be open to meeting with him?
Her reply came in four minutes.
"I would prefer you handle it".
I typed back.
"I understand that but honestly this isn't my specialty".
Kuro is exceptional at exactly this kind of work. You would get a better result with him on the character side.
A longer pause this time.
"Fine".
"Send him over."
I texted Kuro that evening.
Kuro went Friday afternoon.
I was halfway through a client call when his name came up on my screen.
I let it ring out, finished the call and called him back.
"Hey man," Kuro said.
"How did it go."
A pause that lasted just long enough I could tell something was off.
I don't know, bro."
I leaned back in my chair. "What does that mean."
"It means I don't know. I get this feeling she doesn't like me."
"Why would you say that."
"Because she could not wait to get rid of me," Kuro said.
"I got there, she was polite, whatever, all good.
But then I sat down and asked her exactly what she wanted me to build into the avatar and she just..
." He paused. "She said do whatever you want."
"She said that."
"Word for word. Do whatever you want." He made a sound.
"Like she had completely checked out. Zero interest.
I tried to walk her through some reference styles, show her what was possible, and she just kept saying mm-hmm and looking at her phone."
I frowned.
That was not the woman I had sat across from last monday.
The woman who had a printed reference sheet ready, who knew the difference between a logotype and a logo mark, who pushed back on the secondary palette until we got it right.
That woman knew exactly what she wanted and was not shy about saying so.
"That doesn't track," I said.
"When I was there she was specific about everything.
She knew what she wanted clearly."
"Well she didn't know what she wanted today," Kuro said.
"Maybe she changed her mind. Maybe she's just not into the avatar thing anymore.
"Are you sure she even wants to do this?"
"I'm sure. She brought it up herself."
"
Hm." Kuro went quiet for a second.
"Or maybe she just doesn't like me. Which, oh shit, I always thought I was pretty likeable. Guess not."
"Maybe it's that," I said.
"Or..." Kuro's voice shifted.
"Or maybe she's got the hots for you."
I said nothing.
"Think about it," he continued.
"She asked for you by name before she even met you. She did her homework, found your portfolio herself, knew your work before the first meeting.
Then when you were there she was locked in, engaged, interested in everything you said." He paused.
" That is how people act when they like someone "
I did not say anything for a moment.
Or maybe a stalker. The thought moved through my head quietly and I let it pass.
"Don't overthink it," I said. "Just do what you do best. Whatever direction you go with I'm sure she'll come around."
"I doubt that sincerely," Kuro said.
"I gotta go man I have work that needs to be done "
"Peace out man. Talk later. Kuro out!"
Click!
The apartment was quiet.
I sat at my desk for a while doing nothing in particular. Kuro's voice was still in my head.
I could text her. Ask how the session went from her end. Frame it professionally, check if she had any feedback on Kuro's direction, keep it about the project.
I put the phone face down on the desk.
No.
If something was off with the avatar session she would bring it up herself.
She was not a passive client.
She said what she thought and she said it clearly.
If Kuro had missed the mark she would tell me and I would course correct.
That was the job.
Kuro was just overthinking things
I picked up the TV remote and turned it on.
Scrolled through channels without looking for anything specific.
Landed on a show I had seen half of months ago and never finished. Left it there. The noise helped.
Forty minutes passed.
I made dinner.
Pasta, nothing complicated, eaten on the couch while a different channel played something I was not watching.
My brain was still half on the project, running through the brand system, thinking about the overlay layouts I needed to finish by Monday.
I should go to bed at a reasonable hour for once.
That thought lasted about as long as it always did.
I changed channels again.
Some late night talk show. A documentary about deep sea fish that was genuinely more interesting than it had any right to be. An old action movie I had seen three times already.
I left it on the action movie.
Somewhere between the second and third act I stopped watching.
My eyes were already closed when the credits rolled.