[brudgers]

It is also an expectation problem. Not the client, but the contractor/consultant. Design is iterative. Engineering design is like engineering: it's reasonably objective. Most other design is not because better color/animation/layout/texture/etc. is not reasonably objective because the criterion is "what is the client happy paying for."

The tenor of the question suggests the degree to which expectations are off base. You can't convince a client that they like a different color scheme; three columns over a sidebar; tabs more than endless scroll. That's just how it goes.

I completely agree that it is process and payment related, too. The process and payments are a result of expectations.