If you’ve seen Bluey’s “Keepy Uppy,” you know the game. One balloon, one rule: don’t let it touch the ground. Looks easy hey… until you’ve been at it five minutes and suddenly you’re diving across the lounge like a washed-up goalkeeper.
That’s exactly what design and print deadlines feel like. Except instead of a balloon, it’s a job that “shouldn’t take long” — and instead of the floor, it’s a cranky client if you miss the mark.
The Balloon Brief
Every project starts off fine. Deadline’s floating along, no dramas. Then something shifts — a logo change, a colour correction, or “can we actually get it a week earlier?” Suddenly you’re scrambling, arms flailing, trying to keep the thing in the air.
The Rule Changers
In Bluey, the kids keep adding rules: no hands, only heads, only feet. In my world it’s:
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“Can we just make the logo bigger?”
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“Actually, we need it on different stock.”
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“Oh, and delivery’s now Friday.”
Every new rule makes the game harder, but the balloon still can’t touch the floor.
Dad Life, Same Game
At home with three kids under six, it’s Keepy Uppy all day. Dinner, bath, stories, snacks — all balloons I’m frantically tapping back into the air. Drop one, and you don’t just lose the game, you trigger a meltdown of epic proportions.
Final Proof
Deadlines, balloons, kids — doesn’t matter. None of them are allowed to hit the ground. You stretch, juggle, improvise, and when it finally lands, you’re out of breath but still standing. And just like in Bluey, you know you’ll be back tomorrow, playing the same game all over again.
Dad Point of Hue — Where CMYK meets ABCs.
✍️ Author: Rob Allen
Dad of three under six, wrangler of fonts, print runs, and bedtime routines. Writing from the messy overlap of design proofs and parenting fails.
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