Some mistakes to avoid when you are learning graphic design
1. Producing two or more design concepts that are very similar
This is something I remember doing in one of my first design jobs. You get asked to come up with ideas for the design of a logo (or other piece of design) and instead of designing 3 very different options you put in the same idea that you have done slightly differently – for example changed the font and colour or created the icon in a slightly different style. I soon learned that if the client didn’t like the first idea, then chances were they wouldn’t like the two similar ones either. With 3 very different options hopefully one design would be heading in the right direction.
A couple of years ago when I was very busy I tried out a young freelance designer to design some new advertisements for one of my clients. I asked for 3 different design styles and sent her a couple of examples of the ones I had done in the past. What I got back was three variations on one of my old designs – text moved, images moved but overall same “feel”. I ended up having to do them again myself.
2. Adding things in rather than taking them away
Things in general always look better when they are simpler, it’s hard to avoid wanting to add in extra graphic design elements. This is difficult for any designer but especially the novice. Remember the sayings KISS – keep it simple stupid.
3. Concentrating on Features Rather than Benefits
Another one of my old rather eccentric bosses had a saying that he always loved to say (especially when I was working on advertising design concepts) was “Sell the sizzle not the steak”. What he meant was, don’t just concentrate on the features of a product, concentrate on how they make the users life better.
4. Not targeting the right audience or having enough gravitas
You could produce the most beautiful design but if its aimed at the wrong target market it’s unlikely to do its job. Its easy to get caught up in doing design that you like rather than what is appropriate. It also needs to be heavy-weight enough for the topic – a light humerous advert design may not work for a serious/expensive product or service.
5. Not presenting the finished design in the best way possible.
If you just present your first designs as a PDFs with trims as though you were sending it to the printer it will not have the Wow factor for a new client. Make your logos look like they have been applied to stationery and livery (applied to vans etc) or create a 3d visual to show off your new packaging design.
Some free image resources which may be useful for mocking up your designs include:
40+ High Resolution Blank Template (Free) Stock Photos
Clear images for identity design
Free Vectors: Promotional Product Templates
6. Not sketching first
Sketching allows a graphic designer to think and put their ideas down quickly. It also allows creativity to flow. When you start on a mac you don’t necessarily have direction, and can get bogged down with tools and filters rather than the concept. One simple sketch can encapsulate a design idea but leaves scope for experimenting with different styles on the computer.
7. Underselling Design Work
Young designers just starting out in graphic design often undersell themselves. I had someone contact me not long ago who was charging a very low hourly rate, I suggested they raise it, but they felt they weren’t worth it. It is easier to bring your design costs down rather than up. It is always difficult knowing where to pitch your prices, I have had some people shocked when give them a quote, and another told me I was very cheap (those are the ones when you kick yourself)!
What mistakes did you make when you were learning graphic design?
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47 Comments
It has been years since i have heard some of this information, but it still applies and always will. Nice post.
Its hard to put a price on designs sometimes, especially for new or student designers. Who would have known that a $35 logo (Nike’s swoosh) designed by a student would end up being the logo for the biggest sports apparel and footwear company in the world.
I definitely agree that you should always sketch out your designs. I will make sure to remember all of these when I’m next designing!
Great post. The first point is really important. A lot of designers will produce one design they really like and then 3 others that are very similar. Just to bulk up the offering. The danger then is that the client will like one of the weaker similar designs.
My old creative director use to say ‘sell the sizzle not the sausage’. Biggest mistakes I made as a young designer was not listening carefully to the brief in the first place. Misunderstand the brief, and your designs doomed from the start. Like your post.
Hi Gary
Thanks for your comment.
Sounds like we had similar bosses!
Hi Pixel Air
That is so true, mind you that can also happen when you present three different ones, they never go for your favourite.
#7 is so true. It is hard when you are first start to muster up the guts to actually ask for the price you think is fair. So many people don’t understand the value in good work, and when starting out you’d rather make a buck than nothing at all. The problem with that is once you start establishing yourself at that price point you can never move up…and eventually you will hit a point of diminishing returns where you might have a lot of work, but you are spending every waking minute working just to make ends meet because you have undercut yourself.
I feel like one of the biggest mistakes any designer can make is not designing to the target market. Regardless of how nice you feel the design is, it may be useless.
hi, I just founded your blog by a recommendation..& these are helpful insights,
I often forgot about those basic rules…oh well Im still learning though
cheers & thank you for the post
Thanks for your input Thomas
you are right . most of the people doing projects without understanding the logic behind it, If you doing any part of a website 1st consider which part of people will use it , how they love to use it, what new innovation you can include that may help them.Then design it.
nice post, this informations are very helpful especially for beginners thanks
Awesome post, I’m sold on KISS! Thanks for sharing.
This is a really interesting subject and if I knew some of the things that i now know I would have been more profitable from the beginning. I personally find that I deal with two types of client, the first knows the exact style and type of design they want and with these clients you need to make sure that you interview them well and maybe use a mood board to help pin point the design needs. The second group don’t know what they want, and will judge the design according to their taste (not their market). This type of design client is great providing you understand their business you can sell the best design to them, Often they will want to see multiple designs but as the designer you just know that the solution is right. If you can justify your suggested graphic designs relating them to the demographic appeal of the clients business you will be able to persuade them that the design is the best solution for them. KNOW YOUR CLIENTS MARKET IT IS KEY
Hi Gavin
I know that second group of clients well – sometimes they don’t know what they want until they see it – or worse still until they see what they don’t want!
This is great advice both for new people, and for those that have been around for awhile and maybe gotten a bit complacent. I think that the mistake of offering 3 options of the same design is one that we all make starting out. I remember offering the 2 option route where the only difference was that one was color and one was grey scale. It’s a learning curve for all of us.
Hi Azterik Media,
Thanks for your comment, we have all been there
I think the biggest mistake I made was not giving typography the attention it required. I always used to focus more on the image and see type as just functional but I have learned how silly it was to neglect something so important. Great article. Thanks for sharing.
Underselling your design work, I heard something interesting once that made me think that when you are pricing your work making yourself expensive gives the client a certain expectation of your work but also having a lower price gives the client the first impression that you perceive your work to be of lower quality. I think it is a good idea to benchmark yourself so you sit well in your market.
Very usefull article, thanks. I’m a trying to develop some sense of design; it’s quite a struggle! I can relate to #7 though for sure.
I think the biggest mistake a designer makes is in the presentation,that is he is Not presenting the finished design in the best way possible
Mistakes, whether in printing or layout, are a part of the graphic design world. Seeing the mistakes of “the big boys” can put your own in perspective.
When I was just starting I really “undersell” my service. It went on for MONTHS! I had the same very low rate and everybody seems to be abusing it. Then my buddies woke me up and told me “Dude you’d get higher pay if you work at McDonald’s” so I raised my rate.
Great articles! Agree all the points stated above especially point no.2. Simple makes perfect!
Thanks for another great article Tara, the links in point 5 are very handy, thanks for sharing them!
I heard something interesting once that made me think that when you are pricing your work making yourself expensive gives the client a certain expectation of your work but also having a lower price gives the client the first impression that you perceive your work to be of lower quality. I think it is a good idea to benchmark yourself so you sit well in your market.
Thanks for your comment bahis
I am still a student so dont feel i should charge much for my designs i keep getting asked to do by FAmily business members, how can i start to be more firm and get a realistic price to cover my costs and make a snall profit at the same time, its so awkward!!
I guess you need to think about the fact that they are making money out of what you do for them. Its ok to do the odd favour but would they give you whatever their business services are for free or very cheap?
Doing favors for friends and family from time to time is a good thing. However, ask yourself is the design for their business or for personal use? If for business, simply explain you can offer them a 20% discount off your normal hourly rate or budgeted price. Travel and material will be at cost. This way you get experience and a small profit. If the design work is say a birthday party invitation, it’s personal and I would choose to do that for free.
Hi Gary – good suggestions. You could also swap services with them, some of your design time for one of their products or services.
Great article Tara, thanks for sharing links in point 5 too. I can relate to #1 though for sure; but I agree with ‘know your client’s market is the key”, that’s so true.
The biggest mistakes I made as a new Designer was letting people take advantage of the new skills I learned. (Hey Jeff, can you make me a logo?) (Hey Jeff, can you design my tshirts?), etc, etc… Then once I would create the design there would be no $$$. So now I tell people what the cost is and if they’re interested I will be glad to design something or them. If they don’t like it then they can go to school and learn the skills all of us designers have learned and do it themselves… What we do is not FREE or easy and it is just that, a “skill”. Now whenever I submit a design to someone for review I put a small watermark on it so it cannot be duplicated or revised…Being nice is one thing, being ripped off is another….;-)
The biggest mistake when you read these threads more often than working and makes mistakes!
Hi Alex,
I know what you mean!
I found this article really helpful, point 7 I think is a trap which is most likely to catch out the web design freelancers. I think knowing where to pitch your work just comes with time and confidence
This type of design client is great providing you understand their business you can sell the best design to them, Often they will want to see multiple designs but as the designer you just know that the solution is right. If you can justify your suggested graphic designs relating them to the demographic appeal of the clients business you will be able to persuade them that the design is the best solution for them
Great advice, here! I think another mistake newbies make is being too timid. I guess this falls under not asking a reasonable price for their services. I’m definitely guilty of this. In the back of my mind, I know I’ve got great ideas and lots to offer but I’ve found myself being talked down to prices I end up dissatisfied with.
Hi Elizabeth,
Thanks for your comment
I think a lot of us are guilty of not asking as much money as we should. It is always hard to know where to pitch your quote, I have quoted people and they have said – you’re very cheap and others who have said it was way too much.
I think once a designers has produce their first design, they believe they can’t do better and just produce 3 similar designs that are not of the same standard. With this they never push themselves and grow as a designer.
Also I agree that new designers do no value themselves high enough. This could be down to confidence or not estimating how long the work will take.
Great post, I’ll point this article out to my members!
like seriously, some years ago i won a contract over facebook and as i gave the client the quote he was ready to add more cos it was a low quote. now he wont give me jobs anymore cos i have a prize tag which other people wish they could set but i keep learning and i keep moving high…
There have been times in my previous jobs where the sketchbook got abandoned, often due to such tight deadlines. However; to me a blank page on a screen is worse than one in a sketchbook. I now tend to quickly sketch my ideas and see where they take me… it’s so much easier than trying to launch straight into the concept on the mac.
Another issue I used to have was undervaluing myself and doubting my skills and experience. However; I’ve learnt to recognise my abilities as a designer and be confident as one. I find that I design better when I’m at my most confident … loud music helps too
Hi Rachel, I have those doubts too and I get days when designing is easy and others when nothing looks right.
Thanks for sharing such a nice article. This article is very helpful for me as i am beginner in designing. Keep Sharing!!
Hi thanks for a really interesting article.
I just started my first design job about 10 months ago and while I feel I do well in the designing and concept stage, it all seems to go wrong when I’m artworking and sending stuff to print. I seem to make silly mistakes and it’s getting to the point where I just feel like I’m letting everyone down. To make matters worse my studio have just employed a new junior who doesn’t seem capable of making any mistakes whatsoever! Has anyone else ever had this problem, and does anyone know of any good ways to overcome it? I feel that because of the mistakes I get scared when it gets to the artworking stage and probably end up making even more mistakes. I feel like theres so much to remember. Would love to know if anyone has had a similar problem, or if it’s just me!
thanks
Hi Kate, It’s definitely not just you. In the first year or two I was working I made a lot of mistakes and back then we rarely got print proofs so we had to check films before printing (nightmare). What I would do is create yourself a list of everything you need to check on a job – take a look at my post Design for Print Check list and put tick boxes beside all the items. Then each time you are about to send a job out, print of the list and tick everything off as you check it. As I set a job up I always try to make sure is CMYK and has bleed, but I also do a check at the end. Hope this helps.
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