Common Graphic Design Mistakes To Avoid
Believe it or not, design doesn’t have to be a stressful experience! Many of the skilled designers I know are truly passionate about the field and tend to be interested in the details. Design is all about the details In my own boutique design studio, a Brand & Website Clarity Workbook is the first step of any larger Branding & Website Design process. The most fascinating part of any branding process is getting the strategy and the foundations pinned down.
Without strategy, you might find yourself struggling to piece together the visual aspect of your brand.
In steering you in the right direction going forward, here are common graphic design mistakes to avoid so the path forward is one where strong design principles are laid forth.
Not understanding the brief
Every single design project, no matter how big or small, will come with some outline of what a business owner needs to achieve through our design services. Whether its a catalog to promote their line of products, a brand identity to establish a new and exciting business, or a website to stand out online and have clients book you easily.
Once a designer understands the desires of the client a proposal will outline how we will achieve their goals. By mis-interpreting their needs or not having the expertise to deliver on them, you end up with a buyer getting something totally different than what they wanted.
Illegible fonts
Typography is something that very important in any design. It reflects greatly on your brand and when used to create a logo, matters even more so.
The fonts you choose are going to carry your message, so they should be legible.
Your fonts should be clear and crisp when scaled down to 2/3 a size on an ad, for instance. And when landing upon your Website, shouldn’t be obstructed when other brand elements, like a hero image, are placed behind it.
Choosing the wrong font combinations
It can be tempting to try out new, novelty fonts to make your work more eye-catching, but if a font doesn’t suit the market or product, abandon it. And never use your logo font elsewhere in the design such as with headlines or call-to-actions. Stick to up to three to four fonts max and play around with font weights and/or sizes to establish hierarchy. For logo designs opt for two fonts that support your design.
Lack of visual hierarchy
You shouldn’t have customers hunt for information when navigating your website. A well-established hierarchy will outline which information is most important
To help your designer with this, simply let us know which text is designed to be a headline, a subheadline, or descriptive text. Clear calls to action will also be needed. You’ll also need to share any brand assets or images that need to be included.
When we head into a project with the goals outlined, a designer’s job from there in constructing eye-catching deliverables is much easier. And with visual heirarchy principles applied, your content is digested more smoothly.
Saving in the wrong file format
As I mentioned in this blog post, design work for print is formatted in CMYK, as opposed to web work which is in RGB.
If you want to learn more about file formats as they pertain to logo design, this blog post will help you get up to speed.
InconsistencY
Like I mentioned at the outset of this post, many designers like myself will want to know your style preferences, likes and dislikes, and much more so that’s why the foundation of any project starts with a Brand Clarity Workbook. From there a consistent and memorable visual theme across fonts, colors, patterns or illustrations would be designated so you’re less apt to change your design on a whim later.
Another aspect to consider is versatility. The best graphics are multi-purpose! If you’re creating a logo, think about how it will look on promotional products, how it will look in a 1 color or full color, etc.
As Graphic Designers we need to be mindful of creating designs that are clear and attractive to hold the target audience’s attention longer than a fleeting glance. By avoiding these common graphic design mistakes your business is set-up to stand-out in all the right ways.
NEED HELP WITH YOUR NEXT DESIGN PROJECT?
At By Stephanie Design, a boutique Graphic & Showit Web Design Studio, I can help you with everything from new logos to unique advertisements. I offer a wide range of high-quality graphic design services for businesses of all sizes. Reach out today!
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February 12th, 2023
