10 reasons why graphic design can go wrong
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you are a designer or creative looking for advice
Design is the art of taking complex information and making it accessible. I believe that a large part of being a designer is understanding people. We creatives have many hidden, soft skills that aren't easy to teach. However good we might be at fonts, colours, and all the elements that make up good design, sometimes a project can go wrong. In late 2022, I launched a new service, Design SOS to help people get unstuck with a design problem, thinking it would be missing fonts, image resolution or tech. Some requests have fallen into these categories but others have been errors with skill, brief and communication. Here are my ten reasons why project might go wrong and how to fix them.
Changing the brief halfway through the project, or not completing a brief. A former boss used to present me with some content and the brief was, 'don't make it dull.' I had to use my people skills to find out what that meant. He's a former boss for a reason! A brief is the basis of all projects. No project booked with me commences without one. All briefs from me have a helpful set of prompts and customised for the type of project. If there is any doubt or worry, I will reschedule the work and catch up, as it matters so much. Here’s a Gorgeous Tip on briefs in book design.
No contract or not reading the contract. It should be part of any workflow and issued before any creative begins. I sign mine - it’s here - and so do my clients. It protects us both. If there's a contract you need me to sign, I always take the time to read it and may have questions. I also have a code of conduct. It sets out how to contact me, when to expect a response and ways of working.
Not talking about the quote, invoice and approval. Large companies may have a purchase order system and set dates for payment runs, and this should be on their brief or contract. No amount of complaints will move those systems! Ditto the quote. Sometimes they need approval from a senior manager. Being clear about the process so that all parties know is good business. It’s also a good idea to have a sign-off process for all work. That means the client has given a clear instruction and the creative is clear it’s approved. Yes, online forms are dull and it’s too easy to say, ‘never mind’ but for legal purposes they are essential.
Scope creep. The website copy needs a polish, or that book cover would be a great business card or leaflet. Not tackling scope creep - when a job is extended beyond the work quoted and paid for - can make a client feel ghosted and the creator resentful. Talking about solutions is really important or even adding them to the quote before the job starts, so it's already on the radar - I always pop in the cost for extra proof stages on book designs, for example. It’s also good to know who is involved in the project. As a client it’s great to tell the creative who they’ll be working with and who has the sign off - design by committee is never a good thing in my experience.
Not being open about skills set. There's nothing worse than finding a firm has used your project as a learning tool without saying so. Equally, lying awake at night as the creator, knowing you've taken on more than you can manage is awful. Sometimes it might be a path to learning more skills but if you're utterly out of your depth with no way through, come up with some creators who can help you and work with the client to solve the problem. It’s the right thing to do for all involved.
Working for low rates. For entirely obvious reasons, it's not good business practice. If you need help finding work, do get support from your networks first, go back to past clients to see if they need you, and contact your LinkedIn connections. Upwork and Reedsy are a little better for fees, compared to other platforms. Working for less than you are worth is miserable; in my experience, those clients demand the most.
Not knowing the audience or the reason for hiring a designer. Knowing who is the end user of the design project is important. Unless it's for you and only you, it's not! Nor is it my design. It's for the reader, the potential client or the user. That also helps to understand why a designer is required and what creative skills can be used to develop an attractive outcome that gives good results.
Supplying incomplete work on handover. I always advise that clients have their website words checked by a copywriter. A helping hand from a professional who has a good way with words can make a huge difference to the design process and the end results. Likewise, book design clients need to be sure they have copyedited their text ready; it saves on the proof stages as significant changes can mean reflowing and styling text, which is essentially starting again. Missing images and videos can also be a problem, although placeholders can be allocated; from a creative point of view, it's good to see them while designing. And remember, I have a long list of tried, tested and trustworthy contacts you can ask me about.
Plagiarism and copyright theft. If you're still determining if you can use an image or quote the text, it's always better to ask the creator. Here's a tip post about image permissions and another about illustration copyright that you may find useful.
Not asking at all. No question is silly. All my clients have expertise in different areas to me - writing a novel, psychotherapy, historical research, counselling and more - I can't even begin to learn their process. Respect for each other's skills is a must, including being open to all questions and making the experience of collaborating on the design as painless as possible.
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