Comments on: You might be an insecure graphic designer if…

By: Jinx

Jinx — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:48:48 +0000

Too bad you dont know what you are talking about

By: Brandon

Brandon — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 07:22:43 +0000

I think the only point in this article that matches the title is “Live and Die by the Rules.” The rest sound like they belong on a “You’re new to design and downloaded(pirated) Photoshop, didn’t you” article.

A key give away to an insecure designer is always explaining their work and reasons to others- especially after a critique. Many ‘secure’ designers will ask themselves ‘why did they do/think that’ rather than ‘i did it this way, they shouldn’t think that!’

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 05:41:45 +0000

@Mark, Agreed — I worked in radio as a webmaster, and if I had a dollar for everytime some program director or DJ asked if I could “make that part REALLY POP” or “can you make that TEXT POP”.. Ugh. MAKE EVERYTHING POP!

By: Lisa Raymond

Lisa Raymond — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 05:34:40 +0000

Good post, Preston. I agree with your points and can add one more: lack of proper color usage. By this I mean the tendency to put certain colors together to make them stand out; for example, red/magenta on top of blue (visual distortion), or the use of color 100% as opposed to a percentage of that color. I used to be guilty of a couple of these points long ago, but I’ve learned a lot since.

By: Code.My

Code.My — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 11:06:17 +0000

Agree with all point especially “Right and wrong do not exist in graphic design. There is only effective and non-effective communication.” , but i still not good in choosing font, still need to improve.

By: Dave Sparks

Dave Sparks — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 09:56:03 +0000

Glad to find this isn’t a list of things of I do in design, but it’s certainly a list of things I’ve been guilty off way back.

To echo the other comments white space is certainly a problem with a number of clients, often they see space as somewhere they can squeeze in another affiliate ad to make more money.

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:00:04 +0000

I remember when I first started I thought I had to fill every empty space there was and use every filter and effect photoshop had to offer. You live and you learn. The difficult thing is to communicate that to a client when they mention that they want something to “pop”.

By: You Might Be An Insecure Graphic Designer If… | Design Newz

You Might Be An Insecure Graphic Designer If… | Design Newz — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:31:17 +0000

[...] You Might Be An Insecure Graphic Designer If… [...]

By: digiarts

digiarts — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:46:31 +0000

You might be a rookie if you refer to negative space as “white space” ….great article.

By: Preston Lee

Preston Lee — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:49:31 +0000

Web Design Melbourne,
I know what you mean. I have a client that is exactly the same way. What I try to do is do it his way and then do it my way and show him the differences. Sometimes it makes for more work but a lot of times he, or others whose opinions he asks for, agree that the design I preferred in the first place is better. In the end they tend to be happier. Unfortuantely this can’t happen every time, but with patience and persistence it gets better.

By: Web Design Melbourne

Web Design Melbourne — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:00:16 +0000

Great post.
I agree with all of the points mentioned.
One thing I would like to point out is that as graphic designers we often deal with clients that are convinced that what they like is best. One of my long-term clients is sooooooooooo allergic to white space and everything has to be cluttered. We mostly negotiate but the design ends up looking great in the client’s eyes and you know what in my eyes. At the end of the day what do you do? It is your client and you need to satisfy their needs.

But if you have similar clients you end up with a portfolio that doesn’t really reflect your own style and capabilities.