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45 signs that show you created that design yourself (and in a hurry)
Back when Windows 98 was the fastest computer and you were a cool kid in school handing out burned CDs of your favourite tunes, I’m sure you spent your weekends tinkering with Microsoft Paint.
The year was 1999, and you felt like a design genius since you’re the only one in your class that knew that the “bucket tool only colours within fully closed lines”. Am I right?
This is how your design dreams were born.
Now back to the future, your design ambitions have gotten bigger in the year 2021. However, your design skills remain unchanged. You occasionally try to create designs on your own for your company and clients, but you are not that successful.
Signs of an amateur, sloppy and haphazard design show at the planning stage and become more evident as you attempt to complete the design task.
Think about it: Are you guilty of any of these below?
- You are (still) considering doing it in MS Paint
- You watched a ton of YouTube videos about “How to make a logo”, “How to create a web design” and “Design 101”
- You tried to get inspiration online but limiting it to the things you know you can do
- Still ended up with nothing
- You discovered an app but had to uninstall it because it can’t do what you need it to do
- Your desk is rearranged for “ultimate productivity”
- You didn’t know how to add a layer in Photoshop
- Popped a bottle of champagne after you learned how to add a layer, after clicking randomly for 5 minutes
- Too many layer styles!
- Oh yeah, I can draw over the image now!
- Cried because you can’t do it again
- Slammed your unresponsive mouse multiple times
- Googled how much a digital pen and tablet costs
- Never mind, too expensive. Sorry mouse.
- Alignment does not exist
- Grids unfollowed
- Oh, I can use grids?!
- The aspect ratio is wonky
- The logo is missing
- Photos are outstretched
- Images are pixelated or distorted
- There are ghost pixels
- Googled what ghost pixels are (and getting lost in research again)
- Inconsistent padding
- What is paddi… Stop googling!
- Too many fonts
- Bad font pairings
- No branding! You have no clear objective on what the design is for
- Off branding. There is a brand but the message is not communicated well to the target market
- You chose the colours based on your mood (or your boss’)
- Too much colour
- The copy looks like WordArt because of too much use of drop shadow, radiant glows, and embossing effects
- Text or content is not readable
- You considered minimalism as a theme (because you can’t make it better)
- You did your best to make it look pretty but it did not solve the client’s problem. ☝️ Aesthetic over solution
- You wonder why the image is ok but pixelated on Instagram
- You try to resize in a different app but you do it again and again for all the other platforms
- The finished product looks like an overbaked Mr. Potatohead
- Or it looks a lot like the competitor’s ad
- Or it looks abstract
- You panic when the client asks for a raw working file because (1) you don’t have it and (2) if you do, they will find out what you did, which is… nothing!
- To extend the deadline, you make up an elaborate story involving your cat, a glass of water, and your grandma
- You psych yourself that you might not get paid for this
- You curl up in a corner and sob
- You finally sign up with Deer Designer.
Now that your design dreams have gotten bigger, you need an even bigger designer partner to catch up with your vision. You do not have time to learn new tools and now, with the speed of innovation, time is of the essence.
It’s time to say goodbye to your golden years as an MS Paint Pro and say hi to professional designers when you sign up for Deer Designer.
