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?

1. You are (still) considering doing it in MS Paint
2. You watched a ton of YouTube videos about “How to make a logo”, “How to create a web design” and “Design 101”
3. You tried to get inspiration online but limiting it to the things you know you can do
4. Still ended up with nothing
5. You discovered an app but had to uninstall it because it can’t do what you need it to do
6. Your desk is rearranged for “ultimate productivity”
7. You didn’t know how to add a layer in Photoshop
8. Popped a bottle of champagne after you learned how to add a layer, after clicking randomly for 5 minutes
9. Too many layer styles!
10. Oh yeah, I can draw over the image now!
11. Cried because you can’t do it again
12. Slammed your unresponsive mouse multiple times
13. Googled how much a digital pen and tablet costs
14. Never mind, too expensive. Sorry mouse.
15. Alignment does not exist
16. Grids unfollowed
17. Oh, I can use grids?!
18. The aspect ratio is wonky
19. The logo is missing
20. Photos are outstretched
21. Images are pixelated or distorted
22. There are ghost pixels
23. Googled what ghost pixels are (and getting lost in research again)
24. Inconsistent padding
25. What is paddi… Stop googling!
26. Too many fonts
27. Bad font pairings
28. No branding! You have no clear objective on what the design is for
29. Off branding. There is a brand but the message is not communicated well to the target market
30. You chose the colours based on your mood (or your boss’)
31. Too much colour
32. The copy looks like WordArt because of too much use of drop shadow, radiant glows, and embossing effects
33. Text or content is not readable
34. You considered minimalism as a theme (because you can’t make it better)
35. You did your best to make it look pretty but it did not solve the client’s problem. ☝️ Aesthetic over solution
36. You wonder why the image is ok but pixelated on Instagram
37. You try to resize in a different app but you do it again and again for all the other platforms
38. The finished product looks like an overbaked Mr. Potatohead
39. Or it looks a lot like the competitor’s ad
40. Or it looks abstract
41. 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!
42. To extend the deadline, you make up an elaborate story involving your cat, a glass of water, and your grandma
43. You psych yourself that you might not get paid for this
44. You curl up in a corner and sob
45. 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.