8 Things you struggle with if you’re not a designer

If you’re a designer like me, you will have Photoshop open every time you turn on your computer. It’s open even before my e-mail app!

For graphic designers like us, there’s always something to design: an invitation for an event, a virtual background for an online meeting, the household’s menu for the week, a stylized penguin you want to frame for the nursery, a meme, a gaming avatar…so many things!

Graphic designers communicate better through images… we even have Photoshop dreams!

But what if you’re not a designer?

I asked a few of my friends (entrepreneurs, PAs, content marketers, and more) what are the main challenges they face daily as a result of not being a designer (or having to deal with one), and here are some of the results:

Hours wasted on Photoshop, Canva, or similar

My content writer once tried adding text over a photo in Photoshop. She tinkered with it for 2 hours, gave up, and did it on Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word! Goodness…

Photoshop is a tool for experts. Talented individuals have claimed to learn it within 5 hours only. But not everyone has the time, the skills and a mentor. Check out on-demand online classes and you’ll find thousands about Photoshop.

For someone with no talent, it will take 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to be good at something. That’s almost 420 days of non-stop clicking, dragging, and colouring.

In reality, if you only practice during your waking hours, you’ll be able to finish those 10,000 hours in 8 years. 8 years!

On top of that, there are regular system upgrades in Photoshop that users must know, so even expert users like us continue learning. If you want to become a Photoshop expert, better get cracking, you’ve got 8 years to tackle it.

Or, you can hire an expert.

No sense of colour

Colour sense is the ability to distinguish differences in colour. It is the knowledge that blue is similar and at the same time, different, from cobalt, teal, ocean, denim, cerulean, lapis and many more.

Although studies show that women have a wider colour sense than men, this doesn’t translate directly to women being better artists or graphic designers.

Having a good colour sense is one thing, using this knowledge in real-life designs is another.

Colour theory is a subject that takes a whole semester (and more) in design school and even pro designers had a hot debate over the colour of this dress and this shoe.

Designers not only have a good colour sense but are also able to put it to good use by helping brands communicate effectively using colours.

Being dependent on someone to do basic things

Removing a photo bomber in a good photo is a basic no-brainer task, but “easier said than done”. Cropping is an option, but what if a photo turns out like this?

Graphic designers can easily remove the people in the background while keeping the scenery intact. My non-designer friends spend hours looking for an app or for a person to do this. Has that ever happened to you?

Need help to find a freelancer

Talking about getting someone else to get the job done, non-designers usually hire a freelancer. This is no easy task. It’s not like you could just randomly call someone and say: “Hey can you create a logo for me? I’ll give you 5 bucks.”

Before you hire a professional, you must perform due diligence. Unfortunately, non-designers are lousy judges of the work of graphic designers.

To compensate, tons of interviews must be conducted and piles of portfolios need to be reviewed in order to choose which one fits best your work ethics and your brands.

We have a very detailed article about the bloody process here.

Having to deal with designer tantrum

Anyone can have a bad day. But when designers are having theirs and you’re dependent on them for an urgent task, it’s mayhem!

Frustrated? Fire them! (Maybe)

However, if they are a full-time employee, that is a different issue. They are frequently more difficult to deal with since you are obligated to do so under a contract.

You’re always worried if a frustrated designer can deliver the work on time and with high quality. Real professionals do. Let’s hope you hired a professional.

Waiting for the designer’s inspiration to come

When you hear them (designers) say: “You can’t rush, art!”, and their name isn’t Art, you’re in for a headache.

Inspiration is the new term for procrastination, and many designers are guilty of using it that way. Don’t get me wrong, some designers do take their time and come up with really good outputs.

But in this age where everything has to be rushed, you might not have the benefit of keeping someone weighing you down.

A great option is to subscribe to a service with a quick turnaround time, so you know when and how to keep your promises to your customers and clients.

Too much back and forth with revisions

Before you settle with a graphic designer, you have to look into the fine lines of the contract. Most often, the number of revisions offered is limited or worse, not included.

Changes to the designs can be minimal, yet they have the potential to make or break the entire output. The designer who created it is the easiest person to edit it. However, if free revisions are not included, you might need to hire another designer to complete the task.

What happens when the new designer asks for the raw files to edited the work, and you don’t have them? Arrghhh!

They’ll need to do it all over again from scratch, robbing you of more time and money.

You don’t have the experience

Only professionals can get professional work done. End of story.

Need to get design work done but you’re not a designer?

You might lack design abilities, but you do not have to go through those design nightmares.

Save time and money by letting Deer Designer do it for you.

And sweet dreams!