Common Mistakes Newbie Designers Should Avoid

If you are a “newbie” in the design industry, you may have encountered or are facing many challenges, and may have made some unnecessary mistakes. Don’t worry, because mistakes are the stepping stones that help us learn and grow. Today, SaDesign will share with you the most common mistakes and how to overcome them, so that you can be more confident on your creative path!

1. Copying other people's styles

Most new designers have not yet determined their own unique style. The easiest and most familiar way for you to learn design is to imitate the style of others. Any style that you love and are attracted to. This is not a bad way, learning good things is always encouraged. However, if you do not know when to stop, this "learning" will turn into copying, even stealing ideas. For example, you see a beautiful painting and you draw a similar one and put it in your design and claim that you came up with the idea for that painting. This is especially taboo in design in particular and the creative industry in general.

2. Not setting boundaries with customers

The common mentality of new designers is that they are quite afraid of customers. They worry that if they displease customers, they will change their views and not want to cooperate with them anymore. They are willing to follow customers' requests, even if not all of them are reasonable. This mentality will certainly bring disadvantages to new designers. Customers can take advantage of them, sometimes causing them more work.

To avoid this, you should draw clear boundaries with your customers. Be tactful in letting them know that you are willing to accommodate them to a certain extent. You can say no to their calls at awkward times. Or refuse to meet unreasonable requests for design expertise by consulting them again… Learning to say no to customers is not easy but it is necessary to do to protect yourself as well as bring the best quality products.

3. Not really accepting feedback

A mistake that is quite contradictory to the above title. Unlike many young people who are too indulgent with customers, we also have many cases of "ignoring" customer feedback. Not all customers are bad and unreasonable. Many customers are representatives of the communications department, the marketing department, people with good aesthetic taste, not to mention that they understand their brand well. With that foundation, they will give you feedback to help you better understand their requirements and edit the design accordingly. However, many "rookie" designers still maintain a certain ego, thinking that customer feedback is unreasonable and not really accepting it. This is a very dangerous mentality. This mentality makes you conservative, not knowing how to listen to understand your problem, thereby overcoming and developing further. If you see yourself in it, try to change by trying to understand the customer's perspective better. You will realize that there are many things to learn.

4. Basic design mistakes

You may not believe it, but there will be times when you use an image that is pixelated due to low resolution. Or you forget to convert the color system to suit your design. Or you stretch the image too much, causing the image to be distorted... These mistakes that seem to only be made by amateurs are very common in professional designers, especially those who are new to the profession. The reasons are countless. Some people focus too much on the idea and forget the basic elements. Some people are pressed by deadlines and rush into doing things carelessly. Whatever the reason, these basic mistakes are unacceptable in a professional designer.

5. Can't price your own products

A mistake, and also a difficulty, of many new designers is not being able to price their own products. Many of them are self-conscious and quote low prices, while others are too confident and charge sky-high prices to customers. Regardless, you really need to invest time to survey and research design prices on the market. Thanks to that, you will have more information and know how to price your own products.

Don’t be discouraged by mistakes. Every mistake is a valuable lesson that helps you improve your skills and become more professional. Always keep the spirit of improvement, listen and keep learning. You will find that, over time, the initial “wounds” only make you stronger and create your own mark on your design journey.