The Real Reason Your Designer Misses the Mark
TL;DR
- The problem is rarely the designer. More often than not, the problem occurred before the designer ever created anything.
- Analyze your goals, target audience, branding guidelines and definition of successful completion before they begin working on your project.
- Providing your designer with examples of things you don’t want can be as effective as providing them with examples of things you do want.
- “ASAP” is not a deadline. Be specific before you allow the project to begin.
Most design issues trace back to what happened before any work started. Not the designer's skills. Not the number of revisions. The real gap is usually direction. If you're unclear on where the work needs to go, they will be too. And that shows up in the output every time. More drafts won't fix it. A better brief will.
Who Is This For?
Before you begin your project, ask yourself why you need to create this. Is there a problem being solved by creating this, or is this an opportunity to build something simply because it will be fun to make. Building for purpose is very different from building for the sake of building.
Before starting any project, ask why it needs to exist. Is it solving a real problem? Or is it being built because it seems like a good idea?
Design works best when it speaks directly to someone. Instead of thinking about your audience in the abstract, name who you're trying to reach. If your audience cares deeply about sustainability, the design should feel genuine rather than just trend-aware. If your audience finds overly polished work off-putting, build in elements that reflect authenticity and underplay the shine. Aligning with your actual audience will consistently produce stronger results than making aesthetic decisions without them in mind.
Social Media Posts
The top formats are pulled from data across Meta, LinkedIn, X, and TikTok.
Sources: Skedsocial, Hootsuite, DashSocial, & Buffer
Format matters before anything else. The most common formats pull from data across Meta, LinkedIn, X, and TikTok.
- Portrait format (4:5) tends to perform well on Facebook and Instagram because it takes up more feed space.
- Vertical format (9:16) is the right fit for Stories, Reels, and TikTok.
- For LinkedIn and X, square formats (1:1) hold up better for organic reach.
Questions to ask before starting:
- Which platform is this being designed for, and what's the exact format?
- What's the primary action this post is meant to drive: a save, a share, a click, a comment?
- Is this part of a series, and if so, what visual consistency needs to carry through?
- Does the copy need to be part of the image, or will it live in the caption?
- What file format does the platform require for best performance?
Logos and Visual Identities
A logo should be a long-term representation of your brand, not something that dates quickly.
Questions to ask before starting:
- Should this logo feel polished and corporate, or warm and approachable?
- Does it need to work in black and white, or just in color?
- Do you have existing brand colors, fonts, or design language that need to be respected or built upon?
- How long do you expect this logo to represent you before a refresh?
Printed Materials
Print has specific technical requirements that digital work doesn't.
Questions to ask before starting:
- What is the actual finished print size?
- Will this be digitally printed or offset printed, and does the print shop have specific file requirements?
- If there's a QR code, has the destination been confirmed and tested?
- Will this be printed once or reprinted regularly? That affects whether to keep it as an editable template.
- Does it need bleed and crop marks set up for professional printing?
Email Designs
Email environments are unpredictable in ways that web design isn't.
Questions to ask before starting:
- What email service provider is this being built for, and does it have specific design constraints?
- What's the primary goal and call to action?
- Does the design need to be built as a reusable template, or is it a one-time send?
Presentations
Where and how a presentation is viewed changes what design choices work.
Questions to ask before starting:
- Will this be displayed on a projector in a darkened room, or shared as a PDF via email?
- A dark room needs high contrast. A PDF shared via email should have live, clickable links.
- How many slides is this, and is there a hard limit?
- Will the presenter be speaking to the slides, or will the slides need to stand alone without narration?
- Is brand consistency required, or does this have room for a distinct visual treatment?
Everything Else
Not every project fits neatly into a category. If you're working on something like a brand pattern, a branded template, signage, a vehicle wrap, a trade show display, or anything that doesn't fall under the sections above, these questions apply across the board.
Questions to ask before starting:
- What is the final format and where will this live, physically or digitally?
- What are the exact dimensions or size specifications?
- Who is the intended audience, and what do you want them to feel or do when they see it?
- Are there existing brand elements that must be included, or is there creative flexibility?
- Will this be a one-time use or something that gets reused, updated, or reprinted?
- Who has final approval, and how many rounds of revisions are expected?
- Are there any technical constraints specific to the vendor, platform, or production method?
Copywriting Guidelines
A quick note worth knowing: copywriting is outside the scope of standard graphic design services. Unless it's been explicitly negotiated, you're responsible for providing draft copy before the project begins. Having your text ready upfront lets the designer focus on what they do best, shaping and fitting the words to the space and layout rather than waiting on content to move forward.
Even if you're not supplying final copy, give your designer a clear list of what must appear in the design and why it matters. The more context they have, the better decisions they'll make about how to present it.
Questions to ask before starting:
- What messages are non-negotiable and must appear verbatim?
- Is there a character or word count limit, especially for headlines?
- What's the hierarchy of information: what's most important, what's secondary, and so on?
- Does the copy need to be written by someone else first, or can the designer work from rough notes?
Lay a Great Foundation
The more clearly you've defined your goals, your audience, your brand parameters, and what you don't want, the more likely your designer is to spend their time building solutions rather than guessing at them.
If you want help setting up creative briefs that actually work, or if you're not sure where to start, let's talk.
Lionel Lowery
Marketing & Creative Strategy
Lionel works with businesses and nonprofits across the Piedmont Triad (including Winston-Salem and Greensboro) and virtually with organizations nationwide, to clarify their brand messaging, strengthen their brand identity, and build digital marketing systems that actually hold up. Through LIONEL.MKTG, he brings together digital marketing, social media strategy, and brand design services for organizations that are done guessing and ready to move forward.
