Number one reason a graphic design fails miserably

I just read the gut-wrenching tale of a failed software start-up. The author generously shares his story in all its fail-glory. I’m thankful to have read it, and thankful that he posted it. It is a reminder to all of us, especially graphic designers.

Take a moment to scan the story, or read it in full: The number on reason my startup failed.

If you don’t have time, I’ll share the money quote with you now:

“So the number one reason my startup failed was: I was distracted by a cool and shiny feature that didn’t solve anyone’s problem. The shinier and more tempting features of any software program should be regarded with a high level of suspicion. There may be a reason some things are so shiny and alluring. Traps often have this quality. My advice to anyone creating a solution is to march straight towards your initial goal, as long as the goal really does address a true need then that’s what you should focus on.”

The number one reason a graphic design fails miserably:

The number one reason a design fails is that it fails to communicate it’s message to the audience.

How does this happen? It’s very easy to get lost with tempting eye-candy like photoshop filters and backgrounds, or belabor the choice of a photo illustration or typeface. It takes discipline, practice, and the pain of multiple failures as a graphic designer to learn to stay on task.

6 things to avoid while developing a graphic design:

• Not following a sound procedure that starts with an outline, then a sketch, and slowly and clearly builds a design.
• Not sketching a good number of ideas in pencil or pen first.
• Failing to establish a grid or layout system.
• Failing to establish tonal variations up before playing with colors.
• Playing with colors before a grid and information flow are established.
• Tinkering with fonts, kerning, wingdings and embelishments before the structure and information flow are established.

None of these things can be 100% avoided all the time. Sometimes there is the flash inspiration and you must follow it. But, you are more likely to get the flash of inspiration you want when following a mundane set of procedures, as that in and of itself creates expectation for inspiration. And if you don’t get inspired, you’ll at least have a solid design coming along that is adequate if not totally sufficient for the task.

3 Tips for developing a solid graphic design:

• Draw, draw, draw first. Don’t bother with the eraser, just keep drawing more comps. Draw lightly and correct with darker strokes. Scribble suggestions where text goes, based on your outline or bullets you worked on first.
• Have your information ranked by importance and make sure less important information does not overwhelm or distract from the most pertinent information. Good design is hierarchical.
• Always have the message, not the look and feel, foremost in your mind. In the early stages of design, let the information structure slowly suggest a look and feel direction. You may have, and should have, the general mood or theme in mind, but resist implementing it until the information design is clear. When it’s time for color, and later on other visual embellishments, you’ll know.

The discovery process will no doubt lead to many ideas. Your first idea might be gold – you saw it in a flash because you understood all the issues instinctively. But it might be your tenth or twentieth idea, after much deliberation and iteration following a solid process which then leads to success.

In conclusion:

• Don’t be distracted by cool and shiny visual embellishments, from fonts to filters, that don’t contribute to solving the main communication problem of your design. They are traps!
• March straight towards your initial goal, and keep your focus on it.