Told ya so!

One of the blogs that I follow and hope you follow is the noupe.com blog. The blog post for September 28, is the result of a query that the author, Robert Bowen, made to designers, asking, "What is the worst mistake you see other designers make all the time?" Note that he's asking for opinions of other designers, because, obviously, the designers that follow him would never make such mistakes. Without quoting the whole post, here are some of the ones that leaped out at me as ones that I've cautioned you about, sometimes, many times.
Designing for designers. I think students, at times, try to design for me and me alone. They ask, "What do you want?" or "How should I do this?" Instead, they should be asking, "What does the audience want (or need)?" or "How can I best communicate my message?"
Lack of innovation or boring design. My blog post previous to this one talks about inspiration and how hard it is at times to attract the muse. Innovation depends on inspiration, so figure out what inspires you, and you're half the way there.
Grammar errors, spelling errors, showing little concern for the written word. I told ya so. There's probably nothing that will get a designer, writer, producer, developer, or director, fired from a job quicker than "GASP" (grammar and spelling) errors. Our tradition in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, is out of journalism and, thus, the written word. That's why we make students pass the CST (composition skills test) before they can become a major. That's why the first course taken within the major is a writing course.
Not keeping it simple. Now, I'm paraphrasing what the designers said. Simplifying, as it were. Comments were "over designing", "solving problems that didn't exist", "over decorating", "using too many elements." As I think about it, I've been guilty of this at times. I designed our church's web site, with nothing but a bit of vision in my head of what it might look like. Trying to impress people with my knowledge of design and html, I put too much on the front page. It's way too busy. So, I've designed a prototype home page that started with a pencil sketch and then designed in Photoshop before taking it into html, CSS, and so on. The new one is simplified, streamlined, and, I think, more inviting.
Tripping up on typography. I am a self-confessed typography junky. I am convinced that one can never have too many fonts on one's font menu. However, I have never felt the urge to use them all, which can't be said of some designers, I suppose. The rule of thumb is no more than two typefaces per layout (not counting the logo). As with any rule in design and advertising, this one can be successfully and deliberately broken. But, you really, really have to know what you're doing to do it successfully. Mostly, the key to not tripping up on typography is to pay attention to it. Close attention. Just because Ariel is the default doesn't mean that you ever have to use it. Watch the size, the weight, the proportions, the unity. In other words, all of the design constructs apply to type as much as anything else.
Belittling the brief. Ignoring the brief. Starting without a brief. I know students often think of the creative brief as an academic exercise that bears little resemblance to the "real world." But, that is rarely the case. The creative brief isn't a box to keep you in, it's the springboard from which you make creative leaps. As I've said, and will say again, "If it isn't on strategy, then it isn't an ad. It may be entertaining, dazzling, provocative, beautiful, creative, or whatever adjectives you want to use, but it isn't advertising. Or, at least, it isn't advertising for the brand. We've all seen ads that are great ads--for the competition. A good test: substitute the brand name of the competition for your brand and see if the brief would work. If it does, then you've probably written a generic brief that would produce generic advertising.
You can learn a lot from the experience of those who are out there doing it day after day; and you can also learn a lot from the experience of those of us who teach it day after day. Best, of course, is learning from both. And, mostly that means paying attention. Woody Allen said that "85% of success is just showing up." I would add to that: "85% of success is showing up with open eyes and an open mind."