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Designer pet peeves.  Probably as old as the earth itself.  As soon as early man splashed paint on a cave wall, there have been designers to critique it.  So keeping with this longstanding tradition, here are a few of my personal top pet peeves when it comes to design and why it is a good idea to avoid them.

Comic Sans and Papyrus

This pet peeve is so commonplace amongst graphic designers, it’s become a long standing joke.  In short, the main reason these two fonts are so despised, is their overuse.  With so many options available to designers today, there is no reason why these two fonts should ever need to be used.

Too many fonts

Like I mentioned before, there are many fonts at a designer’s fingertips.  This can be an advantage, but also a downfall.  If you use a lot of fonts in one design, it can start to look too busy and you will overwhelm the viewer.  You will want to limit your font count to three maximum.

Too much copy

There are too many words! Especially for advertising, the more you cram into a design, the less likely people will read it.  With the rise of constant distractions in our lives, this is even more important.  Trimming down copy to only the essentials will help increase the chance of your design being effective.

Orphans

Now if you aren’t up on the designer lingo, you might be a little confused. You’re probably thinking, “You hate orphans? You monster!” Let me clear the air and explain! An orphan is a term referring to a single word left alone on the last line of a paragraph.  The reason this makes the list, is because it makes your design look unfinished and ruins the flow of reading.  In web design, this can be hard to control since text displays at different screen sizes.  However for printed materials, this slip up should be avoided if at all possible.

Drop shadows, beveled text, and text effects, oh my!

Just like with copy and font use, less is more. If used in a subtle way, drop shadows can be used to make an impact.  Yet if your image looks like it is literally floating on the page, that is too much.  As for beveled text… you probably should just avoid that one completely.  In most cases, it can make text look dated and doesn’t convey the look you may be going for.

Ready to start your project?

If all this sounds like a lot to think about, I have good news!  LKCS has a team of designers who are professionally trained and ready to help your business on their next marketing campaign.  Contact Us today for more information on how we can help with your next project!