Markiserv in the News: 7 Biggest Learning Curve Moments from Graphic Design Gigs and How to Overcome Them

Markiserv was featured in another article on learning from graphic design projects and how to adapt for the future. This article is meant to help fellow graphic designers in their own work.

The feature is below:

Delve into the pivotal learning curve moments that every graphic designer faces, as this article unpacks the wisdom of industry veterans to help overcome common challenges. Gain invaluable guidance on everything from harnessing creative depth in logos to balancing personal style with client visions. Expert insights provide a roadmap for navigating the complex terrain of graphic design gigs with confidence.

• Embrace Creative Depth in Logo Design
• Educate Clients on Brand-Focused Design Decisions
• Implement Structured Feedback for Smoother Projects
• Learn from Mistakes in Book Cover Design
• Navigate Team Transition to New Design Tools
• Adapt to New Platforms Through Collaborative Learning
• Balance Personal Style with Client Vision

Markiserv's feature:

Learn from Mistakes in Book Cover Design
If graphic design, as with any aspect of business and life, if you are not making mistakes, you are not learning, and if you're not learning you won't grow.

I think the largest learning curve moment was a contract my firm had just won to produce and print book cover art for a publishing house. Traditionally, even myself, our team has had a long history of print and digital graphic design for businesses, but stepping into the publishing world was an entirely new universe. We used and leveraged all of the same techniques we had learned over the years in business to produce cover art for authors represented by our client's publishing house. However, on the first few prints we did not take into account the complexity of bleeds, and page content, that was required to correctly produce books while maintaining visual appeal between the actual text within the pages, and the cover art on the front of the page.

Luckily we had proofs sent to us, and the vast majority were completely off. Pages were missing words, some completely omitted, text was getting cut from the page, titles were off-center, bleeds on the cover were cropped... the list was endless. The proofing process was something we were used to leveraging, for good reason. We had been so confident that all the hard work we put into this mass scale project for our client we had produced book designs for dozens of authors before we had requested first proof to be sent our way. Due to this, we had to go back to the drawing board on all of them, which increased our lead time.

The lesson here was a hard one in regards to book print, graphic design, and production. The team had to learn all the ins and outs of book design, and the printing process. We even sent designers down to various presses throughout the country to learn the tactics, after this error. Another lesson: even if you feel you're the best graphic designer out there with loads of experience, there will always be a project around the corner you have no experience in, or is so unique and complex - you could think you had done everything right, just to come out with errors.

Advice to others: Always proof, never think any project is just another project, book publishing is an entire new world, take your time don't rush to check a project off good work takes time, and finally no matter your experience level - always approach a design project with the caution you would have if you were a new designer.