Avoid these 10 most common design mistakes in 2024
Design is subjective. There’s no one rule that fits all, but there are common mistakes that can be made in a brand or website design that can be easily avoided and so this article explores the most common design mistakes - covering 5 brand design mistakes and 5 website design mistakes.
5 common Brand Design Mistakes
Mistake 1 | You assume you don’t need a personal brand identity
Most business owners are fully aware of the importance of a brand identity. Especially if they are creating a business brand. But what about a personal brand?
Depending on the nature of your goals, objectives, vision and more, establishing the right kind of brand identity is key.
A personal brand is somewhat similar to a business brand identity in that they have their values, personality goals and vision. For example, Oprah Winfrey and Coca-Cola are both brands but have very unique identities, stories, messages, and more. Oprah Winfrey is a personal brand whereas Coca-Cola is an example of a business brand.
Oprah Winfrey smiling - She has created a brilliant personal brand
Coca-Cola logo - An example of a business brand
A common brand design mistake is to assume you don’t need a personal brand identity. Without one, it becomes extremely difficult to portray your message to your audience. How will your target audience resonate with you, or your business, if they don’t understand what your message, brand values, or goals are? It makes it very hard for you to become relatable.
Therefore whether you are building a business or personal brand don’t forget “people buy from people”, it’s the human element behind the brand, and so it’s key to establish and create that.
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Tip: Think about what kind of brand you are trying to create and then use this to your competitive advantage.
Mistake 2 | You base your brand on your personal preferences
A common mistake that business owners make is that their personal preferences lead to business decision-making. Here is where it can get tricky. If your brand is a business brand then the goals, vision, strategy and implementation should all be focused on the business. Even if you are a company of one.
What you as a person like and dislike can be injected into the business brand as long as the values and long-term goals are the same. They should not encompass the whole business brand, unless intentional.
Saying that, it is incredibly important that as a Company of One you like and find your business brand relatable else it may become difficult to focus on the overall business strategy.
Tip: Try to make business decisions by putting yourself in your client's or customer’s shoes. Seeing things from their perspective will help you detach your personal preference.
Mistake 3 | You use Google images or Paint to create the visuals
Paint.NET - free picture editing software for Windows
A huge common design mistake you can make is to use Google Images, Word or Microsoft Paint (Paint.NET) (although I’m not even sure this still exists!) to create your brand visuals. Sure, take a look, find your inspiration, and experiment, but please use the proper design platforms and software, to create your visuals.
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Also, keep in mind, that free source images come without any design regulations or rules, this also means there is nothing unique about their application. The graphic you have found can also be used for a completely different business, or in a form that could be bad for your brand.
The beauty of having a professionally designed visual brand identity, including a logo, is that it would be unique to you, your business and your strategy. Depending on the deliverables you would also have variations, plus peace of mind and security to know that it is evergreen.
Need help with your brand or rebrand? Let’s have a chat!
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Mistake 4 | You overlook or don’t conduct the research and strategy phase
The research and strategy phase of brand development is one of the most important phases. It is where all the magic happens - before it is designed! Defining your target audience, identifying your competitive advantage, establishing your brand values, highlighting and strategising the business vision and goals. There is often a lot of ground to cover and so, often it can be overlooked or not conducted at all!
Tip: The more in-depth research you have and conduct, the better vision you will be able to create. This is not only handy for yourself but will give the designer you work with a brilliant idea of what you are trying to achieve.
Mistake 5 | You do not examine the brand in-situ
Context is so important. Being able to see the visual brand identity in situ provides you with a birdseye view of the overall look and feel. You’re able to see how it all works together. It’s also at this point you will notice the visuals coming to life.
A design mistake that is often made is that you don’t often visualise and examine the brand in situ whilst it is being designed. It’s not uncommon to see your colour palette, your logo or fonts on a brand board or similar, but essentially you want to see them in situations where they are all being used together to see if they work.
Tip: Be sure to examine a brand design or redesign in situations where you truly will see the brand whilst it is still being designed. For example, view mockups of a thank you card if you plan to send these to your clients or customers.
5 common website design mistakes
Mistake 1 | The website is too content-heavy
Such a common mistake! With such a short time span to make an impression, your website needs to showcase the most important content in an intentional, effective manner. The number one, most common website design mistake I always spot is that businesses put everything up front on the homepage in a bombarding manner that is so content-heavy and unnecessary.
Using cleverly written words, and tasteful on-brand imagery can do wonders, therefore using the saying “less is more” is a good start
Tip: Using a copywriter and having on-brand photography can do wonders for your website. Investing in areas of your business that are not your key expertise really can elevate your business. If you need help with this, get in touch, our team is great!
Mistake 2 | The website navigation is unclear and too cluttered
Navigability issues will instantly damage the website user journey and experience. Hiding the navigation, or having too many options in the main navigation is a huge design mistake.
In an age where information is demanded at our fingertips, it’s more important than ever to ensure your website navigation is streamlined and easy to access.
Tip: Limit the number of items in your navigation to 5, at a push 6. Ensure you have the most important items first.
Mistake 3 | There is no clear user journey
The ultimate goal is to provide a clear and concise user journey so that your website converts visitors into clients or customers. Not having a clear user journey is a common design mistake that many business owners make and by answering a few simple questions, you can clarify that journey.
Tip: Ask yourself
What is the first, second and third thing you want your visitors to do when they land on your homepage?
What is your key message?
Who is your target audience?
Our comprehensive, and holistic questionnaire has all the questions to help you here. Get in touch if you’d like a copy.
Mistake 4 | The website fails to resonate with the target audience
As a business owner, you know your target audience is important - You’ve done all the research, identified your customer or client persona but somehow your website fails to resonate with your target audience or audiences. It’s a common design mistake as often it is forgotten or neglected to think of your website as an extension of your brand. It’s a marketing tool that needs to be consistent with all your other marketing efforts and needs maintenance, updating and keeping on top of.
Tip: Ensure the website encompasses the brand personality, vision, messaging and tone of voice.
Mistake 5 | There is no connection to the overall brand
Leading on from the previous point, your website needs to be inline with the overall brand vision and values. The last but not least common design mistake is when there is no connection on the website to the overall brand. This is more noticeable if you offer 2 or more different services under the same brand name.
Tip: Be clear in identifying your brand values, vision and goals, then ensure your website portrays this vision clearly.
Conclusion:
These branding and website design mistakes are common, but they are also relatively straight forward to fix. I hope these tips helped, and if you need any further help do get in touch.