Who butchered my designs?
Bad design ideas can afflict us all, but it stings most when someone else butchers your work.
Recently, I was asked by a client to send a poster design and some photos to a third party to use in making a special flier. I was told that this individual came from a highly technical background and that he would not need help with the flier. My gut had told me to refuse this request and demand that I create the flier mysef. However, I ignored my instincts and this is what happened:
The butchering
There really is no excuse for this kind of work. Here’s a list of the biggest issues:
- The images are partially knocked out and completely tattered due to poor Photoshop skills
- The images are haphazardly strewn around the flier
- Though I provided quality photos, the third party used images from someone’s cell phone instead
- The name of the production, “Sundiata,” is misspelled
- The flier was e-mailed to tons of people without my client’s approval
Here’s some free advice for anyone needing design work: Protect your brand! You can only afford a certain amount of design mishaps until public opinion of you and your services suffers.
A lesson for me
This incident turned out to be the last time I would trust a third party with my design assets without seeing proof that the party can deliver an appropriate product. Doing so protects my reputation and my client’s as well.