Misconceptions in Designing by (Most) Novice Designers

For newbie designers, it is more often than not that they will have preconceived notions about designing for a huge project. The first thought to cross their mind is that having the opportunity of designing for a big design project will allow them to become famous or have their names associated with the design. That is not true, newbies! Here is the deal:

• #1 You are a novice designer.

As seen by your superiors, your limited experience alone will limit your involvement in the designing process itself. Contribution-wise, you might only have a small percentage in the finalized work. Unless you are really lucky to score a huge project all on your own, you will only be involved in menial tasks required in the project.

• #2 Your name will not be associated with the design.

If you are working for a design studio, chances are you will not be credited for the design. Your company will. So what if you designed the logo for Company XYZ which is a Fortune 500 company? You will not be credited for having creative involvement in the logo but your company will.

Basically, you will not gain any huge benefits from designing for huge projects except for the experience gained. Your résumé can be more colorful due to that as well. Usually huge projects will have more limitations as the company might want the logo to look a certain way or it needs to follow a color scheme or a font style. Besides, there will also be a clause stating the usual strict rules, regulations and terms to protect the intellectual property of the design and preventing you from telling anyone outside your company about it.

It is much better to design for smaller corporations or companies where you are the pioneer for that particular logo design. Better still, if the company attained fame, you will be forever known as the original creator for the company’s logo design. So, it is best to start small before heading for the big leagues.