Yes, design is a lot more than just having pretty pictures. I’ve seen a lot of interns come through our company looking to create amazing, spectacular pieces of design and layout, but they seem to forget the most important question: Can you sell it?

Now don’t get me wrong, I learned about design theory and typography layout by making pretty pictures in my spare time, so I know the urge for a designer is to forget who their client is and what they actually want. Which is usually a lot different than what a graphic designer really wants to or could do. A truly great graphic designer has the ability to push the envelope even when the envelope is microscopic with more design constraints than some freakish ancient torture device.

Designers have to ask themselves and their clients more questions than a presidential debate, and trust me, their responses are usually the same: circumventing, vague, and generic. However, as a designer, you can do something about this trend. Don’t ask a client what they want, because trust me they don’t know. Instead, create a couple of drafts using different shapes, colors, types, and layouts and ask your client: “What do you like about these?”, “Is the color scheme what you expected?”, “What do you really not like?”. These are just a few questions that anyone can answer, and by getting these answers you can start eliminating design elements and styles and focus on what the client did like.

In the end you have a piece the client loves and also the client participated in the creation which can build relationships for further work in the future as well as making the client feel as if they played their part (because they really did).

But like I said in the beginning, design and being a graphic designer is not about making pretty pictures, it’s about creating an experience for the potential customer and utilizing every play in your book to score with the client.