I firmly believe that the worst word to give a designer is freedom. Full control over the design and the process with little to no guidance. It is too much freedom. There are so many opportunities in design that being given complete control almost makes the project impossible to start.

As a graphic designer, it is our job to ask questions and get down to what our client wants. See what their preference is, what the job asks, and how we can make the design a reality. In today’s world that is often quite difficult; sitting down with a client who has no idea or really cares for what the design actually looks like. It is left to the designer to decide the layout, color, imagery, etc. Then go to present the work in hopes that it meets the client’s needs.

In one of my most recent personal projects, a friend asked me to design a flyer for their upcoming organization event. Complete design freedom was given to me. No color choice, no prior branding design to work with, just an idea and endless creativity.

The final design resulted in three full-color options. The design was simple. I chose to focus heavily on the typography so as to not distract the audience from any other elements. The audio waves help to develop a brand mark for the concert and make a cohesive design.

In the end, the client loved the designs, however, I was not as easily convinced with the first version. My greatest struggle with the project was the visual hierarchy. I question the visual hierarchy of the brandmark “Mackapella Concert 2023”. Little design elements like the final dot in the audio waves not aligned. Minute changes that were seen after being sent to the client in a reflective manner.