Top 10 Mistakes by Design Students

I came across this list that I compiled when I first started teaching design almost ten years ago. I'm reissuing it with very few changes.

Here are my TOP 10 Student Mistakes:

1. Distorting type, photos, logos, and other graphics when working in InDesign.

2. Not understanding the size, margins, or orientation of a document.

3. Over-using gradients, or just using them at all.

4. Putting body text on top of photos (students refer to this as a "watermark").

5. Using Apple Chancery, Comic Sans, Papyrus, scripts,
“default” fonts and other poor choices.

6. Putting strokes, drop shadows, glows, or "type on a path"
on text.

7. Doing final design in Photoshop or Illustrator.

8. Putting the logo at the top of an ad and
making it real big.

9. Printing with graphics “unlinked” or missing.

10. Making color choices in a design based on
what you see on the computer monitor.
(get a Pantone book)