How to Transform a Design from Amateur to Professional in Four Easy Steps

You’ve probably been asked to create a brochure or a flier or a poster before. And if you don’t have a background in graphic design, you may feel uneasy about taking on the challenge. At the very least, you probably have inadequate and maybe even tossed around the phrase, “I’m just not that creative” or “I don’t have a creative bone in my body.”

It’s true that there can be a lot involved with good graphic design–understanding color theory, typography, negative space, layout, resolution, and so forth. But it doesn’t take all that know-how to create a simple, nice-looking brochure.

Follow the chart below to see how to avoid some of the most common amateur design mistakes (center-aligning, inserting too many images, including too much text, only using one font, not using contrast) in order to make a simple design look professional in just four easy steps.