The Overnight Test

One of the most valuable habits you can build as a designer is giving yourself time away from your work before finalising it. If the design is important—going to a client, being published, or forming part of a campaign—try to sleep on it.

When you’ve been staring at a design for hours, your eyes glaze over. You stop noticing details like spacing, spelling mistakes, or clunky alignments. You also risk getting too attached to your “darlings”—a clever layout, colour choice, or graphic that feels right because you’ve invested in it, but may not serve the design’s actual purpose.

Fresh eyes the next morning will almost always show you something you couldn’t see before. You’ll notice flaws, but you’ll also see opportunities for refinement that make the whole piece stronger.

This habit also protects you from releasing cringe-worthy designs (we’ve all done it). The truth is, in a few years you’ll probably look back at your earliest work and wince—but that’s completely normal. It means you’re improving. The goal isn’t perfection, it’s progress. Becoming a prolific creator is about making, refining, learning, and moving on.

If you’re under time pressure and can’t leave it overnight, a second option is to get outside feedback. Send it to a colleague or friend, but keep in mind: people often don’t want to hurt your feelings, or they’ll focus on what they would do differently rather than the design’s main goal. Always filter feedback through the question: does this help the design achieve its purpose?

And if you’re sending work to a client, feedback is part of the job. Sometimes their requests won’t make sense, or they’ll clash with your creative instincts. That’s where your design rationale comes in: being able to explain why you made certain choices. Balancing client input with the integrity of the design is a skill in itself—something you’ll keep building as you grow.