For instance, you may be especially talented in logo design, motion graphics, web design, etc. You won’t always have the luxury of relying on a copywriter or someone who can edit or check your copy for any grammar mistakes, so it’s always helpful to work on your copywriting skills early on. Graphic designers with solid writing skills always have an advantage over those who lean on “Lorem Ipsum” placeholder text.
Companies always want something fresh to keep their audiences and customers engaged. However, you have other options which you can explore, such as Pixpa, FolioHD, Carbonmade, Crevado, PortfolioBox, Coroflot Portfolios, and Krop. You can check out our guide on creating a graphic design portfolio with 16 examples of great portfolios to inspire you. While graphic designers get paid very well in most cases, starting your journey as a graphic designer can be expensive to set up. Unlike writers who simply need a laptop to write, being a graphic designer requires a few more sophisticated tools.
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Today I want to personally share some tips that I have used to become a self-taught graphic designer and later an Illustrator. These tips will also apply to university students who want to fast-track their skills to become a successful designer as well anyone who wish to change their career. There’s nothing better than working in a field that you love and are passionate about. It’s exciting to have so many different career options to choose from as a creative once you’ve acquired the training. If you start off as a junior designer, your career can progress to an art director and after a few years in the industry, you may choose to go freelance or start your own studio. If you didn’t start off in a creative industry, it’s not too late to change paths.
When a client needs a logo or an illustration, you will likely use Illustrator to complete the project. Illustrator works with vector graphics, which means that each line and curve is a mathematically precise point. Vector images can be scaled to any size, unlike raster images, which you can only scale up. Illustrator is a good fit for website design and for any graphic work that requires clean lines and shapes. Graphic design is not simply slapping a fun font and a few images into a design.
After you have completed a project and impressed a client, ask if they know anyone with graphic design needs. Referrals will likely become more organic over time, but build this into your workflow when you first start out.
Technical Skills
Course focuses on technical environments and elements of navigation, usability, and web best practices. The best graphic design books can take you on an exciting journey of the imagination, transport you to new creative worlds or… You’ve got this far so you must still want to become a graphic designer after reading what they are and what they do. Now, we want to break down why becoming a graphic designer is a good idea and what you stand to gain from your new career. As we said, there’s a lot of graphic design books out there so here’s a few that we recommend for different things to help you sort the wheat from the chaff. Connect with other designers, join design organizations such as AIGA and reach out to potential mentors or designers you admire.
Keeping Up with Industry Trends & Advancements
As a freelancer, your network—which includes current clients, past clients, potential clients, peers, friends, and family — is an essential part of your business. Freelance work can be unpredictable, which means you may have an influx of projects one month and little work the next month. To increase the chances that you will have a steady stream of work, dedicate time each week to reach out to clients. This may include cold calling, networking, or marketing activities like SEO or social media advertisements.
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You need to be meticulous in your work and ensure that your designs are accurate and error-free. Nikky Lyle describes herself as a “creative recruiter with a conscience” and was a D&AD President Judge in 2020. Her Graphic Design Jobs board features opportunities across the UK. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to spend three years at university!
It’s rounded out by a review of job growth estimates in the field and salaries, by state, for graphic design professionals. Many universities recommend that students complete a year of basic art and design courses during high school to develop and learn the fundamentals of art and design.
We’ll take the starting salaries in Shillington’s campus cities as an example. Don’t make this feel like you can’t work as just a graphic designer though—obviously a majority of graphic designers do just stick to their job title!
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