Being a Graphic Designer is really hard today with an over saturated market. More people are thinking of becoming a designer it might be good to hold off and understand what it means to be a Graphic Designer. Today being a Graphic Designer is more then just making some cool looking graphics for businesses. Now people are looking for you guys to do more then just that designers are now expected to be Web Designers, Photographers, and anything else under the creative sun. Beginning in the Graphic Design industry is a tough thing to do but if you are willing to stick with it can be worth it. Here are our 3 tips for Beginning Graphic Designers.
1. Expect Clients to Say Some Weird Stuff
Lets get really honest. When you start working with clients in either freelance, an agency, or an in house position; clients are going to say some weird things. This is not a bad thing at all. The clients are doing their best to try and communicate with you. They are trying to talk with you about something that is completely foreign to them. Image you trying to give feedback on what your client does; do you think you could use the same lingo they do?
The best you can do is sit down with them and talk with them to try and understand where they are coming from. This is where building on your communication skills will come in handy. As a designer you should be to steer the conversation where you need it go to get what you need out of a client. It is okay if this does not come to you naturally or if you need time to get used to doing it. The fact is everyone starts somewhere.
2. Do not get Romantic about Trends
In Graphic Design there are a lot of trends that come and go. As a beginning Graphic Designer it is easy to get wrapped up in the most recent trend. It is not bad to use the current design trends of the era. What is bad is getting romantic about them and not letting them go when they have finally gotten out dated. This is will only hurt you in the long run. Learning to let go of trends no matter how far they get you will only hold you back as a Graphic Designer.
3. Learn the Basics
As as designer today you are going to be expected to do a lot more. Graphic Designers are expected to know web design, photography, and more. It does not mean that you need to be master in these things at all. What you do need to know is the basics of some of these things. Knowing the basic of web design and photography is a good thing to have as a designer. Even if you only use this knowledge to help you communicate with a Web Designer or Photographer on the project so you do not need to do work that you are comfortable with.
