5 Ways to Reach Your Design Career Goals

Reach your Graphic Design Career Goals!

5 Ways to Reach your Graphic Design Career Goals

If you are reading this, I'm assuming that your are not a very experienced designer. If you ARE an experienced designer, you have the right idea already - always looking for ways to better yourself! Good for you! If you are not experienced, you have the mindset of the expert.

  1. Study everyday! (No matter how far along you are in your career)

To become a good designer you have to not only be good at using your programs, but you need to study design all the time.  Maybe everyday might seem a bit excessive for you, that's fine. Go at your own pace. But don't forget, the world is changing everyday and you have to be up to speed with all the new trends. Design has very real trends a lot of people follow. Just like clothing. Keep up with it! Your design career will thank you for it!
How to Study?
6:00 PM -- Pick out a reasonable time of the day you are going to dedicate to studying.
1 Hour   -- Next, pick out a length of time you are going to study for.
(I would recommend 30 minutes. min. -  max 2 hours. Anything after 2 hours your brain doesn't remember too well.)
What can you study?
-Study what you want to be good at - find other people that are experts and read about them and even ask them questions!
-If you are not sure what you want to learn about right now, study ALL design topics and find the one you like the most.
FOR EXAMPLE:
Read Design Blogs about;
Websites about;

MY NUMBER ONE TIP!

As an experienced designer, I tell you to LEARN MARKETING the best you can! Study it more than anything else. You will not regret it. It will tremendously help you throughout your career. If your freelancing and owning your own business to working for someone, knowing how to market is a HUGE tool and I wish I studied it much much earlier!
*Bookmark websites that speak to you or that have awesome tutorials on them and go back to them later when you have time.
Depending how far along you are in your journey already will determine what you plan on studying. If you can't think of anything, just Google search "Graphic Designer Blogs". That will always get you started!

  1. Design Everyday! Design Artwork that is not for sale, but personal.

To become a great designer, you have to practice all the time. Doing personal projects just because you feel inspired is a GREAT thing to do!  If you feel like the most you can do is one design a week, and that's pushing yourself, then that's great. At least you are doing more than you thought you would. I'll tell you why doing personal inspired work is so important, next.
THIS IS ONE OF MY RECENT PERSONAL DESIGNS..
5 Ways to Reach Your Graphic Design Career Goals!
My Personal Project.

*While you were studying, maybe you came across a tutorial, go back to that tutorial and do it. Even if it seems easy to you, keep those creative juices flowing!
>Remember to keep studying - That never ends!

  1. Develop a Decent Size Portfolio

A portfolio needs to not only include your school projects and your client work. It MUST show your creative personality as well. So after doing all your daily or weekly personal designs we talked about in number 2, you must have a pretty big portfolio of just personal work! Clients like to see more than just client work because it gives them the feeling that you are passionate about designing.
Creating a website is a great way to promote yourself and showcase your work. If you can afford a domain name and hosting, it is worth it. Not only will you have a portfolio, but you can advertise your freelancing business through it, if you start to freelance. Which brings me into my next topic...
>Remember to study something!

  1. Start Freelancing 

Unless you work at a firm that does not allow you to your own work at home, start freelancing! Doing jobs for people on the side is only going to HELP you creatively and learning how to handle clients. You get to know what its like to work with clients face to face, being your own boss. That experience in invaluable.
While you are freelancing, the one big topic I would keep studying is MARKETING. Every business owner needs to know how to market themselves, especially if you are going to be an entrepreneur. Even if you are going to work for someone, knowing how to market is a BIG plus for your career. You will most likely be doing work for other business owners and if you don't know how to portray your work correctly, it could effect you negatively.

NUMBER 5a. 5b. 5c.

5a. At this point, Some people would expand on their freelancing career and start their own design business doing what they love. Maybe; Print, t-shirts or marketing. Also have a plan to hire employees. Great! Create something awesome!
5b. Another way to go is to be employed by a company. I have never personally worked for someone for any long period of time so I don't know this area to well. But it works for some people.
5c. Dream up a new outlook on what to do from here! (I don't have all the answers) You can be a famous painter or invent something that all designers have to have and make money that way. As you already learned in your career is that there are boxes, and some people stay inside them, and some people think outside of them.

BE AN OUT OF THE BOX THINKER
- AND CHANGE THE WORLD!

---Until next time...
 "Strive to have internal peace, and a piece of cake."
Peace Out!
-Holly N.




Looking for a Graphic Designer? Contact me!

Contact:
Holly Nelson
Freelance Graphic Designer
HollyNelsonGraphics@gmail.com
www.HollyNelsonGraphics.com
FB: facebook.com/hollynelsongraphics

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