Being a new designer can be very exciting and terrifying at the same time. You’re excited to start your career, but you don’t know what to expect. The great thing is that now you have access to the internet! You can learn so much online by watching tutorials, taking classes, and reading articles. But there is still one thing that no one can prepare you for when you first start, and that is handling clients.
I’ve been designing professionally for less than a year, but I have already learned a lot about managing clients and how important it is to stay professional even in the toughest of situations.
I recently had an experience with a client that taught me a lot about the importance of professionalism. It was my first time really ‘being the bad guy’ and telling a client ‘no’, so it was definitely a learning experience for me. Before I tell you about my experience, let me give you some background on this particular client.
I am a 17 year old graphic designer from Massachusetts. I started designing when I was in 6th grade and since then I have been hooked on it. It has been about two years since I taught myself the ropes of Adobe Creative Suite, and here is a little bit of advice for new designers out there.
The first thing is to know your program. By this I do not mean to be a master at one specific program, although that helps. What I mean is to know your programs like the back of your hand. Know when something will work and when it won’t in programs like Illustrator, AfterEffects, Blender, Cinema4D etc. Some of you may ask why to even use different programs? The answer is simple; they all have their own uses and different results you can get from them.
Some people may say “well why not just use one?” The answer again is simple; multiple programs give you multiple options for your designs.
My second piece of advice is to make sure you are listening to your client. If you are working for someone or if someone comes to you asking for a logo or something else that has already been made, LISTEN TO YOUR CLIENT! If they say they want something big or bold or blue and yellow make
So, you’ve just graduated from design school. You’ve been working the past few months to graduate and are now ready to venture out into the world. You have your portfolio, a resume ready to send out, and are feeling both excited and nervous about starting your first design job.
The first mistake that many new designers make is not building up their portfolio while in school. As a student, you have access to many tools and resources that you may not have access to once you’re out in the “real world”. So take advantage of what’s available to you while you’re still in school. This will help build up your portfolio so when it comes time to look for a job or internship, you’ll have pieces ready to show off!
The second mistake that new designers make is thinking they can do it all on their own. It’s important to remember that you don’t know everything and there’s a lot of information out there. Don’t be afraid of asking for help or advice from those who are more experienced than yourself because this will only help further your career as well as make yourself grow as both an artist and person.
Design is a profession that I would argue has the most unwanted criteria. Most of the time, you have to have a portfolio, be good at talking to people, and have an understanding of business. Right away, you’re probably thinking “well I’m good at talking to people” or “my portfolio is great” or even “I’m really good with business”. But let’s talk about what it really takes to start your career as a designer.
I’m a young designer and I’ve only been working professionally for a few years now. Even though I’ve learned a lot in this time, there is still so much I don’t know. Like many designers, I often find myself daydreaming about all the things I’d love to learn, but I don’t have the time. Maybe some of you can relate.
One of my biggest challenges is balancing work and personal life. After all, your work is your passion and sometimes it’s hard not to get carried away with it. It’s easy to forget that you need to spend time with your friends and family too. That’s why I decided to do an experiment.
For one month, I’m going to set aside my regular design projects and focus on learning something new every day. The goal is to dedicate at least 1 hour of every workday to learning something new (or at least trying). I’ll also be sharing what I learn here on Medium so everyone can follow along!
You’ve just been hired as a designer in a new company. You have your first meeting with the team, and they tell you about the first project they want you to work on. It’s a website for a big organization that brings together people who are passionate about sports. It’s going to be huge, and since it’s your first project with them, they’re expecting great things from you.
You go back home, excited and nervous at the same time. In order to do a good job, you have to prepare yourself by researching what other people have done in your field of design so that you can get some inspiration. You open Google, type “sports website,” and hit Enter.
The first page is full of articles about how to design a website for athletes or an e-commerce platform for selling sports equipment. None of them seem to give you any ideas and none of them seem very helpful in coming up with user interface designs or visual concepts for this new project.
Then, you try another search term: “professional sports website.” The results are much better; most of the websites that appear in the search results look like something professional athletes would use. Some of them even look like something that would look good in your portfolio when it’s finished.
You have finally arrived at the interview. You look great, are on time and are ready to share your design experience. But wait, there is more to do before you step into that room.
Here are some tips for getting ready for your interview:
1. Make sure you know who will be interviewing you and a little about them so you know what thier experience is and who they are.
2. Look up the company and understand their mission, goals and values so you can see yourself fitting in with what they do (this will help with some of the questions too).
3. Prepare questions that you can ask about the company, position and culture. This shows that you have done your homework on them and want to learn more.
4. Practice explaining your work in a clear concise way. This means knowing your strengths as a designer and being able to explain why they are important strengths to have as a designer.
5. Wear clothes that make you feel confident (if any) but be comfortable too!
6. Have paper copies of your portfolio just in case something goes wrong with technology (or extra time).
