On this page
From supporting a brand’s development and social media promotions to creating websites, unique art, and advertising products and services, graphic design will always be needed by so many fields in the industry. In fact, the use of visual content increased to a point where 74% of marketers use visual aids for online advertising, while creating more engaging content is the number one priority for B2C content creators.
However, as the demand for designers grows, so does the number of qualified professionals in this area of expertise. This means that it can be hard for many talented beginners to find their spot on the market. But, there is a way to explore all opportunities and land a dream job or to at least get one step up the corporate ladder. Just be sure to follow these productive tips designed to increase your chances and turn you from unemployed to a working artist.
Build a Brand
It all begins with your portfolio, so make sure that it demonstrates your strongest designs and versatility. The portfolio provides a greater insight into a designer’s talents, skills, and potential, but importantly, it’s a stepping stone to developing your own brand. When it seems like the doors are closed, open them up with your project.
How? First, set up a web page with your original logo and the powerful message you are trying to convey. Find your target audience and start crafting your story. In order to do so, it’s recommended to research your favorite brands, follow up on market trends, and from thereon, give your brand authenticity, personality, and identity with clearly set up goals.
Since the logo is the central element you will be remembered for, try to keep it simple, versatile, appropriate, and most of all memorable. Not only will your brand help you attract clients, but it will also show the companies you are trying to impress that you are a go-getter with a vision.
Grow with your Skills
Nowadays, it’s virtually impossible to make it as a graphic designer without website design and experience in animation. Consider the skills that you might wish to upgrade and take advantage of the available means online. There are numerous free or affordable courses for graphic designers packed with industry professionals ready to share their knowledge and ideas. In addition, this will give you a chance to speak with other designers, get valuable feedback, and become part of a large community.
You can even enroll in a course and thus perfect your skills even more. There are many excellent animation schools that you can enroll in, so be sure to do your research.
While many graphic designers succeed as self-taught artists, this is still a profession that demands some form of certifiable education or a degree in digital media, graphic design, or a similar field. Having the education and certificates to back up your skills will definitely help with the job hunt. Plus, you can discover new techniques and learn how to minimize your efforts and still create something stunning.
Learn to Use New Software
This year is all about innovations and originality, hence, don’t be afraid to experiment with colors, design, and software. Of course, programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, CorelDraw, and GIMP will remain the basic essentials for both novice and graphic design experts. However, put your ideas into practice by using new software solutions, until you get a hang of it.
So instead of 2D design, take advantage of 3D software and let your creativity run free. Apart from increasing your skill rankings among many designers in the field, you can also hit the jackpot and end up with a unique and highly alluring design no one will be able to resist.
Network, Network, Networking!
Modern times require modern measures for raising brand awareness, and is there a better way than exploiting the influence of social media platforms? As a matter of fact, starting locally and building relationships with a community will gradually lead to a global recognition.
The most used social media tactics include:
- Behance
- YouTube
- Dribble
- Deviant Art
- Google+
Likewise, consider incorporating platforms such as Lucidpress into the overall process of work if you wish to get an upper hand in engaging your audience through expertly designed interactive templates. This platform offers full integration with your tools of choice and enables you to insert imagery from Dropbox, Flicker, Facebook, and Google.
Still, the best part is that Lucidpress can make your design more intuitive while any type of your creation, whether in JPG, PDF, or PNG format, can be easily exported and shared to your webpage or other social media platforms previously mentioned.
All these channels are excellent for getting your designs out there in the world. Nevertheless, it’s crucial to build your profiles the same way you approach building a brand. Young artists frequently made the rookie mistake of sharing unfinished content that makes them look amateurish. Thus, remember that quality self-promotion is all about being yourself, with a personality that stands out from the rest via impeccable design work.
Get Experience
After putting so much effort in finding and exposing your inner voice and creativity, it’s time to look for job opportunities to build your experience. After all, simply joining designer organizations is not enough to get the same respect as an employed designers. So what are your options?
For starters, you can practice your skills and communication with clients on sites such as Fiverr and 99 Designs. These are great platforms for getting into the business game and seeing how the overall process works, including people’s behavior as well as most common design demands and misunderstandings that might occur.
From there on, once armed with knowledge and practice, you can open an Upwork account to showcase your expertise and gain more serious customers like reputable companies looking to expand their business operations with the help of a professional designer.
Either way, freelance websites definitely provide a solid starting point and learn how this industry works. Not to mention that this is the best possible decision for cashing in your talents while increasing your worldwide clientele.
Conclusion
It all comes down to how ready you are to fight for your dreams. If the goal is to get hired as a designer, then you have to mingle and circulate on social media while constantly learning and working on your designs. Although it’s necessary to have the gift and ability to create original work, it’s all insufficient without software related knowledge and experience.
Start building your brand today. Use only finished products as a form of self-promotion and get your name out there. Join freelancing sites to get the a real working experience and implement some of the best designs into the portfolio you will pitch to the organizations you would like to work with. Best of luck and remember:
“It’s through mistakes that you actually can grow. You have to get bad in order to get good”
– Paula Scher.
Leave a Reply