- Hello, and welcome to this Beginner's guide series
to Graphic Design, from what graphic design is,
skills to be a graphic designer, design theory,
education you need, equipment you need,
to the graphic design portfolio, and interview advice.
This series is for anyone at any level.
So, if you're interested in graphic design
and considered becoming a graphic designer,
then join me as I discuss a series of graphic design topics.
(upbeat electronic music)
So, after a couple of months or years
in your first graphic design role,
you may wish to take your career to the next level.
Generally, when you enter into the industry,
you may be looking for a job and a way
to make a steady living, but once you become settled,
you may wish to start to progress.
If you're ambitious, you may be wondering
how you can become a more professional designer
and how you can develop your career.
One of the key ways to progress
is through career development.
In this video, I'm going to discuss some of the options
you can consider to become a pro graphic designer
and how to take your career in a new direction.
So, here are a few things you can consider
to progress your career.
Simply become better at your job.
In my experience, I have found that by simply being good
at your job, that can take you far.
There can be a lot of slackers in the industry,
some people who do not work as hard as others.
So, you need to become as good as you can,
become proficient, organized and methodical
with your design process.
It's these qualities that will get you noticed
and make you stand out from other designers,
and this will help you get promoted
or gain the experience and skills
to progress in your career.
And this brings me to the next thing you can do,
rise the ranks.
Now, in the last episode, I spoke about the design industry
and the common positions within it.
One of the things you can do is seek to climb that ladder.
As you become more experienced
and mature within the industry,
you'll be able to progress to more senior levels
and have the opportunity to be involved
or create more interesting work.
As mentioned in the previous point,
by bettering yourself at your job,
you will put yourself in a good position to rise up.
As you become a more senior designer,
you can consider looking to transition
to a more direction role and become an art director
or a creative directive or a senior creative.
Specialize, throughout this series,
I have said on many occasions, a graphic design
is a broad, creative job, and that is true,
but many famous and well known designers are often known
for a particular skill or style.
To stand out, you could consider specializing.
Now, this is typically something a designer does
after a few years in the industry.
After one discovers a particular interest they love
or they are particularly good at,
by specializing, you can claim to be an expert
in a particular field in graphic design.
This may close the door
to some more broader work opportunities,
but this could mean you can charge more for your skill
and produce more work in that field.
Now, there are lots of fields you could specialize in,
such as branding, typography, hand lettering, web design,
app design, and motion graphics, to name a few.
Network and use social media.
As a graphic designer, today, you will need a strategy
to network both offline and online.
A good way to network offline is to attend galleries,
exhibitions, and events.
By putting yourself out there,
you will inevitably meet like-minded people
and even potential employers or clients.
Here you can introduce yourself and exchange business cards.
To network online is to use social media.
Over the past few years, I have seen a big change
in the way we, as graphic designers,
look for design jobs and interact
with potential employers and clients.
Through the development of technology,
the internet, and social media,
I have seen a huge shift from searching offline
to searching online for jobs.
In my experience, I have gotten a few jobs
from simply having a profile online
and reaching out to people.
I have received calls and have been offered and taken work.
Be sure to be proactive online.
Set up a portfolio profile on as many design websites
as you can, and network through these sites.
Not only can you share your work,
but you can demonstrate your design process and thinking.
You can follow and communicate with design industries
and get recognized that way.
Become freelance.
Now, one typically becomes freelance
after they cover the previous steps,
becoming more experienced, skilled
and perhaps more specialized.
Graphic designers often become freelance
because they have reached a certain peak in their career
where they are extremely good at their job
and don't need to be tied to one particular agency.
As a freelancer, you can choose your own contracts,
charge your own rates and work to your own timetable.
Because of this, a lot of designers aspire to be freelance,
but being freelance does come
with a different set of responsibilities,
risks, and challenges.
In my experience, I have noticed there are two types
of freelancers, one independent freelance,
and two, agency freelance.
Designers who choose to work as a independent freelancer
will typically be working for themself 100%.
This comes with the challenge to find all their clients
and take care of their own administration
and financial affairs.
Quite a lot of work involved there.
Now, the other option is to go freelance with agencies
where you can get agents to look for work for you.
Once you are registered, your agents will know
what type of work you do, how good you are
and be able to pitch you for various contracts.
Unlike independent freelance,
here you can focus entirely on the job
where all your administration and financial affairs
are done by the agency.
But this does come with a cost.
So, after a few years in the industry,
if you feel you have what it takes,
you can consider going freelance.
So, the last point in your career opportunities is
start your own business.
So, as you cover the previous steps,
you become more experienced, skilled at your job,
and perhaps you have done freelance for a while.
If you don't feel you are getting the creative opportunities
within a standard agency or you feel you have a passion
for a particular type of work,
you could consider setting up your own business.
In my experience, I have seen many of my peers set out
and start their own businesses and become quite successful.
Though, typically, they do this after a good few years
in the industry.
Setting up your own business is a big challenge
and comes with a whole new set of responsibilities,
risks and challenges, but with your own business,
you are your own boss,
and there is no one and nothing holding you back.
A good strategy here could be to set your own business up
alongside your current job.
Keep the security of your day job
and seek to build your business on the side.
So, those are a few things you can consider
to develop your career.
If you would like to take a closer look at the list
discussed in this video,
you can find out more in the PDF document
that accompanies this video series.
Download link is in the description.
So what is your experience of the industry?
Do you have any stories to share of your progress?
Be sure to share your comments below.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this video.
If you did, hit the Like button on my Facebook page.
If you would like to see more videos like this
in the future, hit the Subscribe button,
and you can also follow me on Twitter @tastytuts.
So, in this video, we looked at how you can take your career
in a new direction through career development.
Now, there is another option you can consider
to further your career,
and that is through further education.
In the next video, I'm going to discuss
some of the education options you can consider
to take your career in a new direction.
So, see you in the next video.
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