In order to get yourself “on the road” in the design industry, you need some special ingredients for the upcoming trip. As any other trip, you need planning. First of all u have to decide on a direction you wanna take or the final destination you wanna be in. After that you have to start thinking about the things u need to have to accomplish that (transportation, money, time, tools, baggage) for a regular trip. Same way you need to have these things in design if you wanna venture in this vast domain (it is a real jungle I tell you) with all kind of obstacles waiting for you at every corner. “Survival of the fittest” really says it all in this domain.
So first of all after u decided u wanna start a career in the design industry you start thinking about the tools you need for the trip, like baggage of skills and experience in the design related programs that help you express yourself and carry you to the desired destination, then u need to have some talent, some imagination but sure these can be helped out by a lot of reading and keeping you up to date on what’s moving in design. Everyday search for inspiration on the internet, try new ideas, get inspired by other designers, study trends, design rules like (meaning of colors, typography, print rules, usability) which will all be very helpful in your journey.
Then you need to start practicing on everything you learn. Create yourself a portfolio of creations, that will play a very important role in your “trip” by defining you and your capabilities in the future. Sure you will have to always update this with newer and better creations. Create yourself a brand. A personal brand that defines you and sign your work with it everytime.
This is the part where I got till now. Started to work on my portfolio, getting all kind of freelance jobs which help me define my style and skills more and more step by step, gathering more knowledge every day. I know I still have a lot of ground to cover, a lot of road to travel until I get to my desired destination, but I am confident that I will get there sooner or later. And this is last and I think the most important thing in the whole journey of out lives: to be confident and have strong will after all.
So I am freelance graphic designer at the beginning of my journey in the jungle of design industry, hunting for every new opportunity that gets in my way. I have an online portfolio @ http://froznstein.daportfolio.com
And this is my personal logo and brand (my name is Aknai Francisc, and i offer A+ high quality design services)
For more info, contact me by e-mail : francisc.aknai@gmail.com
—— a.F.——
I agree with every single thing you said. Been doing the same stuff for years and I only now feel that things are starting to move for me.
thanks Marcel, I know what you mean.
The path you’ve described is very reallistic. It’s not easy defining you way, and many young designers don’t know what to do in this situation. But…
Behind every successful designer…it’s himself.
It really is a hard journey, and thanks zaineasca for inspiring me, means a lot.
I agree with you too. Not only a personal branding is required now a day, but also personal enrichment is necessary for make your self stay on top. As a designer, one must keep the eye open for any sort of inspirations come his way, especially, when continuous learning is concerned.
Recently, I was trying to create a logo for a transportation company, who was trying to have a logo based on Mayan’s Calendar – though that was tough and I failed to deliver them the logo in time but the experience of getting the inspiration forced me to search hundreds of pictures and documents on Mayan’s. I think this is how things get to a designer’s head
Wish you luck.
Thank you very much for the comment. I totally agree with you that design always makes you study and invest ten’s of hours of background checks on different subjects, that is what makes this domain so unique and interesting.
I wish u luck too in your “journey”