10 lessons from 10 years as a graphic designer
Cant believe I have been doing design since 2014!
Hey Friends
I started designing when I was 16 in high school and have been doing it in some form for 10 whole years now.
Today I wanted to share with y’all 5 of the 10 lessons I’ve learned in the past 10 years as a graphic designer.
I made a whole long-form video on this topic, so if you want to dive deeper into these and see the other 5 lessons then wanna check that out here!
01. Find your Calling
These days there are so many paths you can go down as a graphic designer.
You can work in-house at a company, freelance, work at a student/agency, do content, or pretty much any niche path in the design world.
I have done every single one of those above-mentioned things and have found that I excel the most as a freelancer designer and content creator.
When I was in college all I wanted to do was work at a cool studio or agency and once I got the opportunity I realized it wasn’t entirely for me.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution, so dip your toes in every avenue and find what you enjoy best.
02. Find Community
I did not have a great community of artists/designers to talk to during my time at school and when I got into the workforce it was only for about a year until covid happened.
That caused me to be pretty isolated as creative and I kind of got used to that routine of working in solitude.
However, as I grew my accounts on social media and started meeting some amazingly talented designers online and eventually met them in person it gave me a harsh realization of how important community is.
You don’t know you need something in your life sometimes until you finally have it.
I encourage every one of you to connect with other creatives in your area, online or in whatever way works best for you.
It is great to have people to share your work with, talk about business stuff, and overall just have fun with like-minded people who get what you’re about.
03. Rest is equally as important as the work
It took me a while to learn this and it had to happen the hard way.
I’ve had a few moments where I am just completely burnt out from work and life and I start flirting with a mental breakdown lol.
I realized that if I keep a more consistent and healthy balance of work, play, and rest it helps me never fully get to that burnt-out mode.
You need to have great rest as an important part of the creative process, not just the absence of work.
check out this book for a more in-depth talk on this:
04. Be a Sponge
You need to go out and live your life and gain new experiences to have a bank to pull from and put back into your work.
The more you live your life the better taste, p[personality, and experiences you will have and I think it makes for more interesting work.
It is also great to absorb all you can from your family, friends, peers, and mentors.
Everyone knows something you don’t and if you have an open mind with everyone you meet (designers or not) I promise you will learn more, become a better human and in turn become a better designer.
05. Get good at design, not design programs
People did graphic design way before the 2d digital workspaces we use today and I believe they will do it long after they are gone.
Instead of getting so wrapped up in excelling at the current or upcoming programs, I think it is important to learn design fundamentals like typography, hierarchy, color, layout, etc. Instead of just trying to be “good at Photoshop”
If you get good at the craft of design itself and develop an eye for it, you can always learn new programs down the road and apply those personal tastes and skills to whatever medium.
Thanks for reading, much love!
I made a whole long-form video on this topic, so if you want to dive deeper into these and see the other 5 lessons then wanna check that out here!
Cool stuff to check out
Fav Design of the week below
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10 lessons from 10 years as a graphic designer
World of Pleasure Album Art Concept
hanks for reading!
I plan on keeping this newsletter free, but if you want to support, the best way is to buy me a coffee:)
I love your newsletters, finding your true-self in the work place is not an easy one, at least for me. So, it helps me to see that other people experiences, thanks for sharing! Lots of love!!!