The graphic designer's path: training and getting a job. How to build a career as a graphic designer: practical advice Professional designer career

The designer should first assess his education, the ability to creative and creative thinking. Also, an important influence on professional growth is the love of work and the desire to change certain aspects of life for the better with your own ideas.

How to build a successful career as a designer

The formation of professional skills is impossible without a basic foundation in the form of theoretical knowledge. It is important to have professional terms and phrases in your vocabulary that you need to easily operate in a conversation with a client. This will significantly raise the rating of the designer in the eyes of the customer. At the same time, the designer will look competent, highly professional, in demand, successful, and, as a result, highly paid.

Having you, you can quickly reach the heights of excellence in your business. If you have a small amount of theoretical knowledge and work experience in a particular field, to improve your qualifications, it is enough to complete specialized design courses. In order to understand and imagine in which direction to move, one should study the theory as much as possible and gain practical experience in the art of design. In this science, several directions are distinguished, each of which defines a separate profession:

  • interior designer;
  • clothes designer;
  • landscape designer;
  • ad designer.

To effectively promote your services in the consumer market, you should correctly draw up a personal portfolio. To advertise it, it is recommended to use free services in various search engines. It is a good idea to register your domain in order to create your own website. These events will perfectly emphasize the professionalism of the performer, which will also have a beneficial effect on his image. A great solution to promote your idea would be to make business cards, the design of which should demonstrate individual style and creativity.

For initial experience, you can go to work in organizations that are engaged in design activities. You should not immediately chase high salaries, because the main reward in this work will be gaining valuable experience in the main activity and in communicating with people. A small salary will compensate for the lack of experience and provide a no-claim job that will help you develop in a relaxed environment.

To quickly master the basics of the profession, you need to take on the most complex projects, which will quickly help you master new techniques and will contribute to the formation of your own author's style.

Interior designer career

It is important for an interior designer to find his circle of regular customers, so the main task in this type of business will be to find potential customers. It is worth considering that before concluding a contract for the provision of interior decoration services, any customer will ask about the education of a specialist who will perform the work. Therefore, an important step towards career growth is obtaining specialized education and practice.

To promote your ideas and find a potential customer in the market for similar performers, you should create your portfolio, in which you need to answer questions that often arise for each client:

  • what styles the designer prefers to work out;
  • whether he can create classic, romantic or modern styles;
  • does the performer work with French style, high-tech style, eclecticism and minimalism;
  • what is the performer's advantage over other similar specialists.

Each item should be given a minimum of text description. Photos of works will speak for themselves perfectly. It will be effective to provide the client with a photo album, which shows the entire process of transforming the interiors of premises of various types and purposes.

Interior designer career

The portfolio must be posted on the Internet.

The practicing interior designer striving for the heights of success should consider that his main business card consists in arranging a personal apartment. It is desirable to display all your preferences and ideas first of all on your home. Any creative ideas can be allowed here. Together with the acquired practical skills, you can translate your own ideas into reality in the absence of prohibitions. You can also draw conclusions about what works great and which elements need improvement. Having exhausted the possibilities of the area of \u200b\u200byour home, you can offer your services to relatives, friends and acquaintances.

To find clients, you should visit design exhibitions, get acquainted with its participants, and most importantly, do not forget to hand out your business cards. Maintaining constant relationships with successful designers, you can keep abreast of all fashionable novelties and trends in interior design.

Landscape designer career

If you want to build a career, you should make sure you have an artistic taste and a desire to make the world a better place. Good specialists in this area are often obtained by accident. Many designers initially engaged in other activities that lie in a completely different plane, and only once, having built a flowerbed of unprecedented beauty in their summer cottage, they understood their vocation.

In order to start building a career in this direction, you must first acquire a certain set of knowledge, which is necessary for the quality performance of your work. It is worth considering that you will only be able to build a career if you do your job not only with high quality, but better than all your competitors. For their own enrichment with theoretical knowledge, it is recommended to get an education in an agricultural higher educational institution, choosing there a specialty in the corresponding direction. It will also be effective to attend specialized courses in landscape design, the minimum duration of which is one year. After receiving a certain baggage of knowledge, you should find a job in your specialty, gradually improving your skills.


Landscape designer career

In the absence of work experience, it would be a good idea to enter into contractual relationships with organizations in the design and implementation of design changes that do not require difficulties. To begin with, you can agree with the chairman of the horticultural society on the improvement of the territory, both for public use and for individual use. With the successful completion of such simple work, the so-called "word of mouth" will begin to work, transmitting information about your design activities from neighbor to neighbor and to their closest relatives and friends. The chain of information dissemination in such a situation is endless. Now orders can be taken on a paid basis, gradually forming their prices in the price list.

It is promising to start your business by getting a job in a flower shop as a florist or flower seller. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that for promotion you need to noticeably stand out against the background of other specialists, showing deeper knowledge and skills in the skill of making bouquets. In this case, it will be easy to follow the road to your demand. Good professionals who do their job with pleasure are always visible. And it is highly likely that in a flower shop, an excellent florist can step up the career ladder from an ordinary one to a director of an institution.

Advertising in the media gives excellent results in finding new customers for design work. You should also not neglect posting ads in places that visually require design correction.

Fashion designer career

It is also impossible to become a clothing designer without a certain base of theoretical knowledge, supported by practical exercises. Training can be taken at design schools, art schools and fashion institutes. In the world of modern technologies, distance learning in educational institutions is relevant, after which a certificate is necessarily issued.

To effectively promote your business, you should determine your preferences on the basis of practical exercises, as a result of which strengths and weaknesses were identified. For example, when designing a business image, you should study the history of creating business clothes, without which it is impossible to surprise fashionistas with your models. In children's clothing, it is necessary to take into account the physiological characteristics of the child. In men's fashion, the main preference is given to convenience and freedom.


Fashion designer career

To develop your creative abilities, it will be useful:

  • subscribe to modern fashion magazines;
  • study the biography and success stories of world fashion designers;
  • follow fashion trends.

In this type of activity, it is important to constantly work on yourself in order to:

  • development of artistic taste;
  • the formation of three-dimensional thinking;
  • improving technical skills;
  • gaining skills in color and texture combination.

For successful cooperation with your clients you need to listen to their opinion and have a sense of proportion. In the world of fashion, individuality is primarily valued, so the path to career growth as a fashion designer lies through the search for his own style, by which clients will recognize him.

Advertising designer career

An interesting profession in the field of design is. The main requirements for such a specialist are reduced to the availability of knowledge:

  • various design directions;
  • psychology.

An important factor is the ability to use and beautifully present your knowledge. In the absence of information on any issue, it is important not to show it to the client. To do this, you need to have the ability to capture the train of thought of your interlocutor.


Designer profession

An advertising designer must have a non-standard approach to any situation, he must feel how best to present information to consumers about a specific product or service. At the same time, in order to quickly move up the career ladder, a designer must easily balance on the verge between his creative work and its practical implementation.

  • decoration of billboards;
  • creation of layouts for advertising and periodicals such as newspapers, magazines and brochures;
  • design of exhibition stands and showcases;
  • development corporate identity companies for logo, business cards, packaging, calendars and street posters.

In the absence of experience, you can look for a job as a designer in various advertising agencies and media. When performing your duties, you should pay attention to all the nuances of the work. After obtaining practical skills and mastering the basics of the profession, you can make this area of \u200b\u200bactivity your main business. To do this, you must first make yourself an advertisement. It will be effective to create your own website indicating all the services provided. It will not be superfluous to place advertising on the Internet service in the form of your own designed portfolio. Having photos of advertising projects will also help raise the level of interest of potential customers.

In working with clients, situations often arise when they themselves do not know what they want, and at the same time do not agree with the opinion of a specialist. For a win-win way out of such situations, you should develop patience and the ability to persuade, because the irritation of the designer or his confusion can negatively affect his image.

Attending various events, meeting and communicating with people with the obligatory distribution of business cards plays an important role in the search for potential customers.

Advantages and Disadvantages of a Designer Career

In the world of modern technology, the profession of a designer is quite in demand. Good specialists can easily find themselves both the main high-paying job and part-time jobs for certain objects. A huge advantage of the profession is the ability to master it at any age. The main characteristics of designers in any direction are:

  • perseverance;
  • non-standard view of what is happening around;
  • creative approach to decision making;
  • patience;
  • hard work;
  • persistence;
  • the ability to accept someone else's point of view.

All these qualities are difficult for one person to combine. The ability to compromise with your own beliefs is especially difficult. When working with clients, you need to be able to insist on your own and convince the customer that you are right, without offending him. Therefore, we can conclude that a designer must be a good psychologist, be able to feel the mood of the client and know where to give in and agree with his ideas, and where to insist on his own decisions. If all of the above conditions are met, the career growth of the designer will be guaranteed.

The main advantages of the profession of a designer:

  • prestige;
  • high pay;
  • the ability to master at any age;
  • opportunity for fast career growth;
  • satisfaction from creating the new from the elements of the old;
  • self-realization of a person as a person;
  • the realization of your own fantasies;
  • the ability to manage the feelings and thoughts of other people.

Despite the many positive aspects of the profession, it also has some disadvantages, which are:

  • availability of boundaries for creativity, established by the customer;
  • in an irregular working day, since, as a rule, all orders are urgent and they need to be completed in a certain period of time, which requires special efforts.

From the author: Hello friends! Today I would like to talk about the profession of a graphic designer. My choice fell on her, because design is a component of almost all aspects of modern life. Creative professions always require tremendous dedication and in return they give no less. In my article, I will talk about how to become a graphic designer and where to start.

Graphic designer profession

The work of a designer requires not only creativity and creativity, but also the presence of logic. A specialist in this profile must be able to simultaneously solve several important and complex problems. The product he creates (font, logo, etc.) must be unique, memorable and bright, suitable for printing and take into account the specifics of the company for which it is being developed. Therefore, it is very important that the creative mind of a graphic designer strictly obeys the laws of logic.

For those who are wondering how to become a graphic designer, I want to reveal the essence of this profession:

the main activity is the development of the corporate style of the organization (creation of a logo, font, colors, etc.);

also a specialist of this profile can work in the printing industry: develop packaging design, layouts of advertising products, as well as create a design for souvenir products.

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So, the skills of a designer are applied in the development of: corporate identity and logo, packaging, online advertising, printed materials, websites, interfaces of computer games and programs, presentations, etc.

What professional qualities and skills are needed in the work?

There is an opinion among the people that a specialist in the field of graphic design should know programming languages, the basics of copywriting and understand the codes. Is this so, let's figure it out together.

Do you think a design professional should be able to draw? I will answer your question with a question. Should an accountant be able to count? Being able to draw does not mean creating masterly works of art, a graphic designer works in a "narrower" world of tools. However, in order to better understand the visual processes from the inside, the ability to draw will not hurt.

But graphic designers must know color, master fonts and the basics of composition. You also need to constantly understand current trends style and fashion and improve your skills. Of course, the graphic editors Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop will be the main tools in the designer's work. And depending on your occupation, you will use this or that program.

In addition to skills in working with programs, a specialist of this profile must have the following set of qualities:

visual perception;

artistic taste;

ingenuity and creativity;

knowledge of contemporary culture and fashion;

the ability to think soberly, but originally.

What about copywriting, codes and programming? I think that this knowledge will be useful for "aerobatics", but for beginners it is not necessary. Believe me, it is better to be a master in one area and have a well-coordinated team, which will include a layout designer, a programmer, and a copywriter.

How to start your career as a graphic designer?

How to become a graphic designer without education and work experience? First, don't be afraid of anything. Register on the freelance exchange for beginners. There you can find many assignments for artistic and project activities and immediately start practicing, learn to negotiate with future employers, get your hands on small projects, and also get your first, but most awaited, positive reviews. Add finished works to your portfolio.

The next step is to invite your acquaintances and friends to develop a design for a positive review. In most cases, people willingly meet halfway and agree. At this stage, you can not only gain experience, but also increase your rating on the freelance exchange.

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The third step is to put things in order in our social networks. It is very important to have a valid page on the social network, because on the other side of the computer they don't know anything about you. Set yourself the "right" status and publish your work. This will help you attract more attention to yourself and win people over to trust you.

Now that you have come such a long way, you can safely start working on professional freelance exchanges. Pay special attention to your portfolio, because the number of orders will depend on it. The competition is very high, but if you have all of the above skills, you can definitely find customers for yourself.

Where to study to become a graphic designer?

If you decide to study for a graphic designer, then you should decide whether you need a diploma. In the case when a diploma is needed, you can try to enroll in universities or secondary specialized educational institutions with design faculties, such as:

graphic design;

publishing.

If the crust is not the main thing for you, then you can safely study design on your own using video tutorials or go to graphic designer courses. Such training methods have a lot of positive aspects: you will save a lot of time and money, and you will get all the necessary knowledge that you can immediately try in practice.

The main disciplines to be studied are:

basics of graphic design;

coloristics;

graphic elements;

painting and drawing;

photography basics.

Also, during the training, a lot of attention is paid to marketing and advertising, the use of graphic design in these areas. For example, developing corporate logos or advertising posters. Once again, I note that you should definitely master Illustrator and Photoshop. Knowledge of InDesign will not be superfluous.

Where to get a job?

In the modern world, professions related to design are the most paid and in demand in the labor market. Today, no organization can do without a graphic designer.

Designers are required not only in publishing houses, but also in advertising agencies, in companies that produce postcards, stationery and packaging. You can also apply your talents in web design, design of computer games and programs.

Every day a huge number of online stores and sites appear on the World Wide Web, many groups are created on social networks, and they all want to have their own individual design, which will allow them to stand out from the “crowd” and win the favor of “potential customers”. Today not a single self-respecting company can do without the services of a designer.

If your soul is drawn to creativity, you are creative and open to new knowledge, then this profession is perfect for you! Do not give up at the slightest difficulty, and you will definitely succeed!

In the meantime, subscribe to our blog and share useful information with your friends - they will be grateful to you. Until next time!

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The designer is a specialist in decoration and construction of various kinds of objects. The areas of application of the designer's talent are very diverse: it is fashion, and industrial or architectural design. The profession of a designer is one of the most fashionable today. The benefits of working in design are good earnings, the possibility of creative self-realization. This article covers how a graphic designer works, the programs required for mastering, the issues of building a successful career.

The essence of graphic design

Currently, the profession of a graphic designer is in great demand. What it does graphic Designer, it is already clear from the very definition of this specialty. Graphic design is the art of designing objects using graphical representations. A graphic designer is a specialist in the design of various types of printed and poster products, the creation of brand signs and labels. A separate area of \u200b\u200bgraphic design is web design - an activity on the design of sites on the Internet. A graphic designer is a creative profession, close in meaning and philosophy to the work of an artist who creates paintings.

Professional skills of a graphic designer

A graphic designer-illustrator must have knowledge in the field of typography (know the types of fonts, represent the technical process of creating printed products). The main professional skill of a specialist in this area is the ability to draw well and use visual means, master the basics of composition, color. He must understand the main current trends in his professional field and constantly improve his professional skills.

A prerequisite for successful activity in the field of graphic design is knowledge of basic computer programs for creating all kinds of graphics and the ability to work on a personal computer.

The specifics of the work of a web designer

The difference between web design and graphic design is mainly due to technical issues. A graphic designer specializing in creating websites must understand the technical aspects of user interface design (know the principles of a programmer and coder, understand the features of viewing computer graphics on monitors with different resolutions). His task is to make browsing the site's pages easy and enjoyable. A graphic designer of any specialization must know in general terms the principles of creating advertising products and possess the skills of industrial design.

How to become a graphic design professional

The path to the profession of a graphic designer lies through study at an educational institution. Design specialists are trained in institutions of higher and secondary vocational education. These can be educational institutions of art, architecture and construction, technical profile. Studying in specialized educational institutions, in addition to teaching the basic skills of working as a designer, also contributes to expanding horizons, obtaining the necessary connections in the professional community (for example, during an internship). In addition, studying at an educational institution gives the skills of independent work, finding the necessary information.

The professional skills necessary for work can also be obtained by enrolling in various types of courses. Unlike higher or secondary vocational education, studying on courses will allow you to get only the necessary set of knowledge sufficient to start working in the profession. The courses are usually practical in nature. This, on the one hand, is their positive property. The negative aspect of studying on the courses is the student's lack of the necessary theoretical knowledge, without which it will not be possible to achieve great success in the profession.

A graphic designer is a creative profession. You can master it yourself, if you wish. Many well-known graphic designers (like Karen Cheng) have acquired the necessary graphic design skills on their own. However, they all had higher education in various specialties. A beginner graphic designer still cannot do without the basic skills that a specialized education provides.

When choosing a graphic design profession, it should be borne in mind that it is not an essential profession, and in an economic crisis there is a risk of losing your job.

Computer programs in the field of graphic design

A modern graphic designer must be proficient in using computer programs in his work. Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator are required. It should be borne in mind that professional versions of graphics programs are quite expensive. In order to understand the basic principles of their work, a novice designer can start by studying free analogues.

How to build a career as a graphic designer

For successful work in the field of design, it is important to correctly choose a specialization and constantly improve your knowledge. In order to keep abreast of modern trends in the world of graphic design, to acquire useful contacts in a professional environment, it is important to regularly follow the latest developments in the field of professional activity and attend thematic events.

Communication with professionals will help to avoid mistakes and blind copying of other people's ideas. Their advice will help you build a portfolio of a graphics editor. Freelance - remote work using the Internet provides ample opportunities in the field of professional self-realization in the field of graphic design, and especially web design.

Where to get skills?

Currently, the World Wide Web has many specialized electronic portals that provide remote work... Designing a graphic designer's portfolio plays an important role in obtaining profitable orders. It should be as informative as possible and contain the most striking examples of work.

In the field of freelance business reputation is a prerequisite for success. It is difficult to earn it, but easy to lose it. Therefore, the main rule of a novice graphic designer should be the execution of the order on time and with high quality. At first, you should not count on high earnings. Gradually, over time, the number of customers will increase. Consequently, incomes will also increase. It's important to remember that a graphic designer's portfolio plays a big role.

How to learn creative design

The task of a designer of any specialization is to meet the customer's requirements as much as possible. Of course, here, as in any other area, creativity is welcomed. However, a graphic designer in his daily work is limited by the scope of a technical assignment, and does not solve the problem of creative self-expression. Therefore, creativity in this professional area is discouraged.

Hello friends, I'm in touch again, Elyutina Maria. In the last article, you learned what he does.

Today we will talk about how to become a graphic designer without special education and work experience, what training platforms will help with this, and I will also give some advice to novice designers.

  • opportunity remote earnings (freelancing);
  • constant development;
  • the ability to master it from scratch;
  • demand.

How to start your career as a graphic designer?

At the initial stage, it is important to understand in which area of \u200b\u200bgraphic design you want to develop and earn money. As you understood from the last article, there are many of them, and each deserves special attention.

Having decided on the choice, you can understand which of the possible tools you need and in which you need to pump. For example, to design a web environment it is enough to know Adobe Photoshop, to create logos or icons - Adobe Illustrator. If you are not going to be limited to the development of design for the Internet space, then Adobe InDesign for typesetting will come in handy.

There is an opinion that a web designer needs knowledge of a programming language (HTML / CSS). Personally, I am convinced that it is not necessary to know programs for website layout. For this, there are specially trained people who understand the codes. If I need technical advice, I turn to this person. In my team, this role is played by a girl. And yet it does not hurt to know the base of what is realizable and what is not.

Do you need special education or not?

I hope you understand that you cannot do without learning the basics of design. I'm not talking about higher education now, but about special education. Nowadays, there are many special offline and online design courses.

At first, in the courses you will get acquainted with the basics of graphic design, its peculiarities, learn to think like a designer, study professional programs in depth.

Secondly, you will begin to communicate in a circle of like-minded people, exchange knowledge and experience, receive constructive comments and recommendations in your address.

Thirdly, you will have real orders, because often the mentors of such courses recommend their best students to customers.

It was so with me. I took a course on web design, and then I received orders from my mentor. My list of reliable courses includes School of Web Design... Its convenience and advantage is that it takes place online and is adapted for freelancing. This means that you will not only learn the basics of design, but will also be able to search for orders on well-known freelance exchanges. There is a whole lesson in this at school.

Now I want to give you some tips to help you avoid the known mistakes you make early on.

1. Read special literature. By studying graphic design books on your own, you will greatly expand your horizons.

2. Start painting. Remember, I wrote about whether a designer should be able to draw, and that I can't do it. For the second month now I have been learning to draw. Trust me, it made my understanding of graphic design a lot easier. Well, it added a price to me, which is important.

If you do not know how to draw, there is nothing wrong with that. The main thing is to start doing this and you will notice changes.

3. Study the work of professionals. On my way, I often meet talented people who create incredibly beautiful and at the same time functional websites, illustrations, logos, etc. It is them that I bookmark, subscribe to their pages in behance.net.

Who doesn't know, Behance is a platform for showcasing the work of illustrators, designers, photographers. Are you not there yet? Register faster and fill it with your work, as well as be inspired by others.

In my "piggy bank" there are photos of packages, labels, posters. I, like Plyushkin, collect everything and carefully store it. It helps me develop my creativity and look at the world wider.

4. Study fonts. Do you pay attention to fonts? I am. Moreover, it is very important for a layout designer when a layout with the "correct" text gets into his work. This means that line spacing, spaces, size, etc. are taken into account.

Looking back, I remember my layouts with a smile. A year ago, my main critic, my husband, did not approve of my "impulses". Now everything is different, I have learned to use fonts, and each of my work is evaluated positively. That's cool!

5. Save your work. Any person, and we in particular, should know their points of growth. Therefore, I keep all my sources in a special folder. I advise you to get one too. Perhaps you will return there and bring some of the work to perfection.

6. Develop your own unique style. Did you have such a thing, did you see some kind of work and wanted to make it better, complementing it with your vision? I often have this. I take someone's idea and refine it. It's funny and interesting at the same time. Try it, it will help you develop your style.

7. Build your portfolio. Friends, it is important for us to present ourselves in such a way that you would like to contact us with an order. Therefore, the portfolio is our face. In the next article I will show you how to create it and give recommendations for its design.

Conclusion

Having passed a certain path, I realized one thing: you will not be nice to everyone. There is no single design style. Therefore, our work is based on the needs of a specific audience for which we create a product.

But this does not mean that you need to forget about your uniqueness. Breathe your ideas into an existing model, expand the boundaries of your possibilities. Look for customers with whom you will be comfortable.

When I started, I had neither experience nor portfolio, but thanks to courses in remote work , I knew how to look for the employers I needed, maintain my social. network and knew the basics of negotiations with customers. I was helped by "training" on. I've already talked about it.

Remember, only you know which customer you like to work with. The Internet is a platform where everyone will find their employer. My advice and your perseverance will help you to become in demand and increase the value of your hour. Do not stop there, go towards your goal, improve your professionalism.

If you have any questions or need advice, write in the comments.

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