Traits and Tasks You Need to Become a Successful Graphic Designer
Traits and Tasks You Need to Become a Successful Graphic Designer
Being a graphic designer has its ups and downs with the line of work being creative yet often stressful thanks to the high demand for the profession within the labor market. The reason graphic design has become so popular is that marketing, as well as brand imagery, is mostly done online.
Graphic design is everywhere, from big films to simple things such as websites. You can either work for a company or as a freelancer. If youre based in the USA you can use a job searching platform such as Lensa to find your dream graphic designer job.
Getting better, sticking to the trends, and creating new trends are all part of being a designer, which is why we will be covering the best traits and skills that recruiters are seeking for.
Layered work
By layered work, we mean multitasking adequately. It has been proven by psychologists that multitasking is a myth, but increasing your ability to take on a larger workload and still reach deadlines is a skill few possess.
As a graphic designer be prepared to strike a balance between working on a dozen projects with about just as many different clients. The ability to stay functional, such as answering emails and proposals, sending invoices, and so on during your already laborious work days will be your biggest asset.
All this work leads to a deadline you need to maintain. If you feel you’re running out of time, it is a good idea to assess whether this workload is for you. You should be honest with your clients about deadlines and what they should expect and being self-aware about your struggles is a factor in that honesty.
Build your clientele
To build your clientele you must make various contacts including local businesses. Thanks to you simply starting out, businesses will be more likely to hire you with lower rates, since larger design firms tend to ask for higher prices. It may seem counterproductive, but demonstrating how well you work is a priority when starting.
You should also work out a target clientele for yourself so you can be the best at what you do without disappointing any clients. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t innovate and leave your comfort zone for design, you are simply aware of your abilities.
Be direct
By being direct, you are clearly communicating what you do. Leaving a positive and professional impression means your customers will be more likely to return to you. If you explain your design process, giving clients insight into your work, it allows for the outcome to be exactly as they expect it to be, leaving the client satisfied.
By being clear and communicating with your client, as well as asking many questions to get a clear image, you will be avoiding any miscommunication which would cause discontent and damage your reputation.
Have good time management
They say every job requires good time management and that reigns especially true with being a designer. You must stay aware of deadlines and maintain them precisely. If by some chance you miss a deadline for a client, the best thing you can do is be honest and step up on your fault in the matter.
Being ahead of schedule is also something clients appreciate and will increase your reputation or that of the company you work for.
Training in similar fields
As a graphic designer, you work alongside many other professionals related to your field such as software developers, UI/UX designers, writers, and so on. It bodes well for your work if you take classes in these related fields to know your limitations and become a better collaborator with these professionals.
This broadened knowledge also allows you to complete certain projects without any collaboration.
Learn to self criticize
By criticizing your previous work you are able to advance in your field and reflect upon what didn’t work, what is in style now, how to do certain styles better, and so on. This field is all about learning, so self-criticism plays into that aspect of improving your design skills.
Be assertive
By being assertive we mean knowing when to say no. Sometimes certain projects are out of your reach or some clients just aren’t right for you. Naturally, being able to reject certain things is a luxury you achieve once you’re more popular and successful, but when building a reputation, knowing your limits is critical.
Conclusion
If you are an aspiring graphic designer and don’t carry these traits it doesn’t mean you can’t become successful or learn to adapt. Hopefully, these traits and tasks have given you an idea of what’s to come and are allowing you to prepare for your career better.
Image by Lensa.
Image by Emily Bernal via Unsplash
Image by Georgie Cobbs via Unsplash