Preparing for a career in design can be a daunting task. It’s a scary world out there. Many young designers have a rough transition from school the the professional world, many times due to lack of preparation. As design is such a broad spectrum of disciplines and responsibilities, it’s nearly impossible to equip a design student for every situation they may face in their first few years out of school.
Design is a very competitive field, however there are a handful of things that design students can do to get a head start preparing for their careers. Here are some tips and suggestions to help you prepare for your career early on:
Go to school
There may be a few designers out there who have the raw talent to forgo a formal education, but most of us aren’t that lucky. Most employers will weigh more heavily on your portfolio of work, but it doesn’t hurt to have a degree or certificate from a quality graphic design program. Art schools like Art Center or RISD always look impressive on a resume, but if that’s not an option most state universities offer dedicated design programs.
Have an idea of what you want to do
Don’t expect to just float around after you graduate and do whatever you want to do. Most employers will see that lack of direction as a red flag. Have an idea of what type of design you want to get into once you graduate, and then learn as much about that specific area as you can. Once you get out on your own you can tailor your portfolio and job search to fit the career you want to have.
Don’t be lazy
If you sit back and wait for agencies to start calling and job offers to roll in, you’ll be waiting for a long time! Getting that first job takes a lot of effort, and you’ll likely send out quite a few resumes before you get a call back. Follow up with folks, chase down the jobs you want and show your passion and dedication (without being a bother); people will notice and want to talk to you.
Be polite
This is extremely important for students to remember. The creative directors you are calling and interviewing with are all very busy people who are willing to make time to sit and review your work. Treat them with respect; shake their hands firmly; thank them for their time, feedback and the opportunity to talk with them; and then send a handwritten thank you note a few days later. A little politeness goes a long way.
Stay humble
It’s important to be proud of your hard work in school, but stay humble enough to remember you’re still a student who has a lot to learn. It’s said that you’ll learn more (and make more mistakes) in your first year in a real job than you did in school, so recognize every opportunity as a chance to learn something and grow as a designer.
Learn how to speak about your work
This is an extremely important skill as you’ll not only be presenting your work to potential employers, but also to your future clients. Learn how to present your work, tell why you did what you did, what the concept was or what the problem was and how you solved it. Drop the phrases “because it looks good” and “I liked it” from your vocabulary. When presenting your portfolio, walk the viewer through it piece by piece, turning the pages and briefly describing the problem, the concept and solution for each.
Look around
Look around you for inspiration. Look at books, magazines, signs, brochures, anything interesting you find, pick it up or take a picture. Inspiration can come from anywhere. Also look at what’s going on in the design world, in your local communities and in larger markets. Find out what other creatives are doing and what’s already been done, then figure out how to steer clear of it or do it better.
Master your tools
We all use the same basic set of tools — Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc. — so learn every nook and cranny of your design programs. If there is a piece of software you know you’ll need to learn, pick it up somewhere and spend a weekend with it. Mastering your tools will make you a quicker and more productive designer.
Befriend your fellow design grads
Most design programs will start to get pretty small and friendly by the time you graduate, so it shouldn’t be hard to know who everyone is. Make friends and don’t view them as competition — more often than not one of them will get you a job someday. See them as future partners, collaborators and outlets for advice and feedback.
Befriend your professors
Their classes may seem boring to you now, but chances are your professors and instructors have been around the block and have some great experience just waiting to be tapped. Most are more than willing to spend extra time talking with you, sharing advice or critiquing your work, so take advantage of their expertise while you can.
Look for critiques and criticism
Having your work critiqued is a very humbling experience, but one of the primary ways we grow as designers. As a student your work can always be improved, so ask anyone and everyone to look through your portfolio and give you some constructive feedback. Some criticism may be valid, some may not be, so you’ll have to learn to take everything with a grain of salt and use your best judgment on what to fix.
Find an internship or freelance
Both are great ways to get your feet wet in the design field. Many design programs encourage internship opportunities and help you find them, but if not go knocking on doors and asking agencies for internships. Most agencies will have unadvertised opportunities, and many will even pay you a little. If interning isn’t your thing you can always go find your own clients. Friends and family are a great place to start, just be sure you’re compensated fairly for your time.
Do personal projects
You don’t have to wait for the right job to do the work you want to do. Make your own projects, pursue your own passions and find your creative outlet aside from your day to day work. Personal projects can be a great way to experiment with a new style or learn a new technique, and are usually more fun and rewarding. If you aren’t sure where to start, take a class project and expand it into something further — take a logo or illustration and place it in a website or design a brochure. Presenting these in your portfolio will show you are self-motivated and passionate about your craft.
Get to know the web
Most everything we do anymore is web-based. It’s a cheap and easy medium, and every brand, service or product will have some sort of online component. Expecting to get out in the field and only do logos or print design is unrealistic. Don’t be afraid of the web, learn everything you can about designing for it, and even try your hand at HTML andCSS. If that isn’t jiving, at least understand the limitations of designing on the web, and have an idea of what can or can’t be done.
Read. Read a lot.
Read everything you can get your hands on — design books, magazines, blogs, anything. Learn about new ideas or techniques, read about what other designers or agencies are doing, look at developing trends, etc. Reading these things will make you a smarter, more well-informed designer. Be a sponge and soak up everything you can find.
Be professional on social media
College is a time to have fun, and everyone gets carried away from time to time, but be careful about what you post online. Everything you say on Twitter and every photo you post to Facebook will be available for the world to see, so make sure it is sending the right message about who you are and how you want to be perceived. In today’s social media-crazed world, employers are more frequently researching you online, and any dirt they find can hurt your chances of getting that job.
Learn the business
Understanding the business side of design is good to know in general, and crucial if you expect to freelance. Every design business differently, but understanding the administrative side will help you better understand the flow and your place in it. Take a business course or talk to agency owners to learn the details of running a design business.
Develop your personal brand
Design your own visual identity and be consistent. Brand yourself with a logo of some sort, design matching stationery and business cards, resume, promotional materials and a website. This is good practice, since you will always be your own toughest client, but will help potential employers remember you and your work. Make sure it’s professional and speaks to the type of work you want to do someday.
Have a nice printed portfolio
Portfolio websites are an important promotional tool, but physical portfolios still have their place. Always take a your book with you to interviews, make sure it’s put together nicely and laid out well, and try hard to have quality photography or print outs. You can tell a lot about a designer by the quality and presentation of their portfolio.
Get involved in professional organizations
Whether it’s AIGA, SEGD or AIA, most every design discipline has a professional organization. Many, like AIGA, have organized student chapters that develop programs for young designers in conjunction with the governing professional chapters. Getting involved in these organizations is a great way to meet new people, make connections and learn about the industries you’ll be entering soon.
Ask why
Never stop asking questions. As we mature from children to adults we lose much of our imagination and inquisitive tendencies. Instead of asking what could be we settle for what is, taking someone else’s word for it. As designers we should always be asking more questions to get to the deeper meaning behind our clients’ problems. As a student the best way to learn is to ask questions, and lots of them. Ask why things are done a certain way, ask why a clients thinks they need a certain marketing piece, whatever it is ask as many questions as you need to learn.
Get to know your superiors
Who better to learn from than those who’ve been around for a while? Talk to local professionals in your area, buy them coffee and ask them lots of questions. This is a great way to get to know people and the agencies they work for.
Document the world
Never leave home without a camera or a sketchbook. You never know where you’ll find great inspiration in your daily travels, so it pays to bring along something to record that inspiration. Take pictures of nature, buildings, places, signs, etc. or sketch interesting layouts, logos, typefaces, etc. Besides, taking photos and sketching are two skills you need to keep sharp throughout your career.
Start a morgue file or inspiration library
So what do you do w/ all those photos, sketches and anything else design related that you collect? Start a morgue file. This is traditionally a place to file killed ideas that might be resurrected in other forms someday, but anymore it’s really just a single place to compile all the design inspiration you’ll collect. When you start a new project head over to your file and pick out a few things that you can use as inspiration.
Make a list of your dream jobs
If you could have one job for the rest of your life what would it be? Granted that’s not realistic, but what are the positions or companies that really interest you? Make a list of your top companies or desired positions and figure out how to get there. Look at job requirements for those positions, talk to people that work at those companies and set yourself on a path to achieving those goals.
Get to conventions
Most design associations and organizations have conferences throughout the year.HOW magazine puts on a conference every year, as does SEGD, while AIGA alternates between a design and a business conference every year. Larger bodies like ICOGRADAwill have gatherings all over the world. Many smaller, local design groups will also put together workshops and retreats that are a little more accessible. They’re a great way to get out of your element and meet people from all over the world while you’re learning more about the business.
Network
I’ve talked about this a lot before, but it bears repeating. Network, get out and meet people, flash your name and your business card around and let people get to know who you are. Networking will most definitely get you a job someday and it helps you develop general social skills. Remember to be polite and genuine to everyone you meet. Once you meet them, stay in touch with a phone call or coffee date.
Participate online
Networking online can make a big difference too. Give yourself a web presence and a voice and get to know folks online. Use tools like Twitter, Facebook or blogs to interact with folks. Write smart, relevant things and people will notice you. This is another great way to meet people from all over the world.
Learn production techniques
There isn’t much to worry about when you’re printing your work on your personal printer, but once you start producing professional work things change. Learn how to prepare for a press, spec colors, hand-kern type or mock something up in three dimensions. Your first job will most likely involve a lot of production, and you can be prepared by finding an internship or even learning from vendors.
Pay your dues
Like I said, your first job will probably involve production and not be terribly interesting. Have no fear, everyone goes through it. You’ll have to pay your dues just like everyone else to work your way up the ranks. Smaller firms might be easier and you’ll get to touch more roles, but larger agencies might make you wait a while for promotions. Be patient and do your best regardless of how menial the task may be — eventually your hard work will pay off.
Invest in yourself
The best thing you can do as a designer is invest in yourself, now and always. Ration your resources every month to give back to yourself and your career. Set aside 2 hours a day to read or learn something new, and 3% of your income to buy new design books, supplies or anything that fuels your professional development. Your biggest assets as a designer are your ideas and creativity, do what it takes to feed both.
Pay it forward
You’ll receive a lot of help throughout your journey, and the one thing I ask is that you pay it forward. As you learn new things and grow as a designer, turn around and sew that knowledge back into the community. Share what you know, speak, write, mentor students and younger designers. Introduce them to the folks in your personal network. Help them avoid the mistakes you may have made and help them be better prepared for the industry and the professional world.
This may seem like a lot, but hopefully they are fairly painless. Any effort you make as a student to prepare for your career gives you an advantage over everyone else out there looking for jobs. Do a few at a time until they become routine, and eventually they’ll just come naturally.
Readers, what other career preparation tips would you share with design students? If you are a student or recent grad, what has worked well for you?
from : Ryan Lascano (http://www.arrowsandicons.com)
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