Graphic designing is one of the skills you can learn online or offline, and it’s one of the ways to make money online if necessary steps are taken. If you’re a newbie in graphic designing and you want to be at the top one day, or you want to see yourself as a successful graphic designer, there are some laid down rules to follow.
And if you’re a graphic designer reading this article, you might want to hold on to the tips you’ll find in this article on Naijaknowhow because they’ll go a long way in your graphic designing career. In this article, you’ll know about the tips to be a successful graphic designer.
Before going too deep, you might want to check out some of the best photo editor apps on Android that can be used as a graphic designing tool or even some apps that’ll allow you to make sketches with your Android device.
Tips To Become a Successful Graphic Designer
1. Offer Free Services
This might sound like a piece of awkward advice but believe me, it’s a step you have to take when building a graphic designing career. And I’m not saying you should offer free services to everyone but you can actually do one or two free graphics to friends or business owners you know they’ll create awareness of your skills so other people can actually ring your phone and offer you a job.
I’ve seen this tip work well and I’ve also had a friend who did a free logo for me and was able to get a real customer through me after some time. This tip might look somehow but believe me, it’s one of the tips to be a successful graphic designer.
2. Work on Different Software
Some graphic designers started off with just a familiarity with one software alone, while some are just mobile graphic designers and this can sometimes be an issue when they actually get a job that doesn’t even need Photoshop to be completed but rather a software like Corel Draw or even Canva. But when you’ve had experience with more than one graphic designing software, delivering any job wouldn’t be an issue.
There are many websites you can get online courses to learn and enhance your skills in graphic designing, if you want to learn Photoshop, you can check out the best websites to learn Photoshop Online. Working on different software is one of the best tips to be a successful graphic designer.
3. Start Freelancing
Graphic designing is one of the best-paying skills both online and offline, and one of the fastest ways to make money off your graphic designing skill is when you take up the next level of freelancing online, and you can do this by checking out freelance network community like Fiverr, Upwork, Freelance.com and so many more. Build a profile and list the types of services you can offer in graphic design.
When you freelance and get more jobs, you’ll be able to further improve yourself in areas you feel you need to do better, you can upgrade your tools and even get better ones that’ll make you the best amongst the rest.
4. Build Your Portfolio
Building a portfolio is mandatory if you want to have a successful career in anything you do online, not just in graphic design. A well-built portfolio gives your clients or customers an insight into professionalism towards your services and with a proper portfolio, you’ll find it easy to showcase jobs you completed over the years, and it’s an alternative to building a resume.
You can build your portfolio via a website and that website will contain all information about you, your services and projects you have completed and also the fastest ways your new clients can reach you.
5. Take Charge of Social Media
Social media is very large and also filled with numerous opportunities and you won’t get to miss out on any of them if you spend more time building a presence online and also paying attention to the trending posts. You can build a personal Facebook Page, a Twitter Page and also Instagram. Follow professional graphic designers you look up to, comment on related posts and also let people know who you are.
6. Build a Peer of Network
Believe it or not, there are few chances of being a standalone successful graphic designer, sometimes they happen on rare occasions and in some cases, you have to connect with people who are in the same line of work as you are. You can share ideas and also acquire knowledge through your network and sometimes you can alongside them on a big project.
Having a network of people around you is one of the tips to be a successful graphic designer. Sometimes you can be given a job one of your networks couldn’t handle, and you can also refer each other to different job opportunities.
7. Seek an Internship
Working as an intern might not be the best thing to do if you’re more concerned about getting paid, but as a student who is looking to gain more experience and be affiliated with experts and veterans in Graphic Designing, then seeking an internship wouldn’t be a bad thing to do, you can submit your resume to companies or organizations that’ll consider teaching you more than you know and offer a little compensation as you’ll be working and learning with them.
8. Be Consistent
Consistency is always a driving force behind every successful individual, and it’s not just about being good or having broad knowledge but rather being consistent. If you put consistency in all you do, you’ll achieve greater things within a short while. So as a graphic designer who is just starting up, you have to put in a lot of effort in all you do and that is one of the vital tips to be a successful graphic designer.
9. Avoid Complacency
An individual who is complacent is doomed to fail at one point in their career, and failure is inevitable when you’re complacent all the time, always look at the possibilities of a potential danger towards your career, don’t be consumed with excessive self-confidence and always try to follow the steps taken by those before you.
10. Accept Corrections
Errors and mistakes are inevitable and how you handle being corrected will tell how far you’ll go in life regardless of what kind of skills you’re using to earn or whatever business you do. You will be corrected and when being corrected, it’s always good to accept corrections even though it won’t take a hair from your skin. He who loves discipline loves knowledge, don’t forget that.
Conclusion
With these tips I’ve written, I hope you find some knowledge in them and when you do, make use of them perfectly and you’ll see how far you’ll go as a graphic designer. I hope you find this article very informative, don’t forget to leave a comment and also share it with friends.
More on Graphic Design Tools:
- Best Graphic Design Software for Beginners and Professionals
- Best Free Graphic Design Software for PC (Windows/Mac)
- Best Canva Alternatives To Edit Photos Online
