While walking through a grocery store aisle or while online shopping how many products do you remember from on their logo. Quite a lot, right? As you see people will remember the logo of the popular brands even if the brand name is not attached to it. Yup, seeing and yellow “M” will remind you of McDonald’s and a red circle will remind you of coca-cola. There is no denying that logos will stay in people’s heads for a long time and undoubtedly it is one of the best methods to promote your brand.
For any business that is just starting up, they take a lot of time to come up with a logo and tagline. Because both of these factors truly are important as they are a part of the brand image.
But have you ever wondered who is behind these beautiful logos? Yup, you must have thought about it at least once right? The graphic designer is the person who brings life to these logos and comes up with such interesting logos that will stay in people’s minds for a long time.
Graphic designers are everywhere. Behind these pretty visuals, there is a graphic designer who has given their best. So the need for graphic designers has increased considerably over these past few years. If you think they only hand a hand in creating beautiful logos then you’re wrong. Apart from logos they also create pamphlets, book covers, etc. A graphic designer necessarily has to be skilled enough to draw or paint. They should have a good idea of colors and combinations to create infographics, flyers, websites, images.
Graphic designer
Are you interested in becoming a graphic designer? But have zero ideas about where to start and what to do? Then this article is just for you. Stick till the end of the article to find out what to do, where to start.
First things first, Who is a graphic designer?
A graphic designer is someone who combines colors, fonts, texts, pictures to create compelling, interesting visual images. They convey the details of a particular company through these images. The images are made either with hand or online tools these images are usually quite easy to understand or find. These graphic designers can usually work with a company or as freelancers. So many brands and industries are in the need of graphic designers to develop logos. So there is a scope for graphic designers in the future. The sole responsibility of a graphic designer is to create eye-catching visuals for a brand.
So this brings us to the question, how to become a graphic designer? Here are the tips that will help you.
Develop your skills
First things first, to become a graphic designer you need to have appropriate skills. It is not enough to just dream, one must put in good efforts to achieve that dream. So first before anything analyze your skills and see where do you stand in respect of skills. If you think they’re enough then you can directly start working. In case they’re not then you must put in extra efforts and take up courses to develop the basic skills. You have the basic skills but are quite keen on improving your skills before taking up projects. Many courses will help you in developing your skills. You can even go to university or finish a certificate program. If you have realized that you want to become a graphic designer after college, no issues that are many online options like Udemy or Skillshare that will provide you with graphic designing courses.
Tools
Becoming a graphic designer includes drawing and illustrator. So the designer uses a lot of tools like Apple Pencil, Adobe Creative Cloud. Apart from these tools, you will also need a reliable tablet, laptop, or computer. And most importantly WIFI as you have to find images, colors, fonts, etc. It is always helpful if you have good knowledge about the programming language and coding. See if you’re applying for a full-time job then they would like to be well-versed with all these skills. So you should be familiar with Canva too.
Experience
If you’re taking a college course then you will easily get experience as a part of your curriculum. You will learn about using colors, creating multiple images and you will even manage to land an internship that you can show as experience at the time of interviews. However, if you’re self-taught it can get a little hard for you. So you have to be proficient in online design programs such as Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. You can either contact local businesses or provide services on Fiverr as a start or you can do your own projects and add them to your profile.
Design book covers and posts them on social media for people to see. Showcase your works on social media. You can also approach the nonprofit organizations in your area to create water bottles, T-shirts, etc. No matter any courses you learn at the end of the day, you will need practical experience to become a better designer.
Create a portfolio
Creating a portfolio is a perfect way for you to showcase your work to your potential clients. Create a website or blog for yourself and include all your illustrations in that. Whenever you get opportunities you can share your portfolio with them so that they understand the level of your skills. Put your hundred percent in creating the website, it is so much better than a traditional resume. As you’re offering them a taste of your skills. So make sure it is perfect in every way.
Finding a job
If you want to work as an employee then you can upload your resume on job search sites like Indeed and whenever you find appropriate jobs you can apply to them. When the recruiter likes your profile they will give you a call for the interview. If everything goes well you will land the job. However, if you want to become a freelancer, then initially you will find it a bit hard to establish yourself and find clients. But if you have great skills then you will become famous among peers. You can find clients through Upwork, Fiverr.
Another interesting way to find clients is networking. Build your connections and always stay in touch with your precious clients. Because if they like your work they may refer you to other clients. Remember your social media can also bring you following so always post or stay active on Linkedin and other platforms.
Wrapping up
Hope you got an idea on how to become a graphic designer. These are the basic steps that will help you. However, remember that everything depends on your skills. So improve them along the way. Want to find other interesting articles like this then check click here.
