paulscottondesign
41 Years Experience
Marbella, ES
Male, 58
I have been in the graphic design industry since 1981 working in London, Los Angeles & Spain. My career started in the traditional way on a drawing board, using Rotoring Pens, Magic Markers, Pantone Pens & Letraset working as a Designer/Visualiser/Artworker. My design career has taken me through the music, toy, t-shirt, packaging & print industry. I am now a freelance graphic designer (British) based in Spain with many clients worldwide ...now using Photoshop, Illustrator & InDesign on a Mac.
UPDATE...I have now written a guide to becoming a graphic designer. It is available as Kindle or in print ...check it out here... AMAZON LINK . Loving graphic design and being good at it are 2 different things. If you are very creative, fantastic at design and know your design softwares inside out there is always a need for you out there. And it is always a bonus if you are a good web developer too.
But if you are poor at design you will struggle ...apart from getting small underpaid jobs from clients you will not make money from it.
You need to be creative on paper as well as on the computer to impress bigger clients. I have been in this industry since 1981 and so been creative well before computers. I am never short of clients and have even recently merged with a large media company as they saw my potential to help grow their company.
If you are only average at design but better at web development I think you should concentrate on the web side of things and only offer a bit of graphic design on the side as part of the web package. You will make more money this way.
Hope this helps
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UPDATE...I have now written a guide to becoming a graphic designer. It is available as Kindle or in print ...check it out here... AMAZON LINK . Well there are so many to list ...the easiest thing to do is to give you this link with an existing list: https://quizlet.com/9951659/layout-design-terminology-flash-cards/ ....this is not all by no least but it is a start and hopefully some help to you.
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UPDATE...I have now written a guide to becoming a graphic designer. It is available as Kindle or in print ...check it out here... AMAZON LINK . Hi Jasmine, yes that question has been asked before and her is the same answer I gave ...hope it helps:
No not really, but it does help. But the main thing about being a designer is being creative. It doesnt matter how good you are on the Adobe software, if you are not creative then it means nothing. Its like saying 'I know how to use a oven so does that make me a chef' ...no it doesnt. There are too many people out there that think just because they have a computer with photoshop etc that are now suddenly designers ..sorry but it doesnt work like that. I may sound harsh but I see so much bad design out there that has been done by so called designers ...I know all potential designers have to start somewhere ...but the first starting point is to be creative ...not the software you use ...and being creative on paper is a good starting point.
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UPDATE...I have now written a guide to becoming a graphic designer. It is available as Kindle or in print ...check it out here... AMAZON LINK . Be adaptable. Always meet deadlines however late you need to work. Never give clients a design if you are not happy with the artwork ...asking for a little more time is better than giving a bad job to them ...it's your reputation at stake. Do not copy other people work, especially logos. Do not use clip art. Take criticism constructively. Always keep up to date with the latest design trends. Never stop learning. Follow other designers work for inspiration. I could go on, but I think I have covered the main things. Hope this helps.
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UPDATE...I have now written a guide to becoming a graphic designer. It is available as Kindle or in print ...check it out here... AMAZON LINK . To be honest I am not up with the qualifications and educational background these days as I done all my college training in the late 70's (well before computers) and so it has changed drastically since then. You need to contact your local college or university to speak about what requirements you need to study for and what is available at the college to get you that far.
Salary ranges can vary according to your experience ...for example, straight from college you will be classed as a junior and the wage will be low ...you need to work your way up the ladder to earn good money. I do not recommend going straight into freelance work, I suggest getting some agency experience first as it is a tough world out there in this field and lots of competition worldwide.
The benefits of being a graphic designer is that you get to do what you love every day and be creative every day ...but be warned you do get very boring and not so creative jobs to do a lot of the time depending who you work for.
The potential for advancement depends again on who you work for ...but usually takes quiet a for years working hard to get to the top. I started in 1981 forking for great companies around the world ...but only now (after 8 years working for myself) my company has merged with a large media company and has probably secured me an early retirement (fingers crossed) ...so you have to be very patient as I have ...unless you get a lucky break early on in your career.
Hope this helps.
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UPDATE...I have now written a guide to becoming a graphic designer. It is available as Kindle or in print ...check it out here... AMAZON LINK . Well apart from being creative ...time management is crucial. There is nothing worse than missing an important deadline. You need to take control of how your time is spent in a working day and project manage each job you have to make sure you do not let any client down with bad timings. In your time management make sure you also allow time to market yourself via social media, blogs, email campaigns etc.
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UPDATE...I have now written a guide to becoming a graphic designer. It is available as Kindle or in print ...check it out here... AMAZON LINK . Its not just the software that makes a good poster it is also you as a creative ...software is a tool the creative thinking comes from you.
As a professional I use the Adobe Creative Suite ...Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign ...but you may be looking for a free alternative as that option is pricey for a novice. But unfortunately I cannot help you with any ideas for free or cheap alternatives and suggest a Google search as I am sure there are many solutions out there ...and if you get good you might make money and that can afford the Adobe Creative Suite ...good luck.
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