How to network in Art School

Many of us whom are in or have been to art school may not have known how to network and become good friends with our classmates. There is a good reason for that simply because we are not taught how to. The way that you go about networking is to not be afraid to talk and let people know who you are.

You may be from a little town in the middle of nowhere or you may be from a huge city. One thing about opening up and talking to people is that we are afraid of being judged. You have to think about the other person whom you sit and stare at in class wanting to talk to that they are probably thinking the same thing.

Alright so lets get to the main topic on how to network in Art school

Stop being afraid of what people think
Surround yourself with people that are better then you (The same thing can be applied to many different aspects of life)
Simply just saying hello will initiate a conversation
What are you scared of?
You will grow the more you surround yourself with like minded people
Each of us needs all of us
Be the person whom your dog (pet) thinks you are
Be a real person (If you come off like you are someone you are not people will find out sooner or later)
Have something to offer
Do not think of the relationship being beneficial to just you
Make sure your network is a reflection of the type of people you enjoy hanging around
Have fun and grow your network not just in school use their contacts and they can do the same with yours
Remember that this is a daily process and not a one time thing
Do not be afraid of people knowing you. (The type of people that know you will depend on the type of people you have in your network)

What are somethings that you use to grow your network?

What to expect when starting Art school

When I first started art school I had no idea what to expect. You may think that you will spend all day drawing and etc. But in actuality it will be the total opposite. Because you have to learn the process with how designing, illustrating, web design and etc goes from beginning to end.

Then after learning the basics and moving to more advanced classes the workload can seem to overload your brain. When you have projects that will seem to be insanely huge the best thing to do is to work your ass off and get them done ahead of time. Because the worst thing is to be finished with a project the day before and have to get it printed that night. So have the project completed to the best of your ability the at least 2 to 3 days before.

Doing what the project requires or blatantly ripping off an idea that you seen someone else do is not allowed whether in school or in the real world. You may get away with it in the real world but eventually you’ll get caught and the same goes with art school.

Partying or designing can be a tuff decision to make. Simply because your in college and you feel that’s what college should be about having fun and whatever else you can think of. But the main thing to remember while your going to parties, skipping class and not doing your school work your paying for it. The professors are going to get paid regardless if you show up or not.

So with that all said remember

1. Go to class

2. Do your work

3. Partying is only temporary your future is more important

4. This is not high school

5. Being the class clown in college nobody really cares

6. People actually want to learn in class

7. Your paying for this class so go and get your education

8. If this was easy everybody could do it

9. Remember sacrifice a good time now for a great time later

10. Leave your ego and whatever you feel your entitled too at home nobody knows of you yet

11. Have fun with this and love it

Graphic Design examples from around the world

Latin America

China

There are many other different countries in this series. I definitely recommend checking it out. Because just looking through the work has definitely opened my eyes up to how designers from other continents/countries go about designing there work. (Other then swiss designers and designers here in the U.S)

Via 1st Webdesigner

Helping Other designers

This should be something that we all try to do. Because why not take the time to help the next group of designers avoid the same mistakes you made? and or sharing a video or piece of work you enjoy from a designer. I am pretty sure you read other design blogs and you see work they have posted from them self or another designer.

For some that may not make sense as to why would you want to share and promote someone else. Well I for one will tell you that it will return some great results for you. Depending on what your intentions are with posting the video,work and etc. There are some who will actually take time to email you and say thanks. Then you will have those who do not do so.

I feel one of the most worthless things you can do, when helping a designer is to critique their work and then not tell them how to improve it. Because you should not be on your high horse or whatever while offering help. Even though their are some who will not take getting critiqued well. You have to remember that being critiqued is how you get better.

A Great quote to remember

“Each of us need all of us, and all of us need each of us.” ~Jim Rohn

Working a Day Job While Pursuing your career

I am not sure if some may be against doing this. But this is currently my situation. I work part time while searching and applying to design jobs. When I first graduated I thought everything would be easy peasy. Even though I am moving to another state so I will get a Job there.

Quickly you’ll learn that you eventually will have to do what you have to do to make it. Because you can graduate from college and think I am only going to do what I have went to school. While some of you may have the ability to do that and others that do not.

While working a day Job and designing at night do not lose focus. Because the system that is created it will take away your dreams. You could end up getting addicted to a steady paycheck and then end up getting comfortable. Once your comfortable in your position if its a place you are just at to pass time while pursuing an actual career you may get tired of chasing that dream Job.

You have to use what you learn from your day job and how you can apply it to your career. I for one always have looked at what can I learn from working this Job that is just to pay the bills while I get the position I truly desire?

So remember if its easy everyone would do it and that the world owes you nothing. Get out there and hustle and show that you want the position.

Drinking Water out of Air

This is such a brilliant idea and it is pretty amazing how it works. I could definitely see these being used in different countries as well.

Have a great weekend everyone

Patience and Persistence

At times it can feel as if what we are doing is not going to work out at all. As if things are not happening as fast as they should be. But I want to tell you to keep hustling and being patient. With being patient I am not saying to sit and wait for something to happen.

More so get off your ass and get out there and hustle to make it happen. Because everything that you have whether its with your design work or contacts its from what you have done to meet those people and etc. If it was easy everybody would do it and succeed in it. Being a designer is way different then working as a Store manager. Simply they require different skills set and many other things.

I learned that the process from going to average to great is applied daily along with patience. You could also set weekly goals to help you achieve what you desire. Whether its goals, design clients or whatever else give that simple task a try for 30 days and see how you grow as a person.

Then apply that with patience and persistence of dedicating yourself to hustling and designing daily. Remember that not every day of designing is going to be fun, But there’s nothing saying that you are not allowed to make it wonderful.

Job Search Marathon

I just recently came across this video from a podcast that I listen to call the deeply graphic design cast. The deeply design cast is such a great podcast for anyone who is a designer or interested in design. But lets get back to the Job search after graduation.

As you all may know I graduated from Art school in June and I have been looking and applying to design jobs. But I realized that I have been doing it completely wrong. The process and plan that Dustin describes in this video is great. I plan to use them in my searching. Also another thing with following up on places you have applied to. Because if you don’t you’ll just be another name in the bucket.

Instead of doing things the average person would do do something a bit better and go further then they would.

What are some things that you have experienced since searching for a job after graduation? Or how did you go about finding your Job after graduation?

Overrated designers

We all have many designers out there that we enjoy seeing their work, hearing them talk and etc. I feel that within that cycle there are other designers who get forgotten about. Because well some are looking for the fame. While others really could care less about it.

If you take time to appreciate the work of many people instead of just one, you will be open to appreciating more types of design. A prime example is movies in regards to who directs them and etc. Sure there are plenty of directors that are probably overrated but don’t think about that for a second.

Just think about if you only watched movies from one certain director and nobody else. There would many different types of movies you would miss and fail to appreciate. So to keep this short even if you think that he/she does awesome work of some kind go to behance or instagram and you find someone who does work just as good. Always keep your eyes open to other peoples work and approaches they take.