Tag: design

Keep Your Eyes Open

When it comes to being inspired to design you really should keep your eyes open. Because whether your in your house or outside waling your dog inspiration is everywhere. I really did not understand the meaning of keeping your eyes open until I started paying more attention when I’m on the bus to work or driving to the store.

Now I find it funny when I used to feel uninspired about designing because I was doing it wrong. The way that I have began to become inspired even more is when I seen the video below the other day

Just think about it if David Rees can get psyched about sharpening pencils and even write a book and start a business what is your excuse for not being inspired.

Believing In your Design Skills Matters

 

 

Starting out as a designer and producing work can be such a hard thing. One main thing that involves is producing work that you enjoy and are proud of.  When you are first starting out of school you’ll soon realize that your protective shield from school is gone. Coming up with projects and getting projects to do is an art in itself.

You have to realize that the first couple of years your going to be producing work that is not as good as you want it to be. The way that you can get past that is to continue designing as much as possible. If you are serious about becoming a better designer you’ll keep going no matter what.

So finally I’ll share how I learned to believe in my design Skills and Work

  1. I started learning as much as I can about design even going back over what I learned in School
  2. I kept designing even if I didn’t get paid for it
  3. Looking at bad design work and seeing what they did horribly wrong
  4. I acquired a better taste for design

Because honestly if you don’t believe in your design skills who will? The more confident you are in your skill set the better you will become.

How to Build Your Reputation As A designer

Image rights Belong to John December

When I first started on my path to the design world I had no idea how to build my reputation. Because in Art school they do not really teach you how to go about doing such a thing. I tend to look at your reputation as a designer which will show people how it is to know you as a person and how it will be to work with you.

The first thing that I immediately did was to start connecting with people in the design community. Connecting with other designers will definitely serve you greatly. The way to go about connecting with other designer is to go where they are, That means go to forums, Blogs and leave good comments, following other designers on twitter (Beware of the people who think having a high follower count and a low I mean really low following count is the thing).

Twitter is one major thing that has helped me tremendously with networking and LinkedIn as well. On LinkedIn there are groups that you can join and network through those as well. Because the more you engage and interact with the discussion the more you’ll be noticed.

Heres the steps I took to build my reputation

1. Started networking with other designers

2. I had a portfolio site ( No A FaceBook Fan Page Does not Count)

3. I had business cards readily available

4. I Created my own Blog that you are reading now.

5. I immersed myself in the design industry

6. I was not afraid to talk to other designers

7. Seek out criticism even though it may scare you do to so

8. Remember that you are as good of a designer as you make up your mind to be

How Avoid a Creative Burnout


After working on various projects over a period of time it can be easy to get burned out from designing. I from time to time feel as if I’m drained creatively. Another thing that can happen is to not be motivated at all about a project and feel as if I’m just doing it for the hell of it. So here are some tips to help avoid a creative burnout

1. Choose projects that you would be motivated and enjoy doing. If your not in a position to do that just yet do whatever project that you have to and do your best. Also look at what you can learn from the project.

2. Stay positive

3. The more work you do the better you will get

4. Experiment with a different medium

5. Go outside for a walk and clear your head

6. Keep your eyes open to everything around you

7. Pay attention to what is happening outside of your community

8. Learn a new skill

9. Develop a taste for good design

10. Believe in the work that you are doing and that you will get better

Image rights belong to Photogalaxy

Being a Designer is a lifestyle

graphic designer

Whether you are a fashion design, graphic designer, web designer and so on and so forth you look at the world differently then anyone else. When we look at what others considered to be hideous we can find beauty.  Also we can become obsessive about things regarding our chosen field.

For example when you are flipping through a magazine whether your a graphic designer or not you look at every little detail. Well I know I tend to at least. When I first started doing that it lead over into my life outside of graphic design. But I soon realized that I did that all of my life.

The way that our houses and rooms are set up are fit to our specific taste. Being a designer is more then just a Job and the type of clothes that you wear and if you drink coffee or not. We all are intertwined just from different points of view. I feel that ever since I started to learn more about other fields of design it has helped me to improve my work quality.

A key thing to remember

Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new. – Brian Tracy

Image courtesy
Flickr