Tag: graphic design help

NO I don’t take Exposure as payment

 

As creatives we can be tricked verbally into the saying of you’ll get so much exposure. When you get exposure you’ll get more clients and etc. But to be honest this trick never works in most situations. Then which will lead us to being in situations that end up being negative for both parties involved.

What I want to say is do not involve yourself in situations that you feel as if you are going to be taken advantage of. The value of your skill and work does not mean you should accept pennies for payment or nothing at all. You have to remember you create your own value of your work.

If you feel as if “I have to take whatever I can get” then you will get whatever you can whether its little low paying jobs here and there. Especially if you are working as a freelancer you are running a business. You want to focus on should I accept projects and if I do accept this project is it going to be worth my time.

Exposure is a double edge sword at times. You’d be damn if you do damned if you don’t. With situations that people want to pay you in exposure think of it in regards to would it be a good use of my time. Remember you cannot eat with exposure nor pay your bills.

Know Your Limits

When you are giving it you all in your pursuit make sure to know your limits. I recently experienced being burnt out. Since I wake up between 4:15 – 4:30 a.m most days are a bit longer. Anyhow I learned a lesson about overworking myself.

After learning my limits I realized how important stamina and getting enough rest can be. Also managing your time very critically is important. Because you can wake up early and get absolutely nothing done. For example you can read and eat breakfast then after just waste time browsing the internet.

When the sun comes up you want to be saying to yourself my goodness I never had gotten so much work done. There is just something about having more time to get work done. Let me stay on topic with this post and not get off track. I am not saying working hard is bad at all. Just more so you do not want to simply slowly start killing yourself.

By killing yourself I mean by not working smart,eating right and etc. Because there are people who do not need as much sleep as others. I for one feel if I get more then 5 hours I have slept too much. Another way to look at working hard,waking up early what is is your reason for it?

Then are you willing to start allowing yourself to increase your limits. In other words are you willing to take better care of yourself to push beyond your limits. When I started eating a bit better, exercising, doing yoga and meditation I always feel great. As designers we sit on our ass all day. We both know that’s not good to constantly do.

So make sure to get up away from your computer screen when the time permits. Do yourself a favor to not crash and burn while you reach beyond your limits.

Shift Your Focus from Macro to Micro

Shifting our focus from the Macro to the micro not just in design will help improve many things. When I first started out designing I would not focus on the minute details. Later on hearing and reading the quote “Design is in the details” it started to make more sense then before.

When Leonardo Da Vinci wanted to create a different style of painting he studied detail. Just think how much better your work,life and whatever you do would be if you studied the details of it. But the main thing to remember is to not get lost in the details.

Why you will never achieve what you’ve always wanted.

When I was 18 years old I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. There were times when I felt as if I was just existing for no real purpose.  I know I’m not the person who has dealt with those type of feelings. We all have a choice to remain as we are or to become more then we are.

Many people say they want to achieve certain things in their life, but the real thing that will shape their life is if they take action. A great quote that I heard from Jim Rohn recently is “Don’t let your learning lead to knowledge you’ll become a fool. Let your Learning lead to action and you can become wealthy” .

For example being a designer and producing work that you know does not fit your standards can push you or stop you to become what you all that you can. I do the best that I can to stay positive and push through the work till you get better. The main question you have to ask yourself is do I want to become more and do I want to have more. Nowadays there is no reason for anyone to have  little knowledge about their chosen field. We have the internet that has loads of free information that can teach you anything.

I’ll leave you with this

“The Key to your better future is you – Jim Rohn”

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

Career Advice – Graphic and Creative Designers and Directors

Great Advice to anyone needing a direction on how to go about getting a career in the design industry. Because I personally want to live in New York and be a designer for a couple of years and then move to london and be a designer there for awhile. I am personally fascinated by the different ways of thinking and approaches to design.

Whats the best advice you’ve gotten about being a designer?