MAKING A GOOD DESIGNER

7 Signs You Might Make a Good Graphic Designer

Going back to school is a big decision. It’s important to weigh your options and determine if the risk is worth the reward. After all, you’re looking to establish a career, not just land another job.

You may have thought about becoming a graphic designer, but you’re just not sure if you’d be a good fit. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could look into the future and find your answer? We don’t have a crystal ball, but we do have some insight from graphic design pros that could help you make your decision.

“Too often those studying graphic design think that outstanding creativity and skill will win the day,” says artist and designer, Pablo Solomon. “Of course this is important, but success actually depends just as much on soft skills.”

With that in mind, we compiled a list of seven qualities that make a good graphic designer, according to the pros. Who knows? You may already be better equipped than you think.

You might make a good graphic designer if…

1. You’re communicative

You like people. And, even better, people like you. You’ve learned to understand what others are trying to say rather than what they tell you, and that quality makes it easy for people to connect with you. When you explain something to friends, you can tell if they aren’t following and you can change your approach to help them understand.

This ability is one that can prove valuable in a graphic design career. “You must learn to listen to what your clients want. And you must have the skill to encourage them to give you as much to go on as possible,” Solomon explains.

What’s even more helpful is the ability to deliver difficult information tactfully. Solomon says designers need to be able to give the client realistic information without appearing condescending. “It is not easy to tell a client that they cannot expect a Ferrari on a Volkswagen budget,” he says. Above all, your communication should always be respectful and professional.

2. You’re committed to your own development

Learning is a passion for you. You’ve never needed people to tell you to keep growing as a professional and as a person because it’s always been a high priority for you. You have the motivation to get off the couch and use your free time to better yourself.

“In many companies and agencies, graphic designers are ultimately accountable for their own work,” says Pablo Benites, graphic designer for TinderPoint. “As a result, feedback from colleagues is normally very generic and lacks the specific skills-based targets needed to improve.” Benites says the best graphic designers will avoid professional stagnation by proactively self-critiquing and seeking professional development.

When you are up to your eyeballs in projects, learning new techniques and keeping an eye on the future tends to end up on the back burner. But, for many designers, there will always be more on the to-do list. Developing new skills and learning in your industry is an important practice to build in.

3. You’re a master multitasker

Your life is a constant juggling act. Between family obligations, housework, a job, the occasional Thursday happy hour and catching up on your favorite shows, you’ve got a ton on your plate, but it never seems to faze you. In fact, you kind of enjoy the fast-paced lifestyle you’ve created and wouldn’t even know what to do with a day off.

Graphic designers are rarely focused on one task at a time. Rather, they often find themselves handling multiple projects all at different stages with different clients. It’s imperative that you can effectively manage several things at once.

“You are often given work with pressing deadlines and conflicting priorities,” Benites says. “It can be difficult to juggle everything at once and at the same time be creative in order to produce unique work of high quality.”

He believes accurately prioritizing tasks and seeking constant feedback on the progress of your work helps speed up turnaround times and keeps clients happy.

4. Creativity flows through you

You appreciate the unusual and unexpected sights in your day. You get tired of approaching a problem or task in the same way over and over again, so you try to come up with new ways to do things. You love mixing and matching new styles and repurposing old pieces to breathe new life into them.  

Unsurprisingly, creativity is high on the list of skills a great designer must possess. But it’s more complex than you might think. The creativity you need as a graphic designer spans far beyond just matching colors and choosing typography. You’ll also be tasked with coming up with creative solutions to complex business problems, explains designer Rob Stephens.

“Can you present a client’s brand in a unique way that will stand out and avoid over-used clichés? In today’s saturated and competitive marketplace, you need to consider what makes your client’s product or service special,” Stephens explains. “Design is not about making things look pretty. A graphic designer is often judged on the strength of their creative solutions.”

5. You’re constantly curious

You enjoy reading books, not because you have to, but because you want to. On any given night, you can be found scouring Pinterest for the newest innovations. New trends and technologies pique your interest and you enjoy pushing your limits.

“Above all, a designer must be curious,” says Kristen Friend, Art Director for Custom Legal Marketing. Trends and tools are always in flux. If a designer stays stagnant and doesn’t evolve with the industry, they risk becoming obsolete.

“Curiosity makes you a good listener who is able to work in any group environment,” Friend says. “It drives a willingness to continually learn and take risks, while also being flexible.”

6. You’re always punctual

If you have dinner plans at 7:00, you’re there at 6:45. You wouldn’t dare show up late to a meeting or event and you’re never late paying your bills. Part of maintaining your busy schedule means keeping an organized calendar and managing your time wisely.

The world of graphic design is driven by harsh deadlines. If you can’t keep up in a fast-paced environment, you may find yourself losing work, losing clients and, worst of all, losing paychecks. Successful graphic designers need to thrive when working under pressure.

“Meeting deadlines is critical to the success of a graphic designer and obtaining the trust of your future clients,” Stephens says. “You must commit to deadlines and should there be a reason the deadline won’t be met, then you must notify the client as soon as possible.” He goes on to explain that clients are often understanding of delays if communication is prompt (especially if the hold-up isn’t your fault).

7. You’ve got thick skin

You’re a resilient person, so it takes a lot to hurt your feelings. Life has thrown its share of obstacles your way but you’ve always picked yourself up, dusted yourself off and kept moving forward. You’re independent and self-reliant.

The graphic design industry can be cut-throat, so it’s important to have thick skin. If a client gives you negative feedback about a design you’ve poured your heart into, you can’t take it personally. Successful designers don’t dwell on a single project—they move on and focus on the next one.

“Resilience is as much of a part of your life as a designer as it is when you are just starting out,” says Robyn Strafford, UX & Web Designer at Bowler Hat. Strafford says graphic designers can expect to experience criticism on every project and just have to take it in stride and work to produce a satisfying outcome. “Having the resilience to continue trying is the most important skill a designer must have,” she adds.

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ELECTION "19: ATIKU STILL SHOWS RESENTMENT, KNOCKS APC OVER INTERNAL DEMOCRACY

ELECTION "19:

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and other political parties of building democracy on a substructure of dictatorship and intolerance.

Atiku who was vice president on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but presently a leader in APC, appears to always be on a different page with his party, warranting speculations he may soon dump the party to further his widely believed political aspiration of becoming president.

Only recently, his Adamawa State chapter of the PDP, vowed it will never rest from wooing the former presidential aspirant and candidate, who it said is being underutilized by APC, from returning to his former party.

According to Atiku, there is a total lack of internal democracy among the nation’s political parties especially the APC and PDP.

He lamented a situation where the ruling APC, PDP, and other political parties in the nation have over the years refused to hold meetings of their important organs as well as those meant for the selection of the leadership of the parties.

Atiku made these observations when he spoke at the 2nd annual conference of the Inter – party Advisory Council, with the theme, “Inter Party Democracy: A Recipe for Sustainable Democracy in

Nigeria”, in Abuja on Tuesday.

“In my view, there is a close relationship between democracy within political parties and democracy within the nation. Put simply, you cannot give what you don’t have. You cannot build democracy on a substructure of dictatorship and intolerance. A political party that constricts the freedom of its members cannot really offer freedom to the citizens of the nation. Democracy is not just an idea; it is a cultural practice.

“For a number of years now, we have had political parties, even governing ones, which hardly hold meetings of their important organs, including those meant for the democratic selection of their leadership, or even constitute institutions prescribed in their constitution.

Read also: Fayose’s aide dubs Sagay a false academician without decency

“In the absence of those meetings and elections, their existing leadership, often under the direction of the executive at the state or federal level, fills the void. That’s not party building but party bullying. And it’s certainly not a way to democratise parties and aggregate their members’ opinions, interests and aspirations.

“This means that efforts to deepen Nigeria’s democracy must include efforts at democratising our political parties. The institutionalisation of democracy in our internal party processes will help us deepen democracy in Nigeria. Leaders are more likely to tolerate opposition from citizens and other parties if they tolerate it within their own party,” Atiku said.

The former vice president further blamed the absence of internal democracy in political parties for being responsible for clashes between parties and their elected representatives as well as the legislature and the executive.

                                                      Content Source:ripplesnigeria

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3 Big Mistakes People Made Starting Their Online Business

Setting out by yourself to start a business can be an exciting and also scary time. Whatever your reason for needing to go solo and make it on your own, what follows is usually a messy experiment of failures and successes than eventually (hopefully) becomes a business you can be proud of, or the makings of an entrepreneur who’s not afraid to give anything a go.

It can be even scarier when most of what you do is online for everyone to see (or not, as is the case with my third business mistake below). The sheer volume of opportunities we have to access clients, suppliers, collaborators and solutions online is unprecedented, to the extent that even a stay at home mum can start a business in her pyjamas and eventually offer her husband a job.

It can be easy to think online business is easier, but it still needs you to focus on all the hallmarks required of any traditional business. Here’s where they fell down, so you can hopefully avoid the same pitfalls.

1. Not Keeping My Finances in Check

My ‘business’ started out fairly slowly with revenue trickling in from here and there. I did have the foresight to set up as a Sole Trader (a simple Australian business structure), but I didn’t set up a separate bank account because as a sole trader I would be taxed at the same rate as an individual. So all my revenue earned went into my personal account and was spent as personal income.

The big mistake was not considering the implication of no longer having income tax withheld from my earnings. When you’re employed, your employer does that for you and passes the tax onto the government. When you’re a sole trader, you need to do that yourself, preferably on a regular basis ie each quarter. I learned the hard way, getting landed with an $11,000 tax bill at the end of my first financial year.

To make things even more difficult, I wasn’t really keeping effective financial records, so submitting my tax return was painful and eventually resulted in many tears and a visit to an accountant. My accountant set me on the right track, helped me get set up with an accounting system, a business bank account, and the correct business structure. They also empowered me to learn how to manage and understand my own accounts and tax obligations. You may want to delegate these to a bookkeeper and/or your accountant, but I thoroughly recommend learning to understand how your finances work in your own business first.



2. Working with the Wrong People
I think this is a pretty common mistake. When we first start out we eagerly take business that comes our way, usually for the wrong reasons – they’re a friend, they were referred by a friend, we need the money, we tell ourselves we need the experience – even if they’re not quite the right fit.

I’ve taken on clients and then realised I should have done more homework. I would have recognised that I couldn’t actually help them. I’ve worked with clients who have said they want one thing and then after it was delivered, moved the goalposts – like to another playing field!

It’s the same with people who you contract or sub-contract to – your judgement can be easily clouded, but when it really matters, the mismatch in expectations or skill will become painfully clear.

The best ways to avoid these mistakes is to:

•  have a very clear expectation of what you want in a client and/or contractor. 
• do your homework and make sure they actually fit the brief. Ask for examples of work from a potential contractor, or at least do a trial run.
• ensure expectations are clearly understood – do they understand what you’ll be doing for them and what they’ll be doing for you? 
• be super vigilant with the above if considering working with friends or family.

3. Lacking Self Confidence

Deciding to jump the fence from being an influencer to working with influencers was a big step for me. There was some definite imposter syndrome going on, and as such I ended up spending too much time worrying about branding and business cards (which is important to help you stand out) and not enough time creating content and promoting myself. I felt like I had to hide behind some pretty fancy business cards that cost me $900 (wow, that hurts to admit that!) and remembered crying when my toddler destroyed $30 worth of business cards in the blink of an eye!

I have always identified as the experimenter, not the expert. I’m a terrible self-promoter and I worry about what people would think if I ever wrote an opinion piece, hence why finding blog posts authored by yours truly is like searching for hens teeth. Not the best strategy if you want to be found online!

Last week Darren introduced you to Robert Gerrish of Flying Solo in a podcast interview about how to overcome the challenges of being a solo entrepreneur. I’ve been going through his Soloism course and came across this very frank observation:

Being a soloist demands that you are prepared to stand up, stand out and get noticed. It also demands that you stand for something, have opinions and can talk powerfully and passionately about what you do, who for, why and how. This is stepping into the expert’s space – standing under the spotlight.

Are you ready to stand under that spotlight? I wish I had realised that positioning yourself as an expert is not about he or she who shouts loudest. Any confidence (even the quiet kind) can help you create content and opportunities that will allow the right people to find you and work with you. It’s something I’m still learning to do so that I can continue to grow into the entrepreneur who’s not afraid to give anything a go.

In Conclusion: Soloism ‘Work Your Way’

Solosim would have helped me to avoid most of my business mistakes, except maybe the tax one – there’s no specific advice on that, and is best pursued with your relevant local authorities. When you go it alone you don’t have to be truly alone – there are great communities like ours and Flying Solo to draw from, and the Solosim ‘Work your way course’ can help you at whatever stage you’re in with your solo business.

With over 80 videos and supported by exercises, worksheets and online discussion, Work your way is the most comprehensive course of its kind anywhere. The modules help you to attract more dream clients. Fire clients. Find a mentor. Coach yourself. Work faster. Work slower. Work healthily. Charge more. Smile more. Expand. Contract. Enter new markets. Design your office. Design your week. Design your exit.

I’m looking forward to the next stage of my own entrepreneurial venture, as it is ever changing and exciting. I’ll see you on the other side of this module on ‘Rejuvenating and Refreshing’!