14 Years of Graphic Design — 14 Takeaways

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An AI created image of a scruffy old graphics designer.
A scruffy, skilled graphics designer. Midjourney.

My day-job is self-employed graphic designer. I began my enterprise in early 2009, nicely inside the monetary disaster after the financial institution crash in 2008. Now it’s 2023, many crises later and I’m nonetheless at it, whereas nonetheless dreaming of that nice writing profession (someday).

I by no means had an workplace I needed to pay lease for, by no means had any staff and spent many weekends working. I dwell in a comparatively small city and cater to small and medium sized companies, oftentimes different self-employed of us.

I by no means aspired to be a kind of “fancy” graphic designers. I’m not artsy sufficient. I’m a sensible man, making an attempt to keep away from jargon as a lot as potential and do what I see as my major activity:

Visualizing the concepts my prospects don’t know specific.

After 14 years of hardship, inventive ebbs and circulation and lots of foolish moments, listed below are 14 takeaways that may or may not assist a younger, aspiring graphics designer on their means!

Versatility is essential

Issues hardly go as deliberate, waft, don’t let bumps within the highway distract you. Have a big community of printers, lectors and entrepreneurs useful so you may present the most effective service to your shoppers in any scenario! When you get a popularity of “downside solver” in your subject, you can also make financial institution off that.

Workplace area is overrated

I by no means had an workplace. I nonetheless work from my dwelling workplace, which is a room not taller than most bogs, it’s stocked minimalisticly with every part I want and I don’t meet with shoppers there, as a result of my house is my citadel! I supply to come back to the shopper or meet up in a café. For my kind of shopper that was and is a welcome service on my facet.

Apart from the massive fish, there’s a lot extra

I by no means needed the massive prospects. You already know, the stuck-ups the place it’s important to put on a tie to the “jour repair” on Monday morning. I wouldn’t be capable of compete with full blown advertising and marketing companies anyhow. I’m a one-guy-show and I by no means needed to develop past that! There’s loads of shoppers which can be “good” for you and your service, many are fed up with companies, nonetheless have good…

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