Design

D e S i g n e r sTimes

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Web design is still new in terms of education, and it can be extremely difficult to figure out what type of program you should follow in order to get the most out of your education. I am constantly running into posts on forums about the subject, and talking to high school students who want to know what type of program to enter. There is no short answer however I do have my experience and advice to share, which I feel could be helpful. Also I have compiled a list of some of the most common misconceptions about becoming a web design which is located at the bottom of this post.

Determining what it is you actually want to doWhen I was in high school I thought that I wanted to be a web designer, however I had no idea what design actually was. I was obsessed with using Photoshop to make what I thought was cool graphics to use in my web layouts. I also studied programming because I thought that web designers were programmers as well. Luckily I learned that this was not the case, and the majority of web professionals choose one or the other.

Programming V.S. Design

Determining what type of program you should enter basically means that you need to decide whether you enjoy coding or design. If you enjoy the process of creating layouts then you should most likely seek out a well regarded Graphic Design program. If you enjoy coding, then a computer science degree should lead you in the right direction. A good graphic design program may not be specifically tailored for the web, however you will have a great understand of design, typography, and conceptualizing. These are skills that will take you much farther than learning the latest software tricks. The same situation applies to a computer science program which may be more tailored towards traditional software development, however you obtain a solid understand-ing of programming in general.

What about interactive programs?In my opinion these programs should be avoided because they try to teach you a little bit about everything that has to do with the web in a really short amount of time. I actually entered into one of these programs only to realize that I was already far more skilled than any of the other stu-dents and not learning anything very specific or in depth. Luckily for me my school also offered a Graphic Design program which I ended up focusing on in order to obtain the education I needed. While these programs can be good, I am wary of any program that skips over fundamentals and theory in order to fit in as much general knowledge as is possible. This leaves the student as a jack of all trades and a master of none.

STUDENT QUESTIONS

WHAT SHOULD

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STUDY TO BECOME A WEB D E S I G N E R ?

The D e s i g n e r s TIMES

Education outside the classroom

Ultimately no matter what type of program you enter, you will have to learn a lot of your skills out-side the classroom. I am yet to hear of a program that can teach you how to develop standards compliant websites with CSS (something both a programmer and designer should know). Ultimately you should apply fundamentals you learn in the classroom to the web design projects you would like to complete. Using the free time you have available as a student to create some personal projects is a great way to apply these skills (read my article on the benefits of personal projects).

The C o n c l u s i o n Any way that you look at it, the educational system has not been able to keep up with the rapidly changing skill set that web professionals need. Because of this you will need to study the timeless fundamentals and use them as a foundation for additional outside experimentation and study.

http://www.positivespaceblog.com/archives/student-questions-what-should-i-study-to-become-a-web-designer/

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A recent post on Creative Bits (and the subsequent com-mentary underneath) got me thinking about what might be re-quired to refer to one-self as a ëgraphic de-signerí. Is it a college degree, a kick-ass portfolio, or is it sim-ply because youíve printed the flyer for the local churchís fish dinner on your home inkjet for the last 10 years runningÖ? Thereís a commer-cial that appears on TV in my neck of the woods for a local trade school called Gibbs College, and it manages to make my blood boil most every time. Not only

because of the deaf-ening audio levels at which all cable ads seem to run at, but because it also seems to cheapen what I do for a living. ìYou TOO can become a graphic designer!î, the voiceover blares at me. Then out walks a young woman with pink dye in her hair (signaling to the audi-ence that sheís a hip, groovy artist-type person), explaining just how ëeasyí it is to enter the ìexcit-

white coats perform-ing appendectomies and laughing to each other in the doctorís lounge. To give you a bit of background on me, I attended a four-year school and cut my teeth in what I considered to be an excellent graphic design program. I soaked up all I could about the theories of color, composition & type, studied ad design and market-ing principles, and learned to use all of

same TV commercial can register at some-place like Gibbs and seemingly achieve the same status in a mat-ter of months? Does this bother anyone else? And further-more, do these ads create colossally un-realistic expectations about the profession in general? Somehow I think graduates of Gibbs might be a lit-tle disappointed with the ìexciting world of graphic designî when theyíre sitting in a tiny

ingî world of graphic design, where youíll instantly be creating magazine layouts, album covers, even video games! Mean-while weíre treated to stock footage of vari-ous young go-getters sitting at their comput-ers, all simultaneously working on the cool-est project imagina-ble. Can you imagine if this sort of approach was used for other professions? Picture a similar (deafening) ad on your local cable network: ìYou TOO can become a doctor! In just 8 short weeks youíll be prescribing pills and removing tumors!î Cut to stock footage of guys in

the design software employed by the industry at the time. I spent countless hours in computer labs and darkrooms, lugged tons of equipment and paper samples all over central New Jersey, and racked up enormous bills buy-ing the books, comp markers and anything else my professors deemed necessary to my education. My reward? A book of stubs that I tear out each month and send to Citibank for 10 years. Oh, and a Bachelorís degree. But honestly, what *good* is that de-gree when just about anyone watching that

cubicle at an account-ing firm, laboring over pie charts & Power-point slides for some middle manager who simply *loves* Comic Sans. However I also understand the view-point that having a degree in graphic design canít take the place of talent or ex-perience in the field. I imagine that any particularly motivated individual could carve out quite a career for him/herself without ever stepping foot in a design school. Personally speaking, I never learned HTML, CSS, or Adobe InDe-sign while in school, but in my free time on lunch breaks or at home in the evenings. Unlike the medical (or legal) trade, a piece of paper really hasnít dictated my career path much past the first year or two ñ rather itís been a lot of hard work. But hereís my question ñ should-nít that degree carry a bit more weight in the design profession? Would it benefit me at all to put ìB.F.A.î on my business card or resume? Would it ac-tually mean anything to a client as ìPhDî or ìM.B.A.î would for a physician or an accountant?


GRAPHIC DESIGNER

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YOUTOO C A N become A

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

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How to be A Designer

SUPERstar

That’s right everyone just wants to be a Design Superstar? Oh really? No the fact of the matter is, when all else is equal, Superstars get hired, and boring design-ers don’t. The main difference between the two? The Superstar has the ability to sell his/her brand of design and if you want to be a Superstar, correction, a hired designer, you should seriously consider doing the same.

A designer’s guide to self-branding

Of all the professions out there, I think there is no other one that can benefit from “self-branding” as much as a design pro-fessional. That is because it is a profes-sion that is almost solely driven by talent. The equation is very simple, in design it’s not about how many certifications or affili-ations you have, but what gets you ahead is the quality of your portfolio as well as your plain raw talent.

Before we go on, you might like to take a look at the basics of “self-branding” or what Tom Peters calls “Brand you“. Smart guy that Tom, he has been talking about it since 1997. Briefly, in a world where the consumer product market is so saturated and most products are essentially the same, the only proven way to get ahead is by branding. Not only just about brand-ing of products but a holistic 360 degree effort including everyone else in the pro-cess including the design agencies used to create such products.

Drawing similar branding parallels from the consumer product industry, we are our now well past the new millennium and into a knowledge economy driven by talent. Competition within the talents for the top job is very high, and logically the only way ahead is by the talent brand-ing themselves in some way. You see the crux of the matter is, every single positive influence adds up to putting you ahead and a personal brand is one big factor.


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A Designer

star

1) Do a SWOT analysis on yourself.Remember the design methods class you fell asleep in? Well its a pity, es-pecially since no one told you that a SWOT analysis could and should be done on yourself. Just like a company and its ability to generate revenue, I encourage designers to see them-selves as a “business entity” that can generate income as well. Therefore you need to identify your own Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities (to apply your strengths) and Threats (to your weakness) as a designer. So that when faced with the question of what are your strengths, you should never have a problem. Finally it is always good to have a short, medium and long term plan for yourself and career. It shows prospective employers what you want to do and that you have a vision for your future.

After you have listed all these points, you now have a list of keywords that can be the bases of creating your own personal brand and brand values.

2) Get a hair cut.No seriously. I believe you are what you design. Many people get insulted when they are told they need to dress like a “designers” to be taken seriously. They figure that its a rude com-ment and encroaches in their personal

style and space. That is further from the truth. Just like a consumer has only 3 seconds to size up a shelf of products, your prospective employer will size you up in that same amount of time.

In any case its pragmatic. Simply, that first impression is the most important. You will be surprise of the amount of control you have if you understood the stereo-types people associate with designers, and by looking like one you can use that to your advantage. Just don’t turn up for an interview in a beanie.

So carefully use your Strengths you have identified in Point 1 to style your own look. Your hair cut, sense of dressing, your watch (for guys), shoes (guys and gals) are all clues to a picture that you want to paint of yourself. It’s all part of your personal brand and something that should be part of your physical presence when you walk into a room. Remember every single positive point counts.

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3) Buy your name as a dot comI cannot begin to tell you how important this is. Not only for identity protection, but what you want is to turn up at the top of a Google search if a prospective employer or employment agency is doing research on you. As the Internet gets more and more integrated in today’s business world, the chances of you getting Goog-led is very high. I know I do it all the time.

4) Re-Brand your PortfolioNow that you have identified your per-sonal brand “keywords” and objectives in your design career, its time to “re-brand” your work. Just like a company’s brand-ing initiative, you need to ensure that the documents you leave behind reflect your personal brand as well. Your port-folio, name card, resume, and perhaps that website design needs to reflect this through and through. This is especially important if you are putting your portfolio online.

On a slightly different but related note, do you then create a personal logo or mono-gram that reflects this personal brand? Personally, my feeling is don’t do it unless you spend some serious time working on it and that it looks good according to eve-ryone who sees it. Most of the time I find personal logos or monograms very ugly and not well considered. A clear name card with just your name in a suitable font is good enough. But at the end of the day if you decide to create a personal logo, do ensure it reflects your personal brand values.

5) Start a blogNow that you have a website that show cases your design work why not start a blog? The reaction on this, at this point in time, is mixed. There have been instanc-es that people were fired when employ-ers did not like what was written on their employees blogs. But these cases are rare, and if you keep your blog away from office politics you should be fine.

A great reason for starting a blog is to have your “voice” behind your work. Many times you can’t tell a designer’s personal-ity by just looking at the work. But if you are able to share your thoughts, you will be better positioned as many employers often feel that they just don’t have enough time to determine an employee’s person-ality during those few interview sessions. Another great reason for a blog, is that it allows you to connect with other design-ers through the posting of your thoughts and by responding to comments left on your blog.


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6) Join design networksGet out there and market yourself! There are tons of great portfolio networking sites like Behance and Design Related. Just sign up, post your work, make friends, ask and respond to comments. Don’t forget that discussion forums on design are a good way to network with other senior designers as well.

Finally, don’t underestimate traditional non-design social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook as a means to share your work and network with other design professionals.

7) Win design awardsWhile its not the end of the world if you don’t win any, I always say you have nothing to lose by entering, and winning one gives you eternal fame an glory. Well not entirely eternal, but it is a great mar-keting tool for yourself and a confidence booster to be able to know that your work has been recognized by your peers.

8)Don’t oversellAt the end of the day, you need to be careful of all your different tools that you can use to sell yourself. The important thing to do is not use the wrong tool for the job and worst still end up by look-ing like you are overselling yourself. For example, don’t bombard people on your social network with every single job you did in your 15 year history as a designer; leave that for your resume. Don’t stick all your beautiful high resolution images on your portfolio website making it hard to navigate, just leave that to your face to face meeting instead.

9) Do good work!Always, I say ALWAYS do good design work. Even if you hate your job or your boss or the project, make sure that it is the most beautiful design you can make it be. A good reputation is hard to build, and it is just too easy to lose.

10) A different take?I like to close this post by getting you to check out a few tips at Fast Company’s 2004 update of Tom’s Brand-you Article as a different, more corporate, but relevant take on this issue of Self-branding.

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My Top 5 Biggest Freelancing

M s a e i T k s1. Under-pricingMost of us will have done this at some point, many of us still do. Money is a difficult subject for a lot of people. While I am better at talking about money now than I was, I still find it an uncomfortable topic. Problem is, while you might not find it easy it is absolutely critical.You have a right to earn a fair price for your work, and doubly so when you are good at your job and have excellent experience. How do you know if you are underpricing? If you do good work but you never lose a bid then your prices are too low.

2. Over-committingNo one client has the right to monopolize your time, even if they do think they are paying well. When one client takes all your time that is a boss and you have a job, not a client and freelancer relationship. Remember as well as the job at hand you need time to market and network to bring in future work. Allowing one customer to dictate my hours was the worst mistake I ever made as when that contract was over I had nothing to fall back on. You ideally want to have four or five overlapping contracts plus some breathing room so the loss of one doesn’t set you back too far.


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My Top 5 Biggest Freelancing

M s a e i T k s

3. Failing to sellAfter money I am guessing the next worst part of free-lancing for most people is the thought of selling yourself and your services. Fact is though many times a client will know they want your help but will not know exactly what they want. Selling need not be about snake oil and rip-ping people off. If you can truly help someone out then offer your services in a way they will respond to. Make it all about them, their needs, what they will get out of it. Most im-portantly, listen more than you talk.

4. Always saying ‘yes’Fear can cause us to do many stupid things. It took a lot before I started turning down requests. Some were easier than others. Requests to work for free still come but I am better at saying no now, turning work down is still tough but I can do it. You have to remember that a bad deal or bad client can damage you far more than the loss of the work. Be prepared to not agree to everything that comes your way and know that you can be nice and friendly without agreeing all the time!

5. Not following upPast, happy clients can be your biggest source of new work, both with repeat business and referrals. Always get at least a testimonial when they say how happy they are. Even better if you can get them to recommend you. It doesn’t hurt to ask! Also it can be nice to send birthday cards, etc. You never know.Like the rest of us, I am still learning about this freelanc-ing lark, but having a great deal of fun doing it, mistakes and all. What lessons have you learned the hard way? Please do share in the comments.

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