Why Do People Become Graphic Designers? And The Answers
Amie , Designer
I love creating beautiful, visual things that also convey a message. I like to visualize a concept in a simple way.
Bryan Kearney, works at FireMon
Because they love color, art, whimsy, emotion, understanding, intelligence, and expression that no medium offers in this particular way. Design continually surprises, delights, and confounds. It's amazing and fascinating.
Kelvin Kim, Designer / Entrepreneur
I became a graphic designer as the entry level into the wider world of media design. I am now a creative/artistic director working with branding and marketing agencies to develop strong identity and communication materials. I still do graphic work every day on top of directing & strategy and I love it
I'll use a slightly crude metaphor to explain. If you call yourself a prostitute, you will be underestimated, taken advantage of, and underpaid. If you call yourself a professional escort, you will make a fortune on every account.
In the same way, I would advise graphic designers to stop calling themselves graphic designers and instead use more specific value-based industry titles. Communication Designer, Identity Developer, UI/UX Designer, Visual Artist, Art Director These titles communicate different disciplines to solve multi-stakeholder issues in the graphic design market.
In my opinion, only inexperienced designers fresh out of school should call themselves graphic designers because let's face it, it's time to work hard and pay you. Then develop yourself into a creative director or media designer. That requires you to learn communication, management, marketing, brand design and other values that create soft skills.
Don't blame marketers as many non-professional designers do, they are the hands that feed us. Learn from them. Find out how to complement their work and the difference in pay and respect you will receive as a result will be extraordinary.
Janice B, BCGD Graphic Design, Wanganui School of Design
I never really thought about why I wanted to be a graphic designer.
All I know is that when I switched from using pencils and sketchbooks to designing on the computer.. I just got hooked. I was obsessed with it (day and night) and realized that this was the path I wanted to take.
It's not like I chose to be one but as if the profession chose me. Like you can't control the person you love. You just need to do. So this method applies to me as well.
Yes, it may not be the highest paying profession out there.. but it gives you a deep sense of satisfaction and a purpose in your life. I knew from the beginning that you have to love what you do and that I have friends who have money instead of going anywhere. As for me, I can't live like that. I want to quote Wes (million dollars) Virgin whom I admire and follow on YouTube.. he said this,
You have to feel your way to success..
Then when you continue to develop your skills or better yet, if you love what you do.. you will stick with it for a long time, no matter how tedious or difficult the work becomes. How difficult. And success will follow.
I think Graphic Designer is one of the most sought-after skills people are looking for (especially small businesses) because they need people like us to make everything look beautiful and professional. - from their logos, business cards.. to their marketing materials. .because of the first impressions. So there's no shortage of jobs out there. It's just competition and you need to stand out from the crowd.
That's why so many Graphic Designers I know.. decide to freelance and work for themselves. And if you persevere and work hard.. it is possible to earn a full-time life. Even more is to have an actual Graphic Design job. I would rather work for myself - if you ask me, because you can be as creative as you want, you can choose which projects or clients you want to work on and you can create a passive income stream endless. Win win win!
Michelle Rohr, some chicks I stumbled across online, a self-taught graphic designer who uses free software from her computer to create prints. She just hit $50k (in a year!) Selling prints! You can check out her course here. This is an easy course to follow and I am one of her students and also have an easy passive income with it. So I know it works.
Anyway, whatever you decide to choose, you need to love what you do and it's even better if you can help others (solve a problem) at the same time. Then you're really making a difference in the world while doing what you love.
And if you think becoming a Graphic Designer will help you get there, it will be well worth your time.
Chris Freeze, Founder/Integration Designer at SOLID Cannabiz
I speak to myself when I say that studying studio art and visual culture was the best decision I could ever make as an artist and designer. I became an artist first and a designer second. I've been creating photo and design videos for myself since I was a kid. It wasn't until I reached the point of maturity that I realized I couldn't make a reasonable living just making art for myself. So over the last 5 years I have decided to get my studio art degree and apply what I already know about design and art to become a commercial artist. It's not my dream job but gigs if you know how to get them better than being broken. Yes, you have to compromise quite a bit to make your customers happy but in the end it's your call. You can walk away and never work with that person again. One piece of advice, business research and entrepreneurship, these skills will greatly enhance your negotiating and land pitching abilities, that's how you keep your business running smoothly. Yes, there will be times when you are at the top of one peak and there will be times when you are at the bottom of the valley looking up to the next peak wondering how you will get there. It's out of the game for freelance designers. The luckiest! Don't give up on yourself and it will work out in the end! Peaceful! Don't give up on yourself and it will work out in the end! Peaceful! Don't give up on yourself and it will work out in the end! Peaceful!
Massimo Zefferino, 20+ years designer, problem solver, entrepreneur
Guys, you guys are hilarious! K, first and foremost, passion! You are a designer because you live to solve problems, and a graphic designer even more because you love solving problems visually.
I'm still in a rush to get that inspiration, staying up all night until dawn, creating the perfect logo, markup, layout that, when I present it, drives my client in direction A. -ha!!!! praise me!
Don't get me wrong, I also get very angry and snap at clients when they try to be art director. When the ridiculous amount of revisions by people who have no idea what they're talking about, make me loathe their existence, regret doing their stupid work, hate their job (and faces) more every day until I just avoid and let someone else do the work for me (I still get those)
When you love what you do, you put in hours, take pay cuts and sacrifices to get things done and find ways to deal with the negativity. This year is my studio 20th year business very good money, good clients, good work. I can't imagine doing anything else designed for baby life!!!!!
Shane Clapson
Because they are psychopaths.
If you want to be very underpaid, completely underrated and deal with idiots all day long then graphic design is the career for you.
Oddly enough, it must be the exact opposite as there is almost no aspect to the human experience that has not been touched by design in one form or another (graphics in particular). Graphic designers should be praised for their genius, amazing personalities and basking in wealth and fame! Unfortunately.
Trae Sjogren, Graphic Designer, Wannabe Entrepreneur.
They love it (or care to declare that they are passionate about it)
Job security (pretty much every business needs graphic design)
Flexible (Working all night to sleep all day? Travel the world and work from a laptop? 7am to 3pm? Take your pick)
They are good at it (why would you do something?)
It can pay well (if you feel underpaid, ask for more, if too little, leave or get more and provide more value)
Probably more (but that's all I can think of for 5 minutes while on the toilet)
Nicolas Cannon
I switched my career in my late 20s from an electronics, graphic design-based career, as I was more of a creative person than purely practical.
Now I'm well paid, in my career I consider not just a job, it's a way of life, I express my creativity and personality every day, using photography, illustration, style letters, psychology, etc.
I say I'm happy with my job, yes you usually have to deal with idiots, but you can find another job that surrounds you with creative thinkers and lots of fun ( if you are someone else lucky!)
Now I'm going to venture to write and illustrate a children's book, and build my own studio in my garden.
Being a designer is for life, not just a job!
Pilib I. O 'Faolain, former Cook
There's no money in graphic design, it's a very low paying field with loads of competition and very low barriers to entry.
Every graphic person on the web can wiggle their way into UX and job training to improve their station, or build a brand, but staying grounded in the field will get you punished. .
Jeanne Berry, BFA Yarn Art & Graphic Design, Bowling Green State University
Because that was the only thing my parents were willing to compromise on as a major.
After four years of working before and a few freelancers (or trying), and resentful that I had to major in Graphic Design again because they weren't too pleased when I changed it to a BFA in Fibers that i dunno, i left the whole business (another decision they were not happy with).
I wish I had gone into Philosophy like I wanted to. I will be about 10 years from retiring from my professor gig but cannot do so because I love it so much.
I mean, I could still get into it, but I'm at an age where the window for TTF positions is closing, and it's a bit scary to think I'll miss the squeak under it before it slams shut. .
Simon Meisinger, Graphic Designer since 2005
I got into Graphic Design because I wanted to create amazing things with Photoshop.
But then I realized that I just love putting information in order and that kind of thing can be something incredibly beautiful.
So I got into the print layout.
My first niche job then was at an online company where I realized that it was even more fun to put information in order on the screen in an interactive way.
So I built websites.
And that's the whole story in short.
Jake Monroe
If you're an artistically inclined It's a great profession to have while you build what you really want to do. Being an in-house corporate designer is soulful and horrible, the industry is volatile and layoffs are inevitable. I find being a freelance designer the sweetspot, I never go into the office, can work wherever I travel and do more than I ever did in a public job. I work for about half an hour. It's like anything else, you pay your dues but the spoils of any profession will come if you're hard-working, optimistic and persistent.
Shanon Brade, BA Graphic Design, University of Florida
Express your creativity. Perhaps the most important benefit of being a graphic artist is the ability to express your creativity, while still earning a great living. Many artists are moving towards graphic design because it is easier to make a living as a graphic designer than in fields like fine art.
Martin Scurry, Graphic Designer at Sprak Desig
For many graphic designers, it's more than just a job - it's a way of life. Understanding the principles of good design means you'll see everything from posters and magazine covers to the pieces of furniture, buildings and gadgets you use every day. Designers are naturally curious animals and you will find yourself thinking differently about the world around you and admiring the smaller details that go into beautifully designed products.
This is a very friendly industry, with designers regularly sharing their work, inspiration and ideas, and helping each other with tips, advice and feedback. You just have to look online on platforms like Dribbble, Behance and Cargo Collective to see how engaged and helpful the design community can be. This also translates offline and you'll find that most major cities will have regular events and meetups, so this can be a really social undertaking too.
Kelsey Wharton, Graphic Designer
For me:
It makes me feel a level of creativity that I can't feel with other fields (because I'm simply not good at them). Graphic design came naturally to me especially when I realized how integrated it is with other art fields.
And that's probably the best part, its integration. As someone said below, graphic design alone may not pay the most but it certainly allows you to experiment or start other skills easily. (web design/development, UX/UI design, social media management, etc.).
Dan Avangard, Visionary at Orion Arm
The desire to convey expression, in a visual sense, with the inner satisfaction of having control over the logistics of concept and style, transforms people into graphic designers.
Expression convey
Like many of us, I started with a pencil as soon as I could hold one in my hand. What I paint at a very young age is influenced by what I have withheld based on observation and imagination, with realism (as I am not the emotional type) - as opposed to abstraction - is the driving force of my graphic style. Then, in my teens, I would visualize more technique with the help of a stylus and the like. Then photography would become a hobby, another tool in my bag of visual tricks, with a subsequent foray into photoreactivity (Thx to Noritsu and the negatives and chemicals' ol. 35mm) constantly caused my eyes (and nose) to blur. So when I was able to buy a Macintosh IIsi, I was hooked (by choice), put my primitive tools aside, and thus became obsessed with Photoshop, Illustrator, and QuarkXpress, to name a few. for a few, all pushed me into the evolving world of Graphic Design.
Genetic factors
Could there also be a genetic component/influence behind the choice to become a graphic designer? My uncle was a graphic designer (also during his professional life). But I still tend to agree that anyone can unlock their hidden design capabilities when they have the drive and tools to do it.
Sheryl Mae Duliguez
hi, my name is Sheryl for me I became a graphic designer because I am happy to do this. When my clients are satisfied with my works and happy with it that is a great bonus for me as an artist.
In this kind of artistic background, I can express myself and do the things I love.
Design my life color and God make me shine with the talents I have