I won’t surprise you if I say that design is a creative activity, but talent alone is not enough to succeed in this area. At the moment, this profession is in great demand, which, of course, is a great advantage. If you are truly passionate about what you do, then your job will bring you a decent income and a chance to realize yourself as a specialist and grow up the career ladder. Just being able to implement personal ideas in practice costs a lot, and you will also get paid for it!
However, you will be required to be ready to create at any time and preferably something extraordinary, which should ultimately please your client. There are some other drawbacks, such as good old high level of competition on high-class projects, the extra skills needed to persuade the client, the need to take a large number of orders in the absence of work and create, create, create… But if you are not frightened but rather only provoked by such difficulties, the next chapter will help you finally decide whether to go into the design and, if so, how to achieve success in it.
Who Is Suitable for This Profession
So, you desire to become an in-demand and highly paid employee. What else do you need to know before doing what you love? In general, finding a job in this area will hardly be an issue, and you do not need to worry much about your lack of experience. For a successful start, it is enough to understand the main aspects of design, create a portfolio, and correctly compile a CV. I have several acquaintances who mastered the design profession after 30. Some switched to design from other areas of activity.
Let’s talk about the innate qualities a designer needs. These include creativity, perseverance, a non-standard approach to everyday things and phenomena, and the desire to create. Be honest with yourself – if you see that you fall short in some of your personality traits, try to work on yourself.
The necessary skills can be obtained on design courses, including online; additionally, allocate sufficient time for self-education. A mandatory minimum for a web designer is knowledge of the principles of usability, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Sketch, HTML, and other programming languages. Without the ability to meet deadlines, you will have a challenging time, to say the least. Therefore, self-discipline also belongs to your necessary professional qualities since it is a direct indicator of your professionalism.
Main Principles of Communication with the Client
Web development and design are one of the most popular categories of freelance jobs. Many companies are looking for and hiring specialists for short or long term jobs online. So this is a good chance for you to start somewhere and add a few more projects to your portfolio. If you are just starting out in this business and have taken up the search, look for job offers for designers and other IT specialists on freelance exchanges.
Well, when you see a person’s interest in working with you, do not rush to celebrate – first, make sure that you have learned enough about the project itself. Your first works will most likely not be very large-scale, and your cooperation will pass without unpleasant situations.
In general, I can advise you to definitely find out the deadline to understand for yourself how fast you will have to work and whether you can cope with such a workload. Secondly, try to understand how your client sees the result. Maybe they can provide you with similar existing design options they like. It will also be good to have a technical assignment. You will be able to refer to this document in the work process and use it to resolve possible conflicts. From my own experience, I can say that verbal agreement very often leads to misunderstandings.
To Sum It Up
So, if you see yourself as a creative person, you can try yourself as a designer. Moreover, the design has a huge number of directions, and all of them can be dealt with both in the office and without leaving home. Advertising, 3D, interfaces, printing, etc. – choose your area, and it will take you less than a year to grow up from a beginner and become a middle design developer confident in your skills. All that is required of you is your training and interest in the result (you want to become a highly qualified specialist with an appropriate level of earnings, right?) and a lot of creativity. Ready? Then go ahead!
