5 Tips to Go From Zero to Employed Designer
I decided to switch my career to Graphic Design after graduating with a degree in Spanish. My college fund, however, had run dry and I couldn’t continue studying at the university level. I had zero experience in the professional field of art and design—no work, no education, nothing. Just a handful of art I made as a child, some very rusty skills, and a burning desire to do something creative. Still, I forged a path into this career—complete with lots of trial and error.
If you are starting from zero in the art and design field, this article is for you! I’m writing this with the hope that it will save you time, keep you focused, and spare you some frustrations. Keep in mind that this is what worked for me. Others may make different suggestions, but this is the advice I wish someone had provided to me from the beginning.
I want to also acknowledge that, if you can afford university, I encourage it! University programs are often well connected and can launch you into a stellar career quickly. However, they can be prohibitively expensive and financially unadvisable for many of us. These tips are meant for those who are not in the position to attend a four year university art program, but who are dedicated to break into the commercial art and/or graphic design fields through other means.
Tip 1: Draw daily and take art classes
On Drawing Daily: Start drawing and experimenting as soon as possible. You need to begin a creative practice, meaning you are creating every day simply to practice and get better — not necessarily to make portfolio-worthy work. Even a little 2-minute doodle is better than nothing for the day. It’s ok if your work is ugly, in fact EMBRACE UGLY WORK! Your skills will improve even as you draw your “ugliest” stuff. When you aren’t worried about whether your art looks perfect, you’ll move quicker and feel more free to experiment. You may even surprise yourself!
Get all your ideas out on paper first, then choose your favorites to spend time with and refine—eventually in the digital space (using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, etc). Also, get used to emotionally detaching yourself from the pieces that aren’t working, even if you thought they were great at first and you worked hard on them.
On Art Classes: If you live in an area with a good art program in a community college or other learning institution, I’d recommend taking a few drawing classes and composition-focused design classes. Usually these are MUCH less expensive than university classes, you don’t have to commit to a 4-year program, and you can often attend at night or on the weekends. It also gives you the opportunity to learn from your peers and to seek guidance directly from an instructor — which can provide a lot of clarity and some networking opportunities. This is what worked for me.
Alternatively, you can learn online. If you have some money in the bank to invest in a graphic design program, but a 4-year BFA program is still out of the question, you may want to consider Shillington. I’ve heard good things about this accelerated program, and the faculty seems to be well-connected.
If you are low on cash and local art courses are out of the question but you have access to a computer and the Internet, I’d recommend taking courses on Skillshare. Skillshare is nice because you get to see what other students have created, plus you might be able to ask the instructor questions depending on who is teaching you. You can also get a free trial for two weeks. Look for classes related to drawing for design, design composition basics, art foundations, applied design thinking, and the like.
Tip 2: Learn the basics of Adobe Indesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator
I say the basics because you don’t need to know the programs inside and out to perform the job. These programs are incredibly complex and constantly evolving — I certainly don’t know everything about them! Understanding basic terms and tool names also makes it easier to search for tutorials. Even now, if I’m tasked with something I don’t know how to do, I’ll Google it and watch a tutorial.
In my experience, completing a few guided projects with the software is the best way to learn how to use it. Adobe provides some tutorial-related projects and you can learn a lot from Adobe-savvy YouTubers, but you can also take guided classes on Skillshare. This time on Skillshare, you’ll look specifically for courses aiming to teach InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop basics.
Of course, learning the programs is just, well… learning the programs. Knowing how to use Adobe Illustrator does not make you a designer! In order to become a designer (or illustrator, or art director), you have to learn how to think both creatively and practically in order to solve a problem or to fulfill a project request. Prospective employers want to know that you can successfully translate your innovative ideas from paper to Illustrator / Indesign / Photoshop, and then to a final product or mock-up.
Tip 3: Learn about creative industries and noteworthy people
Why it matters: Learning about different practices within the creative world will help you figure out what is most compelling to you. Focus on the interesting stuff! Find out who are the major entities shaping your desired industry (individuals, organizations, businesses) and what are the niches that exist therein. As you gain a clearer understanding of your field, you’ll develop a stronger sense of where you stand in the creative world. It’s kind of like observing the whole map around a “you are here” marker: having context of where you are gives you an idea of what’s within your reach, where you’d like to go, and how to get there.
Additionally, many well-known creative powerhouses share career tips, useful advice about finding your voice, and techniques that can help massively. Studying their work will also give you a sense of what you like and dislike, which helps hone your personal taste and aesthetic.
Places to start: I learned a ton about the design world by listening to Debbie Millman’s Design Matters podcast and researching her guests. Through her I discovered James Victore, Aaron Draplin, Jessica Hische, Jessica Walsh — to name a few. I also followed publications like Eye On Design, Communication Arts, and The Dieline to get an idea of design world current events and trends. I also loved (and still love!) listening to Andy J. Miller’s Creative Peptalk Podcast, which motivated me whenever feelings of imposter syndrome crept back. These days, I’m really enjoying Closer & Closer Podcast by the artist representation agency, Closer & Closer.
Bonus ideas: It’s also wise to research your favorite artists’ influences to study their work, then look up their influences and study their work, and so on! Go back a few generations, it will give you a little art history lesson tailored specifically to the styles / mediums that you like.
Not only is it advisable to follow the work of famous creatives, it’s also really good to follow your contemporaries — primarily on Instagram, but on Dribbble and Behance as well. There are SO MANY communities of creatives to join online and irl! Local AIGA and Creative Mornings chapters are good places to start. Build your network of peers. This will not only open up job opportunities for you, but you’ll likely gain a solid community that you can share with and learn from!
Tip 4: Build a diverse but well-curated portfolio
By this point, you’ve put in a substantial amount of work. You’ve practiced sketching out your ideas daily for many weeks now, you’ve taken a few art/design classes, you’ve done a few practice projects to learn the Adobe programs, and you’ve learned about your desired industry. Now, it’s time to build your portfolio.
When it comes to working in the creative world, you have to prove you can do the work before getting hired. This is where your portfolio comes in: a collection of projects evidencing the level of quality and unique perspective you bring to the table. It shows potential employers that you excel at doing the exact job they are hiring you to do. So, how do you build an appealing portfolio? I recommend reverse engineering.
How to do it: Let’s start with your desired industry — graphic design, for example. If you are interested in working for a design studio that specializes in branding and packaging, research a few of these studios where you’d like to apply. You’ll want to include work in your portfolio that aligns with the work they do. If you see lots food and beverage projects, they’ll probably find it appealing that you’ve done one or two food-related projects as well. Basically, the less imagining they have to do, the better. Not everything in your portfolio has to match the markets they work with, but it’s better to have a few projects that align than none at all.
Remember: you want to make sure you are only showcasing the type of work you’d like to be hired to do. Please stay true to your interests! If you abhor the theatre, don’t do a theatre rebrand. If an agency does a bunch of digital advertising projects, which you detest, don’t apply to that company. You’ll be happier in the long-run if you honor what you enjoy and find employment (or an internship) that aligns with you.
Ok, let’s go back to that branding and packaging example. You’ve determined you’re going to do a packaging refresh project for an existing salsa brand, a branding project for a new Thai food truck, and a rebranding project for your local art museum. This is a very diverse set of projects that all exist under the umbrella of branding / packaging and you’ve specifically curated your projects to align with your interests and with the work of your favorite studios. Congratulations! Now, you have to get started on executing those projects.
Mockups (which you can find at sites like Creative Market and Graphic Burger) are good to show your work for things like the food truck and art museum, but if you can print out your designs and photograph them (say, for the salsa labels), it will make them look more real and show you can think through a project to the final application. Ultimately though, whatever presentation makes your project look best is what you should do.
A note for letterers and illustrators: Your process will be similar to the example above, however, you’ll likely be pitching yourself to art directors and agents. If you’re interested in, for example, corporate illustration, packaging, and advertising, you’ll assign yourself projects that tailor your skills to those three markets. Choose some international, regional, and local businesses to be your clients — real or invented. Some examples could be corporate illustrations for a dog-walking app and website, illustrations for a café’s Christmas-themed coffee mugs — maybe add some window clings that match, and advertising illustrations for a sneaker company’s out-of-home summer campaign. Adding mockups of your illustrations will help give context to your work and bring them to life for inquiring art directors.
In short, your portfolio shows that your work sells, and it also sells you as a creative force.
How many projects to include: The number of pieces you should showcase varies depending on your industry. For example, illustrators and lettering artists typically have many projects in their portfolios because art directors might ask to see “everything they’ve ever done that’s Christmas-y” to pitch them to the client. Graphic designers need fewer projects, but should include at least 2–3 campaigns (a campaign is a project that shows a series of related designs on multiple items). Most industry leaders suggest having 10 strong projects to start, but if you only have 6 strong ones, just show those. 6 might be plenty for a web / app designer, since their work can be very time-consuming. Illustrators / letterers — you may want to aim for 10 as your minimum for starting. But for all industries: as you work on more projects and your work improves, you can reassess what to remove and keep adding your best stuff.
A common portfolio-related saying is “you’re only as strong as your weakest piece.” I don’t totally subscribe to that. Your portfolio doesn’t have to be absolutely 100% perfect, it just needs to show your best work that you would like to be hired to do, that you feel good about. If you don’t like it, don’t include it. Be enthusiastic and speak ONLY POSITIVELY about your work to others, especially during interviews and with clients. Remember, you’re selling yourself.
Where it lives: It seems the physical portfolios and emailed pdfs have, by and large, gone the way of the dinosaurs. Most people today will expect your portfolio to live on a website. I recommend using SquareSpace to build your site because there’s a lot of room to customize without worrying about coding. But, if you like coding, there’s still room to tweak and adjust with css sheets and plugins and such. Other popular places to build a site are Wordpress and Wix.
Portfolio examples: Illustrators and letterers — Lauren Hom, Jessica Hische, Mary Kate McDevitt, Andy J. Miller, Gemma Correll, Fran Meneses. Graphic designers — Nick Misani, Isabel Castillo Guijarro, Aaron Draplin, Elliot Salazar. Design studios — & Walsh, Champions Design, Pentagram, Matchbox Studio, Hoodzpah Design, Caliber Creative.
On social media: Portfolios shouldn’t live on social media, but sharing your work there is still important. Instagram and Behance are two places where people get “discovered” by agents, art directors, and new clients a lot. Dribbble is another good place to share your work. I’ve heard agents and creative directors on the Closer & Closer Podcast say that sharing consistently on Instagram is more important than having a super curated feed. They’ve also said that keeping your older “less good” work in the feed to scroll down and view tells them a story about your evolution as a creative and makes you more appealing to them. So, fear not! Share your work now even if you don’t feel ready, and share consistently (1–3 times a week or so). If you’re not interested in spending a lot of time on Instagram, or you need take a break from social media, I’d invest in a scheduling program. I use Planoly for my Instagram, which I love because, if I wanted, I could schedule posts for the next few months without ever opening my Instagram app.
Tip 5: Know your worth and defend it
Plenty of people are going to critique your work. It’s important to reflect on these comments and ONLY accept what is valuable feedback — as in, feedback that you believe will help you improve your work and grow as a creative. As far as the aspects of critique that insult your value, your skills, your journey, you as a person… you need to mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically REJECT THAT SH*T.
Learning how to emotionally detach yourself from critiques is one of the hardest aspects of being a new designer/artist. Everyone has an opinion, for better or worse. Usually the people suggesting improvements are just trying to help make the work better. But… hearing your work isn’t perfect can still sting. Try to be patient with whoever is giving critique, and with yourself.
On the other hand, if you’re being insulted when receiving critique or your work environment is overall hostile, please remember that no asshole’s cruelty can take away your worth. I suggest you quietly begin looking for a new job. Know that your “lack of value” only exists within the context of a toxic atmosphere. Find a company that recognizes the benefits you bring to the table and treats you with respect. You’ll be shocked by how much you excel in a positive work setting! Don’t let abusive employers/clients manipulate and gaslight you. EVER!
Final thoughts: It’s going to take time and persistence, but you can do this! Most importantly, be patient with yourself and know in your heart that you are talented and a valuable asset to the creative world.
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