fren_ly asked: i am an artist and a designer trying to find a graphic designing job for a long time. there are several limitations for me. firstly, i don’t have formal education on designing and secondly, i don’t have commercial experience. but i have achieved high proficiency on graphic designing applications on my own. is there a way out?
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Your gonna have to get a degreee. but the good news is you can find any schools online where you can take online classes for it, if you seem you dont have alot of time. thn go and get a degree with a online class.
Create a portfolio that showcases your skills and talent. Since you don’t have a formal education or experience, it will be a challenge to get an audience or time to show your portfolio. You may want to consider working in small print shops or places like Kinko’s, local newspapers where you can gain some experience with graphic design in ad creation and other printed media.
My dear lad, initially when I started my career as a graphic designer, I only have a diploma in digital media design. Over the course of time, I have worked with a few agencies. Most of them didn’t even bother to look at my qualifications. Point is, you need to be creative, well-versed in all the design softwares and constantly need to do a lot of research and self-improvement in your targetted field.
A degree is a stepping for someone who wants to progress further as a creative director. Which is achievable while pursuing a design career.
Having a strong portfolio can get you a decent design job. If you want to specialize in web design for example, you need to be proficient with softwares such as flash, dreamweaver, photoshop, html hardcoding and a zest for creativity. Same goes if you want to be a 3D animator, you need to know 3D softwares, storyboarding, photoshop and creativity.
On a light note, there are a lot of websites out there that provides tutorials online. You will also need to read up a lot on principles of design, colour theory, human interaction other than books on design aesthetics.
Nonetheless, it is always good to pursue higher education as subjects taught are more in depth. However, you may wish to consider self-learning if you cannot afford heavy univercity fees. A lot of good designers out there are self-taught. Joining an online design community would certainly help as designers often give contructive criticisms on each other’s work.
So if you think you want to work as a graphic designer, gather a portfolio of you strong works, create demoreels,websites and create an identity of your own. The links provides some clue and inspiration.
I fully agree with Glenn and Rustandbl!
First be prepared with a portfolio of your creativity.
Then for a start try to get someone or company who’s
willing to take you in as an apprentice/assistant or even
office boy just to get into the right work environment if
they do not offer you a high pay. The most important
thing here is get work experience first, wages becomes
secondary till you are able to prove your worth in creativity.
Meantime, also try to get some part time small projects
if you can to practice and develop your creativity.
Practice makes perfect. And perhaps, luck and opportunity
may come knocking at your door one day.
Just be prepared as you work along in your chosen
direction because America is a very unique country.
It is a land full of opportunities waiting for you to grab it
when you’re ready to take the stage.
Remember some famous people are discovered not made.