#WinningWednesday: How to Rediscover the Inner Designer in You
Featured Image: Unplash/Berkeli Alashov
With a graphic design diploma in hand and your design portfolio proudly on display, you set forth applying to as many design jobs as possible. You’re excited—ready to embrace the real world and land your dream job. But months pass and your resume gathers dust. The recent-graduate glow wears off, and reality sets in.
You never get called for interviews despite sending out what feels like hundreds of resumes. And you begin to ask yourself, what am I doing wrong?
Rachel Krohn
After months of unsuccessful job hunting, designer Rachel Krohn started to question her motives for finding a job.
“I was a graphic designer—or so my degree said. But what did that mean? As a designer, what was it that I wanted to do?”
The self-doubt about her skills and over-confidence about her experience had Rachel struggling to rediscover what she wanted to do as a designer. She had a portfolio full of work in various design fields with only a vague idea of what she liked to do.
Rachel discovered that design school didn’t prepare her to express creativity beyond what was assigned. After stepping back and thinking about what she was doing wrong, Rachel realized the passionate spirit she had before earning her degree had grown dim. It was then that she had an epiphany—passion, a clear vision, and creativity make you a well-rounded designer, not a degree.
After a lot of independent study, she felt closer to fulfilling her goal of finding a job where she could be happy and produce amazing designs.
How to Inspire Yourself According to Rachel
Rachel realized the more she focused on projects that interested her, instead of signing up for whatever job she could find, the more she experimented and stretched her abilities as a designer. Her work since then is exceptional. She has worked on posters, brochures, calendars, and more.
To help you find your inspiration, Rachel gave a few tips:
– Seek out the company of other designers you admire.
– Read design blogs.
– Make up projects to test new design aesthetics.
– Always keep moving forward, keep learning, and keep designing.
Her biggest inspiration is other designers’ work, and finding projects that genuinely benefit people.
“To me, the secret of inspiration and creativity is potential. As a designer, as an artist, as a creative of any type, we see things a little differently from the rest of the world—we see the potential for would could be, not just what already exists.”
While brainstorming scratches at the imagination of the designer, the tinkering and sketching stage is Rachel’s favorite part of the design process. It sparks her drive to produce designs her clients will love.
Rachel’s Design Process (In a Nutshell)
– Listen to your clients needs – What is the heart of their problem?
– Do a lot of research – Competition and trends. Create mood boards to help visualize the problem.
– Sketch and tinker without the computer – Do this until you have a working solution for your client’s problem.
– Present the ideas to the client.
– Computer time – Now is the time for experimentation with your cohesive design! Do things you couldn’t do with pen and paper.
– Grab those peer reviews – Let other designers critique your work. Ask your client what they think of your design. What works and doesn’t work?
– Limit yourself to 3 rounds of alteration and knit-picky discussion. Don’t overwork your idea!
The biggest thing to remember about your career is that everyone starts out a beginner, and everyone learns and improves with experience. You have to allow yourself to make mistakes and to accept constructive criticism.
Your career isn’t a lost cause; you just need to find your passion and inspiration again.
Do you feel it’s too late to find what you want to do with your graphic design career? Rachel doesn’t think so.
