7 Characteristics you need to be a Respectable Graphic Designer
To be or not to be a respectable Computer graphics designer that is surely a troubling subject.Mr Shakespeare earlier said. Well he probably wrote it in truth. With any technologically overwhelmed career there are probably only a very few available positions that carry with them the elevated status of a super hero with matching salary.
So it’s actually a case of slings and arrows to coax your way into the higher place. Let’s have a quick squint at the 7 qualities you need to be a good Graphics Designer NO. let’s recapitulate that and let’s go for broke and be an Excellent Visuals Designer.
I mean why settle for Substantial when you can be Out of this world and a super hero and stop working at 37! Observe how the number 7 keeps cropping up something to do with Nostradamus I shouldn’t wonder!
All Graphic Designers are equal but some are very much more equal than others. We thought we would just slip in a curved ball here to keep you reading because well, lets face it, Graphic Design is not exactly the most enticing subject to be reading about is it. So you can assume what it’s like writing about it. So now we have determined that there could be a pecking order it’s essential that we, I mean YOU, aim to be the head Rooster. And that is no easy task. I mean you’ve got all those tiresome and impetuous Clients and all those
Leading-edge
Directors and then there’s the Canteen lady to contend with as well, with her weak coffee and feeble comments about the color of your tie!
Ok time for some real meat, and horror of horrors, that Designers’ nightmare the Bullet Points! 7 I think we said would do just fine. It’s confusing to put qualities in any order of importance since one Designers’ “must have” quality could be a complete “no no” for another. There has to be some consensus here don’t you think? So what we’ll do is put them in Alphabetical order and then there won’t be any argument! As it so happens probably the one quality that reigns supreme and conveniently begins with An is Artistic ability so here we go.
Aesthetic Ingenuity
Being of the Artistic persuasion doesn’t mean you have to draw like Picasso! Sketching or doodling can easily be turned into a tour de force by your Data processing machine!
Audience
We are not talking here about a meeting at the Vatican, desirable though that would be on the CV of a prospective Solid Graphics designer, but of the Target Market. A Solid Graphics Designer must be aware of the Audience that is being aimed at, so that the designs can be steamrollered respectively. Sorry that should have read integrated! Integration is immeasurable and wholesome.
Intercommunication
Many artistically inclined designers, like any innovative personage, sometimes find it excruciating to put their ideas across verbally…hence the need for graphic ability. So when a pitch is unavoidable to that irritating customer or client, I think client sounds better, and will of course mean a higher fee at the end of the day, you might need to employ an interpreter with at least one semester of Oxford English under the table. Communication skills should be a must if you are to reach Head Rooster status
Change
We live in a world of fast moving change. Change is a pain for some and a challenge for a Substantial Graphics designer; let’s forget Profitable for a moment and become great to start with. That won’t overtax the artistic and leading-edge brain to the point of melt down just yet, so that’s agreed then! Change and the ability to absorb the changing whims of clients and the changing specifications of your project at a moments notice, is an essential part of your Respectable Designers Starter Pack.
Clients Needs
Yes I know clients are such a burden, particularly when you are working on a new logo for the greatest social media site in the Universe and need all your inventive energies focused on this. But.and it’s a big but, some clients actually do pay for your output occasionally and put croissants and fair trade coffee on your breakfast table, so let’s be fair and at least listen to clients needs and wants.
Zero hours
Periods are an awful part of all life on this sphere called Earth! They affect every living thing, even substantial Graphic Designers. It’s just not possible to function without them. Clients have deadlines, the Inventive Director has time frames , even the Tea Lady has due dates. So get used to it! If you want eventually to aspire to respectable as a Designer then Zero hour should be your middle name. Tough though it is, you have to put your Fly-fishing trip on hold and work all weekend most of the time and it’s not because you are time management challenged. It’s those pesky Clients again, who else?
Strategy
The substantial Graphics Designer has got to come to terms with becoming a contriver. Apart from its sounding profitable in your vocabulary, developing ideas and amalgamating the strategic plan of your Client into Your ideas and concepts are clearly an important quality if you want to reach the zenith. Clients will bend to your expert and good quality knowledge as a machinator and you will fly with the Eagles. Since we are restricted to 7 bullet proof virtues we’ll cheat and add a couple more here under guise of Strategy. Teamwork and Technology don’t always make respectable bedfellows but don’t leave them out in the cold. After all you have to work with your Team every day and you probably also use a Computer.
Becoming a Solid Graphics Designer, you can pat yourself on the back. Becoming Profitable will take just a little longer but you know you can do it!
Ben Rama is a Graphic Designer, CG artist & Cinematographer from London. He is the creator & innovative director at Digital Art Empire with many years of experience in Graphic Design, Film & TV within London.
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