Are you thinking of becoming a graphic designer full time in 2022? If the answer is yes,
then you need to go through these six different steps. Now, you might have heard, we talk about
some of these before in this channel, but in the modern era of graphic design, some of the
rules have actually changed. So here's a quick step-by-step guide to become a graphic designer
in 2022. But I might add, the proper way to become a graphic designer. And later in the video,
learn about a web browser tool that can make the process of designing websites super quick and
easy. More about that and a discount at the very tail end of today's video. Step number one is to
fully understand what your role is as a graphic designer. Sounds pretty straightforward and easy,
I know, but so many fail to understand it, which then ultimately leads to a failing career.
Graphic designers take information and display that information in a visual way.
This is done to help sell something, persuade someone, or to notify somebody. Essentially,
a kind of like a middle man or middle woman, you're the go between, the translator between the
business and then the target audience. You need to translate information into a visual language
that will appeal to the target audience. This could be as simple as making a sign for a
bakery that has a sale on cupcakes to something as intricate as generating an entire brand identity
for a tech startup. That tech startup might need to trigger action in a target audience
made up of young business professionals. But when you fully understand your role as a designer,
things will start to make more sense and you will make better design decisions.
Okay, cool. But what's the next step here? It might sound boring,
but it is fundamental to your success. Hence, the name graphic design fundamentals. Basically,
you need to know the basics. Not just know the basics, but become a master at them. No matter how
you choose to become a graphic designer, you won't get far without fully understanding these things.
It's like trying to get from A to B without a map or GPS. Sure, you might fluke your way to
the destination some of the time, but most often, you're going to get lost. Good design
is built upon a strong foundation of understanding hierarchy, alignment, proximity, contrast,
and all of that good stuff. Trust me, when you actually master these things, you will begin
to smile from ear to ear when you watch your designs mature and evolve as you go along.
Next is another obvious one, but obvious things are often overlooked. Basically, you need to get
the right tools for a job. Surgeons don't go into an operation with limited or inadequate tools.
Likewise, you, the graphic designer, need to have the right tools for the job. So get a good
vector-based program, be it to Adobe Illustrator, Affinity, or whatever. Get something similar to
Photoshop for rasta and photo manipulation work, and then something for multi-page editorial work
like InDesign. And on top of that, you need a camera, a decent camera or a decent phone camera,
and somewhere to take notes or sketches from your day-to-day activities. I also believe highly in
mind mapping and that's something that I hold close to my personal workflow. And of course,
there are free tools for that online. Step number four is something I've been really
pushing on this channel, and it's becoming more and more important as we head deeper into 2022,
you should become a marketing pro. When you start to read and educate yourself about marketing,
the way you approach a design starts to change. It's almost like a transformation or sense of
enlightenment that happens to you. I've seen it within myself, my work, and it does actually
boost the effectiveness of my designs that I put out into the world. Marketing deals with
how people think and make decisions in response to graphic design. It directly deals with the
psychology of how people spend their money, their hopes, their dreams, and their wants and needs.
Knowing all of this in great detail means you will begin to tailor your graphic designs towards
creating a specific response in people. This is taking the visual communication idea to new
levels. And if you can do this, you will be set above the vast majority of other designers.
Step number five is to build a portfolio. Yes, I've spoken about this many, many times before,
but hey, it's really important to becoming a full-time graphic designer. And if you have
the skills, then how is somebody ever going to know that you do have them,
and why would you even get hired by someone in the first place? You need a portfolio. Now, here are
some quick-fire portfolio tips. Limit the projects you add into your portfolio, say, 5 to 10 maximum.
Use repetition of color, the shape, font, and so on. This is going to help tie everything together.
Tailor your portfolio to the kind of work that you want to be hired for. So maybe a logo design,
web design, or whatever. Show your process and tell a story with your project showcases, and
show how you can solve problems. These five rules will help you make a very good portfolio, but if
you have no work to use for portfolio, then you can also enter competitions or use mock briefs.
Step number six is to get graphic design jobs. "Wow, Tom, just like that, huh? It's so easy,
not." I know, it can be a real pain. But aside from the usual list of freelance websites,
do not overlook the power of in-house positions, working as a person for a team. These kind of jobs
offer so much experience and knowledge about the industry, which can prove invaluable. Also, check
on job boards, such as Design Jobs Board, Design Week or Smashing Magazine. Another cool technique
is to search on Twitter for phrases like 'need logo' and see what people are actively looking
for logo designers. Now, if you follow these tips properly, efficiently, and fully, there's nothing
stopping you from becoming a graphic designer full time in 2022, and I'm sure you're going to crush
it. Are you looking for a web tool that can make the process of creating websites for clients,
brands and businesses quick and also easy. Readymag is a long-term partner of this channel,
and it really can make that website generating experience a matter of a few hours instead of a
matter of days or weeks. The built-in web browser tool Readymag now has a shots feature. This allows
you to create a sequence of video shots and then play them on a scroll or hover, or you can just
add some of the neat and clean animations in a matter of minutes. It does look really, really
neat as you can see. Or what about a custom cursor or maybe just a pre-made cursor from the Readymag
team. Now, these features are all free and they don't involve any coding whatsoever, and they're
all available on all of the Readymag plans. Now, you can try out to Readymag right now by just
signing up for free without the use of a credit card. But the freelancer plan allows you to create
up to five different websites with an unlimited number of pages in its to map up to three domains
on your account. You can also invite up to two collaborators to work on projects jointly using
the collaboration function. And here's the juicy part, if you use their code SATORI16, the first
50 users can try out the freelancer plan for only $16. So give Readymag a click in the description
box below. But if you want to learn something else about the wonderful world of graphic design,
just click a video on the screen. And until next time guys, design your future of today. Peace.