1. You are not the first.
There are very few ‘firsts’ these days. Countless others have started studios, freelanced and requested internships. It can be done. #the50
2. There is always someone better.
Regardless of how good you are, there will always be someone better. It’s surprisingly easy to waste time worrying about this. #the50
3. Success is not a finite resource.
College fosters a zero-sum mentality: that someone has to fail for you to succeed. In truth, another’s success doesn’t limit yours. #the50
4. You cannot score without a goal.
If you don’t know what you want, then how can you pursue it? Having a goal defines an end point, and subsequently, a place to start. #the50
5. Starting anything requires energy.
It takes more energy to start than it does to stop. This is true for physics, your career, and that idea you need to work on. #the50
6. The path to work is easier than you think.
To get into the industry you need just three things: great work, energy and a nice personality. Many forget the last attribute. #the50
7. Have a positive self-image.
Your self-perception is your most important asset. See yourself as the person you want to be and others will see this too. #the50
8. Get a clean, simple website up.
An online portfolio is the alpha and omega of your career. With a wealth of web services, there’s no excuse for not having a website. #the50
9. Curate your work.
Never stop editing your portfolio. Three strong pieces are better than ten weak ones – nobody looks for quantity, just quality. #the50
10. Listen to your instincts.
If your work doesn’t excite you, then it won’t excite anyone else. It’s hard to fake passion for mediocre work – scrap it. #the50
11. Make your work easy to see.
People are lazy. If you want them to look at your work, make it easy. Most of the time employers simply want to see a JPG or PDF. #the50
12. Hand-write addresses.
Clients, prospective employers and potential clients gravitate to letters with handwritten addresses. The personal touch goes far. #the50
13. Time is precious – get to the point.
Avoid profuse humour or gimmicks when contacting studios for work, they’ve seen it all before. Get to the point, they’ll be thankful. #the50
14. Never take an unpaid internship.
This is not necessary evil – a studio that doesn’t pay their interns (at least the minimum wage) is studio not worth working for. #the50
15. Do as many internships as you can stand.
Internships are a financial burden, but they are vital. They let you scope out the industry and find the roles that suit you best. #the50
16. Don’t waste your internship.
A studio’s work can dip, as can its energy. Ignore this and be indispensable, the onus is on you to find something that needs doing. #the50
17. Make friends with a printer.
A good relationship with a printer is invaluable – they will help you save money and the environment. #the50
18. Find your local D.I.Y. store and pound shop.
These places are invaluable resources of cheap and ready-made artifacts ripe for tinkering, re-decoration and re-contextualisation. #the50
19. Be patient.
It’s not unusual to complete several internships and not find ‘a good fit’. Try applying to a studio you hadn’t considered. #the50
20. Ask questions.
Assume nothing. Ask questions, even if you think you know the answers. You’ll be surprised at how little you know. #the50
21. Ask for opportunities.
It will feel cheeky, but ask for things. Ask to be included in exhibitions, magazines, pitches – if you don’t ask, you can’t get. #the50
22. Seek criticism, not praise.
You learn nothing by being told how great you are. Even if you think your work’s perfect – seek criticism, you can always ignore it. #the50
23. Make friends, not enemies.
The creative industry is a small world: it’s a network where everyone knows everyone else. Remember this before pissing someone off. #the50
24. News travels fast.
A good intern will find their reputation precede them. Jobs are nearly always offered on this word-of-mouth evidence. #the50
25. Don’t get drunk at professional events.
There’s a difference between being ‘merry’ and ‘paralytic’. The latter costs you your dignity, your reputation and possibly your job. #the50
26. Network.
There’s some truth in ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’. Talk to people, send emails; at the very least sign up to Twitter. #the50
27. Dress smart – look business like.
Take your work seriously? Then take your appearance seriously. Clients are more likely to deal with people who look like they care. #the50
28. Never work for free.
Not only does this devalue the profession, but it makes you look weak. Even a ‘nice’ client will take advantage of this. #the50
29. Negotiate.
If you really have to work for nothing, negotiate. Clients and studios have access many resources that can be viewed as ‘payment’. #the50
30. Read contracts.
Never sign a contract before reading it. Subsequently, don’t begin any job without a contact – you may have to write one yourself. #the50
31. Make your invoice stand out.
Businesses are deluged in invoices. Make yours stand out with colour or shape and it’s likely to rise to the top of the ‘pay’ pile. #the50
32. There’s no such thing as a bad job.
Always push yourself to do your best. Logically, there’s no way you can be dissatisfied with ‘having done your best’. #the50
33. There’s no such thing as a bad client.
The onus is on you to make the client relationship work, not the other way around. If it’s not working out, ‘fire’ them as a favour. #the50
34. Embrace limitations.
Limitations are invaluable for creating successful work: they give you something to push against. From this tension comes brilliance. #the50
35. The environment is not a limitation.
The environmental impact of your work isn’t a fashionable consideration – as a creative, it’s your most important consideration. #the50
36. Boring problems lead to boring solutions.
Always interrogate your brief – re-define the question. No two briefs should be the same; a unique problem leads to a unique solution. #the50
37. New ideas are always ‘stupid’.
New ideas are conceived with no context and no measures of success – this falsely makes them feel silly, awkward or even impossible. #the50
38. Do not underestimate self-initiated work.
Clients get in touch because of self-initiated work. Ironically, business is excited by ideas untouched by the concerns of business. #the50
39. Justify your decisions.
Clients fear arbitrary decisions – they want problem solving. Have a reason for everything, even if this is ‘post-rationalised’. #the50
40. Show sketches, not polished ideas.
Clients often mistake ‘rough’ digital work for the final design. Show sketches for as long as you can, it makes them feel involved. #the50
41. Work with the client, not against them.
You may think you’re right, but look at the client’s solution along with yours. Occasionally you’ll be surprised. #the50
42. Don’t always take no for an answer.
Fight for superior solutions. Demonstrate your thinking to your client, take them through it – it’s hard to argue with logic. #the50
43. Pick your battles.
The creative industry is often infuriating, but not every argument is an argument that needs to be had. This takes time to learn. #the50
44. If you’re going to fail, fail well.
Being ambitious means you have to take on things you think you can’t do. Failures are unfortunate, but they are sometimes necessary. #the50
45. Be an auteur.
Regardless of who you’re working with, speak up if something’s not right. Take it upon yourself to be the barometer of quality. #the50
46. Take responsibility for failure.
If a job’s going wrong take responsibility. It feels counter-intuitive, but responsibility means you can do something about it. #the50
47. Share your ideas.
You’ve nothing to gain from holding on to your ideas; they may feel precious, but the more you share, the more new ideas you’ll have. #the50
48. Get out of the studio.
Good design is crafted from understanding the relationships between things. These connections can’t be found when locked in a studio. #the50
49. Awards are nice, but not vital.
Awards look good on the shelf, but clients seldom pick up the phone because of them. Solid work encourages that. #the50
50. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Take your work seriously, take the business of your craft seriously, but don’t take yourself seriously. People who do are laughed at. #the50
At the very least:
(26) – Don’t sign up to Twitter for it is a stupid idea.
(31) – Do not put a bunch of shapes and colors in your invoices because it looks desperate.
(33) – There is such a thing as a bad client. The person who thinks different knows nothing about the real world.
Fantastic advice for any stage in your creative career. Would love to have this a wee flip book to have by my side in the studio when times get tough.
I’m not a graphic designer, but many of these apply to other creative disciplines.
The ones I most strongly agree with are 3, 21, 22, 23, 34, 47 and 48. The only one I definitely don’t agree with is 4.
Lots of gold here!
Lovely advice.
@Meiliken
I disagree with you about Twitter – it may feel like a ‘stupid idea’ but as a young designer and founder of a small business I have found it invaluable both in gaining new contacts and becoming more aware of the creative world in general. The personal nature of it means you can build relationships in non-threatening ways – it’s a perfect ‘icebreaking’ tool.
In regards to invoices, I don’t think Jamie was suggesting you abandon design logic in creating your invoice – it would still need to be designed sensitively and ultimately perform its function.
Some clients are worse than others but I haven’t yet encountered one that, if sensitively managed, couldn’t be worked with productively. Regardless when you start to blame a client for poor work it’s a slippery slope.
Invoices are going to be printed, fancy stuff is just going to be an annoying waste of ink.
Besides, if they don’t pay then you have a larger problem than an unattractive invoice.
Excellent stuff. If I might add, most of it is valid for the rest of us (ie. not graphic designer)…
Great advice. Why wasn’t this posted a year ago?!
Great article, great advice! We see a lot of student work and it ranges anywhere from low quality to very high but often the skills for the job can be taught in a production / work environment, the one thing that’s vital to demonstrate in any area of the creative world is that you’re capable of logical and rational thought process.
@Jonny – There definitely are clients out there who are “unsavable” I’ve worked with a couple and it’s entirely possible that despite all efforts to save a project, you may find yourself in a position where you have to sack a client.
James.
Broadly good advice but there most certainly is such a thing as a bad client. A bad client is normally one who either:
1. Won’t let you do your job and has extremely specific ideas about what they want, in which case you cease to be the designer.
2. Doesn’t pay on time.
The first problem can normally be avoided by including the client in the design process throughout whilst making sure you are still at the helm. Occasionally though the client may simply insist on something you feel looks plain awful. In which case it’s time to let them go.
I got my job through twitter, it is an excellent idea.
Tidy list, sound advice. Another for consideration.
51) Never fall in love with an idea. More often than not it needs total revision or scrapping altogether. Stay objective about your work and defend it with logical justification not self-admiration.
What a fantastic list Jamie, a refreshing way of doing it.
51. Be careful and precise with your grammar
(See 39 and 41). Great list though!
A lot of these things seem very similar to advice given in Paul Arden’s books so no doubt a lot of it is inspired from that.
None the less, still good.
The most important of all is to have fun. Love your work, its the best thing to get inspiration out of it.
What a lovely article and such excellent points ;)
So nicely illustrated as well – thanks for this – will pass this on ;)
“Never sign a contract before reading it. Subsequently, don’t begin any job without a contact – you may have to write one yourself. #the50″
Not trying to be an ass by pointing out the first mistake I saw, but anyways. Just found it ironic. Contract spelled ‘contact’ in the point where it says always read the contract. Maybe this was a joke left behind by author? :)
Very true… Way to go good as graphic designer… :)
As a student, there can be times where it could be beneficial to work for free, but you have to pick and choose very carefully. For example, the graduating students’ catalogue at my school is designed for free by some design students, and those are sent all over the place, to grad schools and art and design organisations. That’s a lot of great publicity. Last year almost nobody volunteered, and the catalogue was terrible, which made the school, the rest of the students and the design department look bad.