1. what is graphics design?
2. who is a graphics designer?
3. what tool you need as a graphics designer
4. how to do measure your growth as a graphics designer?
5. what do you charge your clients for designing?
6. how do clients find you as a graphics designer?
7. can you sustain yourself by just being a graphics designer?


1. what is graphics design:
Graphic design is the process of visual communication and problem-solving using one or more of typography, photography and illustration. The field is considered a subset of visual communication and communication design, but sometimes the term "graphic design" is used synonymously.(by google).

in my own terms ( trying to communicate to people without being there in person or without any phone)
now that is a problem!!!. how can you talk to people without actually being there or on a phone? that is where graphics design comes in......

( a well communicated design would surely get the intended message out)
e.g. no smoking sign, one way, female and male toilet, chairman office, street sign..... and so on
graphics design is everywhere and it has been in existence since the early cave men......


2. who is a graphics designer?

a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. (google)

in my terms: a graphics designer is a problem solver.......
what problem you ask? communication between A and B without the presence of one or the other......
a graphics designer is mostly used when trying to bridge the gap between two people either known or unknown......

so that brings us to the QUESTION, who needs a graphics designer?
answer: EVERYBODY who intends to communicate to others in absence but without the skill set of a graphics artist.....



3. GRAPHICS TOOLS:

most times you would here people talk about software when ever this topic is mentioned.... but that is not your first priority. as a graphics designer your tools should be as prioritized as in this order:

1. sketch pad and you computer
2. knowledge (on how to design)
3. software ( Photo Shop, Corel Draw, MS WORLD, ADOBE READER)
4. internet service

some of you are thinking why not knowledge first....
but think about it, if you do not have a computer, you would not be able to access this information right now, and if yo were to read it in a book, you would still need your sketch pad to note down what you need......

information is power. there is no such thing as a gifted graphics artist, they all undergo process of knowledge gathering and critical brain storming. they all started with the intention you have now, which is to know what to do so as to pass out effective communication through visually. knowing what to do and how to do it is a very important process in graphics designing......(you could go for tuition)

software is the replacement of knowing how to craft.....
these days you don't need to know how to draw a perfect circle or a straight line to become a graphics artist.... knowing how to draw is good but with the help of software, it is really not a criteria anymore......
there are some great graphic artist of these era that are not good at drawing too. just as long as you can sketch it out on your pad, you can create it on your computer with the help of your software......
(you should try to know how to draw letter on in your profession because it really helps)

as an artist, you need some time to think but you also need to know what is trending in the world of designing......
it is important to stay connected and go online to find out about the new trend, so that you would not be let behind.....



4. HOW TO MEASURE YOUR GROWTH?


you need to set a standard for yourself or else you would wind up like most road side business center graphics person....(knowing the tool but not the skills)
so what standard is the right standard?
1. as a student of art, you should have a role model you look up to.....
some one you want to be like some day, or perhaps be better than....
2. let your close friends be the judge of your work and try to get an honest feed back and know how people view your work...
3. you can also sort out graphics artist and let them give you a honest pointers on your work...
4. there are portals online that you can join to challenge yourself in projects to find out if you can compete with the best of the best around the world......(don't feel too bad if you don't get selected, it just means you still have more work to do.......
ill get the information of this websites on my next post on these topic.



5. WHAT I SHOULD CHARGE FOR MY DESIGN!!!

1 MILLION, 300K, 50K, 10K...... How much do you really think your service is worth
it boils down to two things..... YOU , THE CLIENT.

ABOUT YOU:
think of the hours you spent learning your craft,
the money you spent learning your craft,
the fun you missed out on simply because you wanted to be better....
remember these criteria apply to all profession ( doctor, lawyer, artist, mechanic, dentist......e.t.c.)
but still they all dont charge the same amount simply because they all put in different time, effort and money to learn there craft......

so if you are very good but charge very low, then you must have done something less than the other person charging higher than you do.....
but with that aside, as a good artist you should try to know your worth even if you did not spend as much money in learning your craft......
because if you do not know your worth, people would not believe its your work........

take a survey and find out what you doing wrong that makes you feel like you deserve less than the next guy and fix it....... but if you cant, just be the best you can at what you do and someday you might get your own breakthrough.

ABOUT YOUR CLIENTS:
but remember if you charge cheap, you would only attract cheap customers and that would speak bad of you to those that are looking for something exceptional.
who your client is matters a lot.....
is it the " i just need something quick"
or the " i would like you to create"
trust me guys they are both saying the same thing but with different meaning.....
quick is cheap, creating is art and art is not cheap....

so you need to know what the customer really wants from you which would also in a way affect the way you charge them.....
think of the work load they expect from you.
the quality of service they expect from you.
the time and energy they want you to put into the work....
these added up should give you an idea of who you dealing with.



6. PUBLICITY:

3. GRAPHICS TOOLS:




4. HOW TO MEASURE YOUR GROWTH?[/quote]

Learn design with a proper understanding of the trade. Understand what graphic design really is.

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