Graphic design is my passion but how do I convert my passion to a paying skill? How do I make a living out of my graphic design skill? In this content, I want to present an in-depth knowledge on the above subject matter. Indeed, graphic design is my passion and I have been making a good living out of it. But it is not the same for my readers.

There are several people out there who are so passionate about graphic design. There are others who look for opportunities to learn the graphic design skill. For everything about graphic design, this content will help you on it. In the end, you will discover how you can make a meaningful living just from graphic design. It is time to convert your passion into a paying skill and career.

What is graphic design?

Graphic design is the art or profession of visual communication that combines images, words, and ideas to convey information to an audience, especially to produce a specific effect. In other words, graphic design is communication design. It’s a way of conveying ideas through visuals and design. This simply means that graphic design aims at conveying messages even without spoken words.

Everyday of our life, we come across some output of graphic design works. Posters, billboards, calendars, banners, logos, magazines and so on are products of graphic designs. Most of the ads we come across on social media are also done by graphic designers. As such, we are not ignorant of what graphic design is.

This points to the fact that graphic design has become a very integral part of our day to day life and activities. The obituary posters we see on the streets and the campaign fliers we see during elections are all graphic design jobs. As such, there is high employability for those who graphic design is their passion. Also, every content on blogs and websites have graphics. In one way or the other, we all need graphics for one purpose or another. Our need for graphic may not be on a daily basis, but it is highly needed and demanded.

Who is a graphic designer?

Having looked at what graphic design means, the next question to answer is, “who is a graphic designer?” In a simple way, a graphic designer is a person with visual communication and problem solving skill.

Graphics are intended to pass across a message or solve a problem. This is because the subject matter of graphic design is a very broad and vast concept. As such, to be a successful graphic designer, you must be highly and extremely creative and know the kind of designs to do. You must understand effective color combination.

You must also know the seasons and purpose for which you are doing a design. This will help your design to blend effectively. For example, white and red are the colours for valentine. As such, any design that has to do with valentine must have these color combination. Using green, yellow, blue or other unrelated colors for a valentine design will not sense at all. Hence, a good graphic designer must be a very critical thinker. 

How and where to learn Graphic design?

Graphic design is my passion but how and where do I learn it? You can actually be passionate about something even when you do not have an idea about it. Your passion will then drive you to learn it. With the era of internet explosion, you can actually learn almost everything for free or for a very little and affordable token. So if graphic design is my passion and I don’t know where to learn it, I should not bother again. Here are few of the places to learn graphic design

#1 Social media groups

There are lots of social media groups on whatsapp, Facebook etc where you can learn graphic designs. Some of these groups are free while others have paid membership. The facilitators and teachers in this groups give in-depth trainings to their students. After training, some assignments are been given to them so as to ascertain if or not they are really learning. Some people have become highly professional in the graphic design field by learning from social media groups.

#2 YouTube

YouTube has become a very powerful repository to learn anything at all. All you need is an internet enabled device to either watch directly or download. On YouTube, there are several dedicated tutors who teach almost everything. This therefore simply implies that if you want to learn graphic design, YouTube is a sure place for that.

#3 Udemy and Other platforms

There are several paid graphic design courses on Udemy and other platforms like Cousera and Alison. For more details on where to learn graphic design, CLICK HERE

In order to learn graphic design, you must first be passionate about it. The passion will then boost your interest. Also, you must be committed. This is especially for those learning it on YouTube, where there may not be any teacher to give you assessments and assignment. Without commitment, you may not achieve anything. Most times, we tend to be committed because of someone who will monitor and give instruction so as to assess our level of improvement. In this case, you do not have such, it all depends on you.

How to promote your graphic design skill

Graphic Design is my passion, but how do I promote my skills into a paying service? This is a question asked by many people and also a challenge to several graphic designers out there. But then, the greatest tool on earth today is the availability of internet services which helps us to achieve what so ever we want to achieve. As such, to promote your graphic design skills, here are some helpful tips.

#1 Be a professional

The first way to promote yourself is by been sure you are a professional in what you do. Do not settle for less in your career. Clients wants the best. They do not want to patronize someone who will not return value and quality for their money. As such, you must ensure that your service is topnotch. Let your designs be fully innovative and ensure that professionalism is your topmost priority

#2 Leverage social media

Over 75% of the world population are on social media. There are tons of social media platforms available and you may not need all of them to grow. With Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and Snapchat, you may be on the right part to growth. Do your designs and share on your social media profiles and pages. Also, you need to get involved in several related groups that will help you promote what you do.

Update all your profiles and ensure that you hoard no needed information from people. If you choose to promote your skill through social media, then be sure that majority of your clients would not have the opportunity of meeting you face to face. Also you will not meet or know them face to face. Therefore, ensure you build trust.

You need to also upgrade your whatsapp and start using the business whatsapp. It has a lot of awesome features that can help you grow. Share all your designs on your whatsapp status. Have a Facebook page for yourself and ensure you post all your designs so that clients will see your level of professionalism and choose from multiple options.

#3 Ask for recommendation

The cheapest and best way to grow your business is by recommendation. When a trusted friend recommends your service to someone else, then be sure of patronage. Recommendation still remains the highest and best marketing tool for Spice Up Center (a call agency). Feel free to patronize them and show some love to your people. But no one will recommend you when your services do not provide the needed satisfaction. As such, ensure you work on that.

#4 Paid ads

As much as you may not have all the money to grow your business, yet try to run adverts once in a while and target some audience. Graphic design is everyday stuff but there are some seasons when they are more demanded. It is demanded more during valentine, black Friday, Christmas and other special events. Therefore ensure you run some low budget ads (depending on your financial capacity) within this period. Here is a guide on how to run adverts professionally to achieve result.

#5 Market outside social media

Apart from social media, you can also talk to your friends and neighbors. Many of your neighbors need graphic design services for their birthday, events, burials and more. As such, you do not need to reach them through social media. Just engage them in one on one discussion and convince them of your ability to deliver an awesome service to them.

#6 Register on freelancing websites

There are lots of freelancing websites out there that you can leverage to land some amazing gigs. Here is a list of some of those websites. Be dedicated and consistent and with time, you will be making enough money

#7 Get involved in events that gives you the opportunity to showcase your skill

You use what you have to get what you want. There are a lot of events that serves as opportunity for you to market yourself, leverage them. Sometimes, you need to just make some little sacrifices and then the outcome becomes massive. You could volunteer to design some banners for a mega event for free because it can bring you to the limelight. If such sacrifice is needed please pay it.

What you should not do as a graphic designer

Every field and aspect of life has its dos and don’ts and as a graphic designer there are things you should not attempt to do. Remember the emphasis on recommendation. Therefore, if you value the recommendation of friend and clients, then ensure you treat them well. Here are few of the things you should never do as a graphic designer.

#1 Do not delay clients job longer than agreed

If you collect a job from a client and promise him a particular number of days to deliver, ensure you deliver as promised. Instead of delivering after the due date, it will be better you deliver before the deadline.

#2 Do not deliver lesser quality than agreed

You have also agreed on some level of quality, ensure you deliver. Do not deliver anything lesser than the agreed quality.

#3 Do not abandon the job of a client

There are many people who collect money from clients and then abandon the jobs. Ensure that this is not part of you. If you collect money for any job, deliver.

#4 Do not take up a job you know you cannot deliver

You must also know what you can do and what you cannot do. Do not be deceived by the huge offer to the point of accepting what you cannot do. If you can be effective in small jobs, stick to small jobs until you build capacity for bigger ones.

Bottomline

Just as graphic design is my passion and I have carved a niche for myself there, you can also do so. Truth is that the market for graphic designers continue to increase on a daily basis. Therefore, if you choose to delve into the graphic design world,, that could be the best decision for you in recent time. This content has addressed some serious issues about graphic design, ensure you take them serious.

Graphic design could be what you need to bid unemployment farewell. As such, ensure you take it serious. Cheers