The mindset of a great graphic designer

1. RECOGNIZE OTHER DESIGNERS WHO ARE BETTER

What does this mean? Well, unless you’re the design superman, which you probably aren’t, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this article, there will always be a graphic designer who is better, more original, or just a better business man than you. He must recognize these people and learn from them. Analyze their work, their thought process, and how they present themselves online.

We’re lucky to work in a business that relies heavily on the Internet, so we have virtually unlimited learning resources. Join design communities like Dribble, Behance and DeviantArt. Not only are they good for viewing and posting projects, but they also give you the chance to meet new people, possibly even friends. Swallow your pride, recognize other designers, and grow with their help.

2. PLAN YOUR DAY TO INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY

This is probably one of the most important qualities for a designer to have. plan your daysdon’t wake up at 11 am and waste half your day doing meaningless things. Be Productive! It is very easy to get lost on the Internet. Spend countless hours just browsing, finding interesting things and allowing time to slowly run out. I’m not saying you have to work from 7 am to 9 pm, far from it. We all need time to relax. I’m talking about wasting time on ridiculous things that are distracting and don’t help anyone.

I like to plan my day or even a few days before every Sunday night before I go to bed. set your goals for the week and think about how you are going to achieve those goals. I’m not saying you have to be a workaholic and spend all day in Photoshop or Illustrator, this could even have a negative effect. Learn to manage your time and your work will improve too.

3. THE POWER OF “NO”

This topic is easily explained with a few simple examples.

1. You just made an amazing logo design for a client. You present the logo to the client, and he wants you to make some changes. But these changes will make your logo much worse and at that point you realize that the client doesn’t have any taste and it will ruin your work.

Solution: First things first, try to reason with the customer, use valid arguments. Make him realize that your profession is to be a graphic designer and that you have studied and worked hard for years to get to this level.

two. You’re working on a website for a client, but he wants to be constantly involved in the process and forces you to make a million changes, all of them for free. The website is taking longer than expected and your price was not set correctly for said project.

Solution: Explain to the client your situation and try to reason with him. Explain to the customer that so many changes will cost more, or give him a limited number of changes that he is willing to make. Please note that this is also partly your fault, because you did not explain the work process at the initial meeting, otherwise this would not happen.

How to prevent all these problems before they happen? Most of these problems can be prevented during the first meeting with the client. Explain your work process., possible additional costs and what is included in your work. Think of all possible scenarios and prevent before it happens. If you think the client is nothing more than a problem, you always have the option of turning down the job. Choose the job you want to do, It is better to do less work and more quality than more work less quality. Trust me, it’s worth it in the long run.

4. TAKE THE DAY OFF AND REFILL YOUR CREATIVE JUICES

Designing in your little corner for days and feeling exhausted? Take the day off and relax.. But you think you can’t, because you have a lot of work to do and you can’t afford to waste a day. WRONG! Designing things in a tired state is never a good thing. Your work suffers, your body suffers, your speed suffers, and the end product can never be that good. Make sure you approach each project in a relaxed state with 100% of everything you have.

Remember that every project you finish is a reflection of your skills and abilities.. Future clients will take these projects into account and base their decision on them. One day is nothing compared to having a portfolio full of projects you can be proud of and know you gave them all you have to offer.

5. EDUCATION AND PERSISTENCE

I would like to start this topic with a simple quote from Stephen Richards:

“If you don’t have persistence, no amount of education, talent, or genius can make up for it.”

I have a diploma, I know everything there is to know. Yes of course. No matter what education you have, you will never stop learning and you will never stop improving. It’s just the nature of this business and why we love it. It is changing and developing so fast that everyone needs to be vigilant and keep up with their education.

So what can I do to educate myself more?

Read articles, join design communities, attend tech events, chat with other designers… If you do a few of these on a daily basis, they will automatically keep you informed.

The other thing is perseverance. To be a successful graphic designer you really need be hungry for it. Seeing design as a task and not a passion is a recipe for failure. Sure we all have projects we’re not crazy about working on, but as long as you continue to love what you do, you shouldn’t have a problem being persistent and overcoming all the problems that come your way.