1.5 – How do I become a modern graphic designer; a jack of all trades?

In graphic designer, Adrian Shaughnessy's first book, “How to be a Graphic Designer without Losing Your Soul," Shaughnessy address many of the questions I have been askign myself over and over; What does it take to be a designer? What does it take to be successful designer ? Do I have what it takes? and will I be able to make it out alive? According to Shaughnessy, in order to maintain your sanity in the graphic world you must first posses the basics that are necessary to each designer, communication, cultural awareness, trust in your client and yourself, integrity, and talent.

“Without constantly scanning, scrutinizing and absorbing what goes on around you,” Shaughnessy states, “you cannot become a successful design.” The first essential of graphic design it to become familiar with the world around you. Learn, love, live and become passionate about various things and then bring that passion and knowledge into your design work.

Next as a graphic designer working in the field you must learn to communicate. While being able to speak in front of large amounts of people is a nice, somewhat essential, quality to have, the first lines of communication must start on a one to one basis. A designer must be eloquent in both design terminology and life, being able to carry detailed conversation with those who design savvy and those who are not. The majority of the people your communication skills will be tested upon are your clients. In the design world almost everyone is a client. A truly successful designer must be able to eloquent describes their ideas and works with excitement and enthusiasm so that the enthusiasm can be transferred to the client. Developing and open communication with your client will allow your client to trust and have faith in you.

Similarly you as a designer must try to have faith in your client. Listen to the client’s needs and try to understand their vision. According to Shaughnessy, the best relationship are built when client and designer are able to mutually decide on the design. When working for a client a designer must not overpower the client with his or her own idea. Equally the designer must not let their credibility and integrity be tarnished by the forceful client.

Integrity is yet another important attribute of a designer. In the highly competitive market it is challenging to maintain integrity as the desire to land the big project often overshadows the creativity of the designer. While money is necessarily for those essential things in life, food water, etc. it is not the be all and end all. The money will come and go but the designer will always have to live with the choices they have made.

The last and most obvious of attributes is talent. Each designer is talented in some way, weather is be print, motion, web, or whatever, but it is the combination of all the talents being pulled together which allows the design world to be as great designer. Speaking of talent, the talent of the designer is in the heart and mind of that designer, no designer should never let themselves become limited by the equipment (computer) in front of them and must remember that graphic design is about expressing a voice not simply playing with fonts on a poster.

For any college student, especially those in the design field, who has ever wondered why they were forced to take history, English, business and all those others classes that may have seemed useless to them at the time it is because these skills, this knowledge will help each person to better themselves both as a person and as a designer.