How To Steal My Job: Creative Director/Designer
Sketchy of SKETCHYMEDIA is a Creative director / designer from london, and now the founder of the new creative agency BiG! Having worked in leading creative agencies across london, and his own clientele such as Sky, Adidas, UFC, as well as heavily visualising the grime scene with such artists as N dubz, Roll deep, J2K, Akala, G-Frsh and Scorcher.
1) Work Hard
It may seem obvious, but hard work and persistence is the key to success, don't be afraid to work after hours to finish a deadline, its all part of progressing and ultimately keeping clients happy.
2) Get a foot in!
Starting out as a designer usually starts by doing work for free, even with some skills money will be low. Working for free will help raise your profile and also is good experience for you portfolio.
3) Be original
Being a great designer is more than just applying some effects to a image in photoshop. Be aware of the latest trends, but don't always follow them. Experiment with different ideas, concepts and techniques, try to stay away from the standard flares and colour effects from tutorials that drowned the internet.
4) Be versatile
In the rapidly developing online climate, having just photoshop skills isn't enough. Being versatile, and understanding and better mastering multiple disciplines is a must. A designer should have great Adobe Suite skills across Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, and also Html / CSS skills as a minimum.
5) Better yourself
Asses your work after you complete it, criticise yourself, and what you could of done better. Every job should be a learning experience, note down what worked well and what didn't. Don't be afraid to tweak further once the job has been signed off - just don't email it to the client after!!
6) Online Presence
The most important tool for any designer is and online portfolio. Make yourself "Googleable" by getting your work on a website and back it up with a good social presence. There are many free and low cost portfolio systems available on the net. Such as: Cargo - http://cargocollective.com and Behance - http://www.behance.net. Be sure to set up a Facebook page with regular updates, and a twitter account, get them working together to give your identity and work a cohesive appearance.
7) Keep organised
A structured workflow, clean desktop and filing system will go a very long well. Clearly labeled folder and file structures help referencing latest versions of files, and make invoicing easy. I use a work folder, with job numbers for each project, and a concise folder structure within for each file type and versions.
8) Network!
Networking events are a excellent place to meet industry people and potential clients. Check the online creative hotspots and popular blogs, and make sure you attend. Showing a face cant get you very far, make sure you have business cards, and push people back to your online presence.
9) Back Up
Your work is the most valuable asset, loosing it can not only cause serious stress, but hours of recreating work, missed deadlines and unhappy clients. Having a regular back up system on a external hard drive will eliminate the inevitable. Just make sure you update it often! Having a MAC equipped with Timemachine will help automate this laborious task.
10) Keep yourself in one piece
A fresh pair of eyes at the end of the process is essential for a designer. Having spent so much time staring at the screen you need to step away from the screen, take a walk, and forget the project completely. When you return, your ability to tweak and fine-tune the piece of work will be much more refreshing. Also get an objective pair of eyes (ideally a non designer) to take a look and get an honest opinion.
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