12 Things Every Graphic Designer Needs To Know to Succeed

#Graphic Designer
I asked this question to the 5k+ members in my private Brand Design Masters Facebook community: “What would you tell a designer just starting out today - that would help them succeed?” I received dozens and dozens of amazing pieces of advice from seasoned designers who work in-house in companies, at agencies and as independent freelancers, so I decided to do this video featuring 12 of the best ones. So if you are a creative professional just beginning your career journey this is a must-watch video!

#graphicdesign #grapicdesigncareer #personalbranding #personaldevelopment #entrepreneurship

SUPPORT MY WORK ON YOUTUBE!

WEBSITE:

BRAND•MUSE NEWSLETTER:

BRAND DESIGN MASTERS Facebook Group

BRAND DESIGN MASTERS Podcast

BRAND STRATEGY 101 COURSE

CREATIVE PROFESSIONAL COACHING

BRAND CONSULTING

VERHAAL BRAND DESIGN on Facebook:

TWITTER:

INSTAGRAM:

LINKEDIN:

YOUTUBE:

PINTEREST:

BEST ADOBE CC TRAINING VIDEO COURSES
Bring Your Own Laptop with Daniel Scott

GET TUBEBUDDY - THE BEST TOOL FOR YOUTUBERS:

____________________________________________________

This video is for entrepreneurs, designers, creative professionals and anyone interested in brand strategy, business planning, graphic design, design trend, marketing and communications.

Philip VanDusen is the owner of Verhaal Brand Design, a brand strategy and design agency and the founder of Brand Design Masters, an ecosystem of mastermind groups, courses and networking communities for creative professionals and digital entrepreneurs seeking to build bullet-proof personal brands, agencies and businesses.

Philip is a highly accomplished creative executive and expert in brand strategy, graphic design, marketing and creative management. Philip gives design, branding, marketing, career and business advice to creative professionals, entrepreneurs and companies on how to build successful brands for themselves or for the clients and customers they serve.

[AmbroseNamanga]

Good morning Sir. Am called Anthonia Besong from Cameroon. Sir, thank you for these information about graphic design. 🙏

[dashiajames]

Yesss you're back..!! How you doing...??
1) Never stop learning
2) Learn more about the other areas ecosysystem
3) All designs are sales
4) Don't take criticism personally ( that'd be hard one for me)
I don't know why you would wanna stop learning..?? Very interesting stuff out there..!!
Thanks alot..🙂🙂

[williamwalter]

HI Philip... I've been in the industry since we ruled lines with a rapidographs and waxed type and photostats and pasted them on illustration board.. all this advice is 100% spot on... I wish I someone told me these 12 things 40 years ago.

[pokie]

#1 Network with people who do what you don't do.
#2 Remember: There is no one 'right' way to accomplish anything.
#3 Understand that you'll spend only about 20% of your time designing.
#4 Don't do everything from scratch (use the pre-made stuff, subscribe to Envato, Istock, Designcuts, or any pre-made assets)
#5 Don't work for an hourly rate.
#6 Just be prepared to keep learning until you retire.
#7 Interning at a great company beats getting a fancy title at a lesser company.
#8 Learn more about the entire ecosystem that makes up a creative and marketing team.
#9 Remember all design is sales.
#10 Have a creative outlet outside of work (paint, dance, craft, or whatever you like to keep your designer sanity)
#11 Don't take creative critique or criticism personally.
#12 The most important thing to remember is that no one stays in their job forever.

Hey, it's my first time on your channel I wanna say I love that your video is simple, well-organized, and not like in your kind of editing/voice, also everything is nicely explained for beginners like me. I get easily offended/uncomfortable when there is too much going on in a video. Everything is straightforward and to the point. Thank you😌

[shelbyhoover]

Hi Philip! I am a Realtor who is greatly challenged with the lack of affordable marketing and creative resources. Canva is a godsend to someone like me. However, your content helps me within and beyond creating design work for my small business. So I want to thank you for putting out the relevant and useful information that you do! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
Happy Thanksgiving!!

[natalie-taylor]

👋
Great & important BIG-picture perspectives to note here 🌞

It's so easy to get lost in the weeds, even after being in the industry for years; especially when trying to keep up with new trends and tech.
Thank u for the reminders and reframe.

Hope u r well 😊

[hopkinsdesign]

Hi Philip, enjoying much of the great advice... all so true. I've been a designer for 20+ years (self employed for 13+) and I can relate to much of what you're saying. Great stuff.

[connorwisnom]

Thank you very much for the tips! I am an artist who went to school for graphic design and then switched to glass sculpture, worked in the field for 5 years and am trying to get in to the graphic design currently lol

[avigail]

Have a creatieve outlet...! This is exactly how I feel, it is so frustrating when you create something which is perfect in your eyes, and you have to change it, sometimes it turns better, and sometimes you don’t want anyone to know you did it... that’s why I started to draw and paint... this is MY space, where I do what I like, choosing MY colors, you can like it or hate it -I don’t care. Funny, but doing this has also improved my designs, and attracted new clients. Thank you so much for this video!

[arevisual]

Number 8 is really important. I have worked at 2 companies so far.

1) Our designers where front end devs

2) They where everything except devs. Video cuts, HTML emails, (using things like male chimp), image research, social marketing, etc.

This seems to be a growing trend i'm curious how it will develop.

9 is really great. Actually why I transitioned away from design.

[ziaulhasankhan]

This is amazing, learning lote of new thik you vedio, thanks

[paulopaulada]

Number 5 is bullshit. When you do freelance work for an advertising agency, you might fall into a rework spiral (maybe because the final client aren't sure about what them want, or because there are too many heads to approve the thing). If you charge it hourly or daily, you're off the hook.

[Iamchikajude]

Thank you sir.
Is all part of the work.

[maricaraspera]

Hi Phillip, watching your video, and following you on facebook. Thanks for sharing this

[joellep-activatricedidenti]

Hey Philip, great advice! I had to look twice when my name appeared for #9! Was not expecting that :)

[shopelectronicshub]

Thank you, Great Contant, 💯 and I agree with everything you say✅

[kentan]

No 16. Do not put on a designer attitude. This applies more to artist than designers, but its the same. Many designers I know put on a weird,
temperamental character. I know some might wants to be in a certain state of mind to be more creative, but many have take this too far. And its unnecessary and annoying. Being a designer doesnt mean you have to talk, behave, dress in a certain way.

[digisouldream]

One of the best creative professionalism lists I’ve read in years. Awesome. Onward

[jonnhycarlos]

Is there any program that creates all the pieces of social media from an art?

[leonardwitucke]

I don't agree that working with big brands is more impressive for your portfolio. Good design is good design. Forget the pretentious high brow liberal arts crap and work with REAL small businesses and have an actual impact.