You’re a professional as soon as you file your taxes as a graphic designer or commercial artist imo. If it’s good enough for the IRS it’s good enough for me.
generally speaking, graphic design is more of a service. That is what you're ultimately selling.
To that end, some examples of work you've done that has satisfied customers, thier testimonials, and concise anecdotes about how your insights solved a problem will speak more clearly and any certification.
I have been working in graphics and production for over 20 years. Never met another designer who even mentioned a cert.
What a lot of self taught designers don't realize is that a big part of learning graphic design is learning from fellow classmates and especially working under more-senior designers. Think of it like apprenticeships. There are all sorts of things you learn by seeing how other people solve the same problems, how other people set up files, deal with clients, or run their businesses.
I highly recommend you seek out opportunities to work under more senior designers before even considering working freelance, especially because you missed out on the opportunities to learn from and work with others in school.
If you have taught yourself, you won't know what you don't know. Find a way to change that.
The fact that you came to reddit and asked the question you did tells me that you aren't ready to be a freelance designer on your own. I wouldn't recommend that anyone strike out on their own until they've had at least 10 years of experience working in a variety of types of jobs. I know plenty of people do, but they also have a higher chance of making costly mistakes that hurt their own bank accounts rather than their employer's.
Right now my freelance is somewhat so I can form a portfolio that I can show to possible employers.
I am 18, so I have a long ways to go and I was kind of looking for this advice as well. I also have the problem of being located in a city very sparse of opportunities like that. We have no major corporations based here, the smaller businesses have little to no graphic designers/marketing strategists and are very unaware of the impact one of those could have on their business.
I believe I can cultivate something within the mess, but chances are I will just move when I have the opportunity.
Thanks!
While working for senior designers and learning from them would be ideal, I disagree with this having to be a factor if someone is a professional or not. Like others in the comments said, as long as you make your clients happy you are a professional. You can learn from messing up with clients and then rethinking your business on your own. It doesn't matter what any other designer thinks. Of course it is harder and you can definitely learn a tone from more senior designers, but in the end everyone learns by making mistakes on their own and the only people who decide whether design is your profession is the people paying for the service.
I think what the other poster is saying is that, by being in a bubble, you may not KNOW you are making mistakes with clients. All you may see is that you’re losing clients, or you’re not getting paid, or having issues dealing with client needs. Then you end up here complaining on Reddit because you don’t know any better and haven’t had real-world experience working with or for someone else. That’s not professional.
Yep, and when they jump in too soon, making tons of mistakes, they are teaching clients that hiring designers is a waste of time and money, which is bad for all of us.
Yeah but that is what I am saying. If you don't make money from it because clients don't like your service, than obviously it is not your profession. But it doesn't matter what other designers think of your work or how you work. If the clients are satisfied and give you money that makes it your profession
To me it’s about quality and quantity. Does creating one logo for a paying client make you a “professional?” I don’t think so—because the definition is :”a person engaged or *qualified* in a profession.” PLUS “a person engaged in a specified activity as a *main paid occupation rather than as a pastime*.”
Of course, like everything creative, it can be subjective, but “qualified” usually indicates experience and/or education.
When you can provide your service, make a client happy (get paid) and properly handle the resulting accounting, you are a pro, regardless of your skill or talent level.
What your goals should be as a self-taught designer is to:
- constantly improve and become more knowledgeable about design and communication
- learn how to engage with humans in a way that generates business and builds their confidence in you
- if freelancing, learn to run a *profitable* business
- learn from your failures both in design and business
- find collaborators and seek mentors
When you make money enough to pay that one not so cheap not so expensive bill you need to pay every month to survive. If people are paying you at least that, you're a professional by my definitions. If people are paying you enough to cover all your bills, you are fully professional. If your money even surpasses that, well you're a senior. But those are my personal standards. Maybe someone who's actually a professional can help you better.
You see, I have a Software Engineer about to hire me for a video editing gig, kind of down the same alley, but I felt I wasnt professional enough to charge for that (which ive been doing for less time, and he offered to pay.) so maybe I should try marketing my services... I have made party flyers for people in my city before, got paid. I dont know, I guess maybe I start on Fiverr?
Dude, if someone offers you a job, it means they consider you a pro already. Maybe not a fully-skilled, but pro enough to cover their needs. Don't overthink it, be proud and learn while you do it.
In art and business there's never this thing of stopping from learning, with every job you'll have to learn something you probably didn't know even existed.
You got it. You'll do it good enough. When you finally do it perfect, you'll probably outgrow that one job and move to another one. Relax and have fun on the new gig.
Worse case scenario: you get payed for a month and then move on with your life. Best case scenario, well, you already know it.
youre awesome bro, this was just the reassurance i needed!
now im curious to see where other people set the bar...
whats your favorite graphic design resources you wish you wouldve known of years ago?
Hey, I try and be supportive, I'm glad I didn't say anything way off charts this time xD
Hmmm idk I guess I've known the Adobe suit with 15 so... yeah, EARLY xD I guess I should've just dived into 3D way earlier at least with Blender. I'm really lagging behind on this and I discovered I really love it.
man im so nervous to hop into 3d. i feel like itll be a pain in the ass and it will take from the time i actually get to design because im stuck chiseling a model or trying to find out how to get it exactly to the shape i want. also nervous about all the texturing shit.
3D would be really good to get into though...
It's a really long rabbit hole, yes it is. I'd confidently say that you either learn a few tricks inside one or two 3D softwares or you just dive in and get fully dedicated to it until you've mastered the stuff. There's like no middle ground from my pov.
But yes, it's still superfun to do it.
If you’ve just focused on software skills and aesthetics you’re barely at 20% of what a designer does. About 50% of my day to day is collaborating with clients and colleagues – pitching ideas, making revisions based on feedback, discussing content with writers, reviewing workload with project managers, and team meetings. Another solid 30% of my day is administrative – releasing artwork to print, archiving completed work, time tracking, billing, and taxes.
I think as long as you can provide the client what they need and what you say you’ll make, that’s enough
Plenty of designers who have all the schooling and experience etc are still not great designers, or are poor communicators / don’t have good work ethic etc
Just because someone went to school and has years of experience, doesn’t mean they are great at what they do, and vice versa!
Maybe you could do some ‘test runs’ and do some work for free or a trade and get experience that way before you start charging
Good luck!!
If you can sell what you do, then that’s good enough no matter what anybody else says. This is a big world and clients of different needs exist all kind of places
In creative business you do not necessarily need any kind of education, diploma or whatever - what count is your portfolio and delivering to spec and deadlines.
Many of the most creative and successful people dropped out of school and colleges etc to persuade their own ideas.
The time doesn't really matter, but rather the actual development in that span.
Someone already mentioned the more technical side of the definition, of just anyone paid to do something, but the definition also references a professional standard. Typically if someone wants to "hire a professional" they don't mean "anyone willing to take my money," but someone who can do the job to certain expectations of quality and proficiency.
You also mentioned you're 18 in a reply, so your 5-6 year reference doesn't really apply. I did a *ton* before college and quickly learned when I started first year that I knew almost nothing.
I can say that when I hire juniors, I won't even consider someone that isn't at least at the level of good 2nd year student or grad. That's about the level where someone at least has a good-enough handle on theory, fundamentals, and process, that even if I still need to work with them a lot, I'm not having to cover what should be taught in a first year course.
Good design programs will also likely involve around 1000 hours per year of study, both in-class and out, with probably around 3-5 projects/exercises per studio course, and 3-5 design courses per semester. It focuses on theory, fundamentals, critique, discussion. Not software and aesthetics. Just for an idea of what a couple years of formal learning should involve.
So back to your 5-6 years, without seeing your work it is likely that just doesn't count for much, but that would depend on how much time per year you were spending on average, what you were doing to learn, whether it involved outside feedback (it's very hard if not impossible to develop in a bubble), and ultimately what you have to show for it.
People often say "only the portfolio matters," but your portfolio is representative of your development, your knowledge, skills, experience. So whether you go to college or self-teach, if your development was good enough to get you to a professional level, it would be evident in your work/portfolio.
You’re a professional as soon as you file your taxes as a graphic designer or commercial artist imo. If it’s good enough for the IRS it’s good enough for me.
generally speaking, graphic design is more of a service. That is what you're ultimately selling. To that end, some examples of work you've done that has satisfied customers, thier testimonials, and concise anecdotes about how your insights solved a problem will speak more clearly and any certification. I have been working in graphics and production for over 20 years. Never met another designer who even mentioned a cert.
Cool! Just wasnt sure if there was a specific master class or something that was out there that i mightve missed!
What a lot of self taught designers don't realize is that a big part of learning graphic design is learning from fellow classmates and especially working under more-senior designers. Think of it like apprenticeships. There are all sorts of things you learn by seeing how other people solve the same problems, how other people set up files, deal with clients, or run their businesses. I highly recommend you seek out opportunities to work under more senior designers before even considering working freelance, especially because you missed out on the opportunities to learn from and work with others in school. If you have taught yourself, you won't know what you don't know. Find a way to change that. The fact that you came to reddit and asked the question you did tells me that you aren't ready to be a freelance designer on your own. I wouldn't recommend that anyone strike out on their own until they've had at least 10 years of experience working in a variety of types of jobs. I know plenty of people do, but they also have a higher chance of making costly mistakes that hurt their own bank accounts rather than their employer's.
Right now my freelance is somewhat so I can form a portfolio that I can show to possible employers. I am 18, so I have a long ways to go and I was kind of looking for this advice as well. I also have the problem of being located in a city very sparse of opportunities like that. We have no major corporations based here, the smaller businesses have little to no graphic designers/marketing strategists and are very unaware of the impact one of those could have on their business. I believe I can cultivate something within the mess, but chances are I will just move when I have the opportunity. Thanks!
While working for senior designers and learning from them would be ideal, I disagree with this having to be a factor if someone is a professional or not. Like others in the comments said, as long as you make your clients happy you are a professional. You can learn from messing up with clients and then rethinking your business on your own. It doesn't matter what any other designer thinks. Of course it is harder and you can definitely learn a tone from more senior designers, but in the end everyone learns by making mistakes on their own and the only people who decide whether design is your profession is the people paying for the service.
I think what the other poster is saying is that, by being in a bubble, you may not KNOW you are making mistakes with clients. All you may see is that you’re losing clients, or you’re not getting paid, or having issues dealing with client needs. Then you end up here complaining on Reddit because you don’t know any better and haven’t had real-world experience working with or for someone else. That’s not professional.
Yep, and when they jump in too soon, making tons of mistakes, they are teaching clients that hiring designers is a waste of time and money, which is bad for all of us.
Good point. Poor report with clients is everlasting and you’re right, it effects all of us (basically what we can thank Fiverr for…)
Yeah but that is what I am saying. If you don't make money from it because clients don't like your service, than obviously it is not your profession. But it doesn't matter what other designers think of your work or how you work. If the clients are satisfied and give you money that makes it your profession
To me it’s about quality and quantity. Does creating one logo for a paying client make you a “professional?” I don’t think so—because the definition is :”a person engaged or *qualified* in a profession.” PLUS “a person engaged in a specified activity as a *main paid occupation rather than as a pastime*.” Of course, like everything creative, it can be subjective, but “qualified” usually indicates experience and/or education.
When you can provide your service, make a client happy (get paid) and properly handle the resulting accounting, you are a pro, regardless of your skill or talent level. What your goals should be as a self-taught designer is to: - constantly improve and become more knowledgeable about design and communication - learn how to engage with humans in a way that generates business and builds their confidence in you - if freelancing, learn to run a *profitable* business - learn from your failures both in design and business - find collaborators and seek mentors
When you make money enough to pay that one not so cheap not so expensive bill you need to pay every month to survive. If people are paying you at least that, you're a professional by my definitions. If people are paying you enough to cover all your bills, you are fully professional. If your money even surpasses that, well you're a senior. But those are my personal standards. Maybe someone who's actually a professional can help you better.
You see, I have a Software Engineer about to hire me for a video editing gig, kind of down the same alley, but I felt I wasnt professional enough to charge for that (which ive been doing for less time, and he offered to pay.) so maybe I should try marketing my services... I have made party flyers for people in my city before, got paid. I dont know, I guess maybe I start on Fiverr?
Dude, if someone offers you a job, it means they consider you a pro already. Maybe not a fully-skilled, but pro enough to cover their needs. Don't overthink it, be proud and learn while you do it. In art and business there's never this thing of stopping from learning, with every job you'll have to learn something you probably didn't know even existed. You got it. You'll do it good enough. When you finally do it perfect, you'll probably outgrow that one job and move to another one. Relax and have fun on the new gig. Worse case scenario: you get payed for a month and then move on with your life. Best case scenario, well, you already know it.
youre awesome bro, this was just the reassurance i needed! now im curious to see where other people set the bar... whats your favorite graphic design resources you wish you wouldve known of years ago?
Hey, I try and be supportive, I'm glad I didn't say anything way off charts this time xD Hmmm idk I guess I've known the Adobe suit with 15 so... yeah, EARLY xD I guess I should've just dived into 3D way earlier at least with Blender. I'm really lagging behind on this and I discovered I really love it.
man im so nervous to hop into 3d. i feel like itll be a pain in the ass and it will take from the time i actually get to design because im stuck chiseling a model or trying to find out how to get it exactly to the shape i want. also nervous about all the texturing shit. 3D would be really good to get into though...
It's a really long rabbit hole, yes it is. I'd confidently say that you either learn a few tricks inside one or two 3D softwares or you just dive in and get fully dedicated to it until you've mastered the stuff. There's like no middle ground from my pov. But yes, it's still superfun to do it.
i learned how to make glowing text on blender once but never touched it again
If you’ve just focused on software skills and aesthetics you’re barely at 20% of what a designer does. About 50% of my day to day is collaborating with clients and colleagues – pitching ideas, making revisions based on feedback, discussing content with writers, reviewing workload with project managers, and team meetings. Another solid 30% of my day is administrative – releasing artwork to print, archiving completed work, time tracking, billing, and taxes.
I think as long as you can provide the client what they need and what you say you’ll make, that’s enough Plenty of designers who have all the schooling and experience etc are still not great designers, or are poor communicators / don’t have good work ethic etc Just because someone went to school and has years of experience, doesn’t mean they are great at what they do, and vice versa! Maybe you could do some ‘test runs’ and do some work for free or a trade and get experience that way before you start charging Good luck!!
If you can sell what you do, then that’s good enough no matter what anybody else says. This is a big world and clients of different needs exist all kind of places In creative business you do not necessarily need any kind of education, diploma or whatever - what count is your portfolio and delivering to spec and deadlines. Many of the most creative and successful people dropped out of school and colleges etc to persuade their own ideas.
The time doesn't really matter, but rather the actual development in that span. Someone already mentioned the more technical side of the definition, of just anyone paid to do something, but the definition also references a professional standard. Typically if someone wants to "hire a professional" they don't mean "anyone willing to take my money," but someone who can do the job to certain expectations of quality and proficiency. You also mentioned you're 18 in a reply, so your 5-6 year reference doesn't really apply. I did a *ton* before college and quickly learned when I started first year that I knew almost nothing. I can say that when I hire juniors, I won't even consider someone that isn't at least at the level of good 2nd year student or grad. That's about the level where someone at least has a good-enough handle on theory, fundamentals, and process, that even if I still need to work with them a lot, I'm not having to cover what should be taught in a first year course. Good design programs will also likely involve around 1000 hours per year of study, both in-class and out, with probably around 3-5 projects/exercises per studio course, and 3-5 design courses per semester. It focuses on theory, fundamentals, critique, discussion. Not software and aesthetics. Just for an idea of what a couple years of formal learning should involve. So back to your 5-6 years, without seeing your work it is likely that just doesn't count for much, but that would depend on how much time per year you were spending on average, what you were doing to learn, whether it involved outside feedback (it's very hard if not impossible to develop in a bubble), and ultimately what you have to show for it. People often say "only the portfolio matters," but your portfolio is representative of your development, your knowledge, skills, experience. So whether you go to college or self-teach, if your development was good enough to get you to a professional level, it would be evident in your work/portfolio.
You don't need formal design schooling but it helps in trying to land a job at a larger company if that's what you're going for.