When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Graphic Designer
Let’s imagine that I am 7 and someone is asking me: “Adriana, what do you want to be when you grow up?”. I would answer in a heart beat that I would LOVE to be a graphic designer or anything related to design – my other options I think would be home designer or fashion designer.
Source: sxc.hu
But I’m not 7, I’m actually 25 (starting tomorrow) and until last summer, I didn’t have the slightest idea what I wanted to do with my life and my career for that matter. I was coming after the University benches where I finished a Masters in Marketing Online and I was struggling to get a job.
So, what happened last summer that opened new perspectives for my life? Well, I went to an interview at Designious. I have to add that, while I was unemployed, I always dreamed of having a job where I could be creative, where I could surf the Web and where I could write articles on blogs.
Source: Antoine & Manuel via Blanka.co.uk
Long story short, the guys from Designious decided to take me in – although I had no experience what so ever in what I was supposed to do here. Needless to say I am very grateful for that and that I thrive to do my best. Being in a creative company like this and getting to know what graphic design is all about, I fell in love with everything it represents. It made me wish I had gone on another path when I was younger.
Source: matejtoman.com
Some people told me that I could still do everything I think and dream about. So, I wanted to see what others said about this. Is it too late to start something new, FROM SCRATCH? I read some more on this topic on various forums and articles and I found out that many graphic designers are self taught and they have their own business or they have great jobs and they are accomplished.
So, the question is “What happens if you decide you want to be a graphic designer when you’re all grown up?” – like me. I realize that now I have the knowledge and the access to tons of wonderful resources on the Internet, starting with different difficulty tutorials, in depth articles about graphic design theory, tips, how-to articles and all sort of tips for succeeding as a freelancer/graphic designer.
Source: sxc.hu
I’ve come to the conclusion that the answer to the question above is: “Everything is possible if you have determination”.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my job, I love writing articles. But this doesn’t stop me from wanting a little bit more. I would love to learn to use Photoshop, Illustrator and a Wacom tablet (for example). The ace in my sleeve is that, in comparison to others, I work around people who are nice enough to help me when I have a question or when I want to learn to do something.
Source: Amazon.com
So even if I don’t have time to go to school, I can teach myself with graphic wisdom from tutorials and the helpful people around me.
On the other hand, if you are young and you still have time to make a choice in your life, I strongly encourage you to go to a design school. It will help you get some basic notions about graphic design or whatever you would like to have a career in, and it might even open some great doors for you – having a degree can help you get the job you dream about.
Source: sxc.hu
If you decide to go to a school in this domain and you want to see which is the closest to your area, you can use this cool Design School Directory created by Core77.
And if you want to learn graphic design by yourself, here are some great guidelines provided by PSD Tuts+ – Teach Yourself Graphic Design: A Self-Study Course Outline.
But for some offline knowledge, you can check out this article: 15 Books Every Graphic Designer Should Read.
I hope you guys enjoyed my story, why not tell me yours now?
How did you make it as a graphic designer?
I realy enjoyed your story ! I had no idea that you realy love your job.
Big surprise !
Good luck ! You have all our support.
G
awesome article, I have a very similar story but with web design and I’m a bit younger I’m 22 but I’m a year into it now and am actually landing projects and it feels like I’m living my dream! good luck in everything you do and like you said you could do anything it just takes determination.
nice story. good luck with your job.
at 7, i actually had no idea about what i would do when i grow up.
Thanks for your story.
When I was 7 I wanted to be a famous singer or artist.
Since my voice is terrible that part didn’t worked out :)
But as a graphic designer I also consider myself as an artist, and I think applying to an art university was the best decision I made so far.
I started designing quite late as well, but for me the reason was different: my parents imagined a different career for me. So in my case, I was sure that I want to be an artist/designer, but I had to convince my parents that people actually can earn money with this job.
I’m very happy for you, Julia. :) It’s true that, many times, kids end up to go to a school their parents choose and end up doing something they don’t like. Congrats to you because you stand up for what you like :)
Paintings are poetry that can be seen and it is true that a beautiful piece of art can touch the mind and the heart like nothing else. The colors, moods and feelings of a beautiful painting transmit itself to the observer and modern art paintings are a class apart.
Really nice article. We sometimes don’t know when to think about our careers and land up in some strange situation where we get a job in which we don’t have any expertise. So planning is really important for all of us.
Hey Arjun, I agree with you, planning is very important. I think that even since we are little, the people around us should guide us to do in life the things we like and we are good at. And even if doesn’t happen, I think it’s never too late to follow your dreams :)
Nice artice… And good for you that you actually have someone to ask – Unfortunatly I didn’t (and still don’t) have that luxury! :)
At around 7-10? … I wanted to be either:
A/ Astronaut
B/ Archeologist
… when my parents told me I then needed to be good at math for both, I forgot about it and thoguht
C/ Fighterpilot – But turned out I was too tall
And yes, I’m female despite the typical male professional wishes above, but I ride Motorcycles these days, as compensation I suppose ;)
And then, for the last 15 years (I’m 38) I wanted to start doing creative stuff in more than just my spare time, and finally decided to go back to school and get a degree in Graphic/UI design – Which is what I study now besides freelancing and I absolutely love it! :)
Conclusion:
It is never too late to follow your heart!
I think you were a boy in another life, Claire :)) Just kidding. I also have a girl friend who rides a motorcycle :D I admire you so much for your determination to go back to school and to do what you like, good going girl, it’s never too late to follow your dream :)
*haha* … I’m SURE that I was a boy in probably a 100 past lives or more, but this for sure is not the first time as woman either ;-))
The good thing about going back to school in a “late” age (trust me, I still believe I’m 27, not sure it’ll ever change) is that I’m quite focused since I KNOW this is what I want. And I can see my own potential.
I also have experience enough to actually be ahead of the others in many many ways ( = VERY good grades).
I’ve spent years travelling, experiencing all kinds of obscure people/ways of living and exotic parts of the world… And there’s no other way you can get the same knowledge and insight, that the one you gain through living, which now comes to my benefit, there’s simply no shortcuts to take.
So age is not always a bad thing, when it comes to studying ;-)
Yes Claire, I agree, life experience is something you can’t achieve over night and it will always help in whatever you want to do. :)
Nice article. I’m a software engineering student and i learn graphic and web design from online resources as a hobby. Glad to see people wanting to learn by themselves.
Interesting article Adriana. Sounds like you’re on the right track to a creative career. I have been studying graphic design on and off at school but I cant seem to get my foot in the design door. I was wondering how you were able to be fortunate enough to get a job in the field. Any advice ?
Thanks, Victor. Well, you can surely say I was fortunate :) I think it’s important to be yourself, to be communicative, to be eager to learn and to be honest about your skills.
Adriana, you are so fortunate to be in such an environment. And you’re young—what you’re doing now may not be what you’ll be doing 20 years from now.
At 10 years of age I announced that I would become a fashion designer when I grew up. It was all I focused on and I was accepted into Parsons after high school. But I was a lousy seamstress, eventually discovered fashion illustration, and graduated with an AA degree. Slipped into retail advertising and art direction and then, going out on my own, I naturally segued into graphic design. This all happened many, many years ago. Now I’m working on an illustrated novel which could go the way of an animated series (fingers crossed!) and promoting my online art gallery featuring prints of the many fashion illustrations I’ve done in the last 30 years. You just never know where you might end up or what your focus may be from one decade to the next. That’s the beauty of being creative.
Adriana, you can do it! If you know that graphic design is your passion, go for it! When you put your heart into it, it will blossom and you will thrive! :)
Thank you, btw for all the great articles and discussion topics. They all create bridges between people all over the globe which is marvelous!
Cheers, Nora :)
Thank you Nora for your kind words :) And yes, I love to “create bridges between people all over the globe” :) I engage conversations on Linkedin for example and I’m happy to see that people are very happy to answer your questions and they even talk to each other and compliment their work, it’s amazing!
Thank you Nora for your kind words :) And yes, I love to “create bridges between people all over the globe” :) I engage conversations on Linkedin for example and I’m happy to see that people are very happy to answer your questions and they even talk to each other and compliment their work, it’s amazing!
P.S. Are you Romanian? :)
Wow. This is the best blog article I have come across.
It is simple but it touched me in many ways.
I am only 19 turning 20 in January but… I have
come to realize… I don’t know what I want to do
in my life… I don’t know what career path to
choose or … major in college.
I recently decided that I want to go into Graphic
Design, more Web Design but the schools I have found
lean more towards Graphic Design and I would just
branch off from there.
I look foward to reading more articles on your blog:)
讲的很好
呵呵