Free Sample

How to
Succeed as a
Graphic
Designer
Revised Second Edition
www.designersinsights.com
 DESIGNERS INSIGHTS

How to
Succeed as a
Graphic
Designer
Revised Second Edition

Written by Mario Godbout

Contributing Editor Stephen J. Hards
About the Author
For the past 25 years, the name Mario Godbout has been
associated with the most prestigious graphic design projects
and communication campaigns in Canada’s National Capital
Region. Within MGD Branding + Design (Mario Godbout Design),
which he founded in Gatineau in 1994, he served as president, art
director and designer for a clientele that covers three main sectors
of activity: arts and culture, private and organizations and public.
Mario Godbout has won awards in the most prestigious graphic
design competitions in North America. Some of his creations have
been published in graphic design books in Canada, Germany,
the United States and Japan, as well as in the most important
international design trade magazines like Communication Arts,
Graphis, How, Print and Applied Arts. Mario has been a member
of the Association of Registered Graphic Designers (RGD) since
1996, and the Type Directors Club (TDC) of New York since 1997.

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How to Succeed as a Graphic Designer – Revised Second Edition

Published and distributed by
Designers Insights, a division of MGD Inc. (mgd.ca)
68 Katimavik, Val-des-Monts, Quebec J8N 5E1 Canada
designersinsights.com

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No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted

in any form or by any means–electronic, mechanical, digital photocopy, recording, or any
other without the prior permission of the author and publisher.

ISBN 978-0-9879987-1-2

Typeset in Adobe Garamond Roman 12/16pt. and Helvetica Neue 45 Light 9.5/14pt.
“Design is everything. Everything.” —Paul Rand
 Designers Insights

CONTENT

Foreword 13
About Designers Insights 15
Preface 18

Introduction 26
How to Increase Your Value 29
Sharing the Dream 31
Create the Right Career Path 32

Chapter 1
Getting Started 35
Understanding Our Past to Thrive In the Future 36
The First Macintosh Computer 38
The End of the Master Typographer 39
The Sudden Demise of the Film House 40
The Rise of the World Wide Web 41
The Downfall of the Photographer & Illustrator 42
The Fall of the Mighty Printing Industry 43

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 How to Succeed as a Graphic Designer

Chapter 2
The Decline of the Graphic Design Industry 45
The Role of the Designer Is to Create Value 47
Our Industry Before the Millennium 48
The Dot-com Boom & Bust 49
Print Designers Versus Web Designers 50
The Self-Proclaimed Branding Gurus 51
The Downfall of the HTML Programmer 52
The Designing Client/Web Developer 53
The Ripple Effec On the Printing Industry 54
The Arrival of the Fast Food Branding Services 55
Developing Countries Want Their Piece of the Pie 56
Design Schools Need to Be Held Accountable 57

Chapter 3
Embracing Change for Tomorrow 59
An Industry Profoundly Transformed 61
Designing in Humanity’s Most Creative Era 64
Passing the Knowledge to the Developing Designer 68
Professional Technical Advice for Today 69
What Your Environment Cannot Teach You 77

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 Designers Insights

Chapter 4
What You Will Never Learn in Design School 83
Understanding the Responsibilities of the Designer 88
Protecing Yourself from the Print Industry 88
With Big Risks Come Big Rewards 94
Contracing Outside Suppliers 96
The Benefits of Building Your Creative Network 99
The Master and the Apprentice 101

Chapter 5
Giving the New Generation of Designers a
Fighting Chance 104
What the Older Generation Is Lacking Is Vision 105
Teaching the New Generation Where Their
Value Comes From 107
If Only They Knew How Close They Came to
Succeeding 110
How Our Market Reaced to Our Changing
Industry 111
Finding that Perfec Niche Job 115

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 How to Succeed as a Graphic Designer

Chapter 6
How to Create Value for Your Clients 119
A Proven Step-by-Step Method for Creating Value 121
Trends Come and Go 127
Study the True Masters 130
The Best Books and Trade Magazines 133
Professional Associations 135

Chapter 7
The World Wide Web Then and Now 140
Designing the Online Experience of Tomorrow 145
The Future of the Web is Responsive 148
Clients and the Social Media Phenomena 150

Chapter 8
An Introducion to Branding 153
What is Branding? 155
What Can You Brand? 157
Creating a Brand Experience 158
Great Brands Affecs Everything 161

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 Designers Insights

Chapter 9
Design Integration Finally Explained 164
Creating a Visual Identity System 165
How to Apply a Visual ID Systems to Serve
Your Clients’ Growing Needs 169
Creating Graphic Standards Manuals 174

Chapter 10
Three Basic Skills You Must Master 177
Skill One 179
Skill Two 180
Skill Three 182
The Payoff 184

Chapter 11
Visualization…the Secret of Creativity 187
The Art of Visualizing 189
The Key to Visualizing Is Focus 193
Creating Is a Discipline 194
Training Your Mind to Be in the ‘Zone’ 196
How Your Brain Works 198
Knowledge Is Inspiration 199

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 How to Succeed as a Graphic Designer

Chapter 12
Your Job Is Providing Service 202
Sizing Up the Client 206
What a Satisfied Client Can Do for You 210
The Designer/Client Relationship 213

Chapter 13
A Word of Advise for the Junior Designer 216
Bring your ‘A’ Game Every Day 217
The Client Expecs Perfecion 219
Follow Studio Procedures 221
Your Earning Power: Expecations Versus Reality 222
The Sophie Story 226
The Bob Story 233
The Danny Story 237
The Jim Story 242

Chapter 14
Assessing your Strengths and Weaknesses 248
Graphic Design…a Highly-Competitive Profession 251
Know What the Boss Wants and Needs 256
What is Expeced of the Junior Designer 258
Growing as an Intermediate Designer 260

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 Designers Insights

The Responsibilities of the Senior Designer 263

Understand What Makes a Successful Design Firm 265
Leaving Clients with the ‘Feeling of Increase’ 268
Employability Is Your Only Job Security 267
Find a Mentor…Succeed Faster 270
You Are the Sum of Your Connecions 272

Chapter 15
The Positive Effecs of Optimism 274
Creating a Winning Attitude 276
The Razor’s Edge 281

Chapter 16
Change…the New Beginning 285
Building Your Plan 288

Conclusion 292

Key Moments in Graphic Design History 317

Visit designersinsights.com 320

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 How to Succeed as a Graphic Designer

FOREWORD

Designers Insights invited veteran graphic designer Mario

Godbout, to write this book as an opportunity to speak his
mind about experiencing graphic design as a career. We know
his enthusiasm, for the profession he loves, can help give a
positive direction and provide hope for young designers, both
today and tomorrow, to achieve personal success.

Mario has achieved considerable success of his own, practicing

as a professional, award-winning graphic designer in Canada’s
National Capital Region over the past 25 years. He first studied
Fine Arts at university and then changed direction, and sub-
sequently graduated from the graphic design program at a
community college. From initially working for a progressive
graphic design group in the 1980’s, he quickly moved forward
to create and found his own design agency in the early 90s,
which continues to be active in the marketplace.

During this lengthy period, Mario has experienced both good

times and bad. As the graphic design industry changed dra-
matically in recent years, he quietly witnessed the decline in the
quality of design work being produced, which the industry had
worked so hard to establish high standards for. This decline in
quality troubled him.

As a creative person, he explored and tried other ways to hang

in there as the workplace changed, where others threw up
their hands in defeat. The design community lost agencies and
suppliers as well, as the printing industry also suffered from the

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 Designers Insights

same changes, with many closing their doors. But Mario has
relented and feels that now is the time to set the record straight.
That there is still an important need for the graphic designer in
today’s volatile communications and design environments.

Mario understands that today’s new generation of designers

are different. Their open attitude, media awareness and accep-
tance of new technologies has changed both the playing field
and the graphic design game itself. He realizes their developing
talents, knowledge and skills can benefit from his guidance, to
help steer their career course.... and that he wants to provide
that positive support.

As a seasoned professional, Mario wanted to take this oppor-

tunity to illustrate how he was able to adapt to change, so the
designers of tomorrow can follow a path that is full of hope and
promise. He wants young designers to embrace this super
creative era we are living in, where ideas and creative thinking
can break the rules and explore new exciting ways of delivering
visual messaging. To not be pessimistic, but optimistic about
the future.

This book is from an industry insider’s unique perspective.

Mario’s diverse knowledge and business expertise is given
with enthusiasm and hope. His meaningful content provides a
credibility that should stimulate and inspire young designers to
succeed... as he has done, for the past quarter century.

Stephen J. Hards


 How to Succeed as a Graphic Designer

ABOUT DESIGNERS INSIGHTS

We are a group of veteran design professionals with years of

experience and we call ourselves Designers Insights. The idea
behind creating a website and writing a book came from the fact
that we were noticing, over recent decades, a steady decline
in the quality of graphic design and we felt we needed to act
now. We think this is happening simply because fundamental
graphic design knowledge, which made our profession great in
the past and so in demand, is no longer being passed along to
today’s new generation of designers. What we are witnessing
now is the steady decline of the graphic design industry.

Why? Well to begin with, graphic design fundamentals are no

longer being taught in design schools. Curriculums are out of
touch with what the marketplace desperately needs… the ability
to communicate effectively and generate profits. Secondly,
conceptual design should always establish the framework and
guide all subsequent design decisions. The desperate use of
special effects or gimmicks like drop shadows, gradients and
transparency will never be a suitable replacement for a good
idea, which becomes the blueprint for your project. Thirdly, the
growth of new technologies fueled a competitive rivalry, dividing
print and web designers over the past two decades… even
though our common goal has always been to communicate
clearly and effectively with whatever means available.

Today, we are all witness to this and some of us feel powerless,

faced with the growing competition offering fast-food design or
pre-designed templates online, which come either from domes-

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 Designers Insights

tic markets or developing countries. The sad result is that the

general public has been left with the impression that graphics
are nice, but have no real value. Many even think graphics are
free. Clients are mostly concerned about the cost of making
the mechanics work – programming, printing, advertising and
distribution. Where have we failed them so miserably?

Well to begin with, the graphic designer’s primary job was

always to add value to a product, a service or an event by
making it known, desirable and by clearly communicating its
benefits… thereby creating measurable profits for their clients.
By creating a real demand for our creative services, it will
inevitably raise design’s real value once again and will greatly
benefit the whole graphic design community. We know this
can only be achieved by passing along proven and critical
on-the-job knowledge to the current generation of designers.
At Designers Insights we are going to teach you how to create
real measurable value for your creative services. We are going
to teach you how to become irreplaceable in the eyes of your
clients. We are going to teach you how to be successful for the
benefit of all.

Our objective with the DI website is to assist you, the profes-

sional graphic designer, in your day-to-day work. We have
gathered, in one complete collection, all the essential technical
knowledge you need to be more efficient, while feeding your
creativity. We also achieve this by showcasing the work of
today’s top designers and by presenting uplifting thoughts and
inspirational quotes from design legends, given in the true spirit

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 How to Succeed as a Graphic Designer

of master to apprentice. There’s no other design site that com-

pares to DI anywhere on the web.

Our book, How to Succeed as a Graphic Designer, was written

with the objective of instantly adding twenty-five years of on-
the-job professional knowledge to any designer, regardless of
their experience or skill level – something the website cannot
do. Our book gœs into in-depth detail about the true business
of graphic design. This book is one-of-a-kind. There is no other
industry book like it anywhere. It was designed for the sole
purpose of helping you thrive and succeed in the very competi-
tive profession you have chosen, by giving you hard facts you
can use and by guiding you every step of the way. Imagine if
you could see yourself in twenty-five years, knowing what you
have learned during that time, how different your career would
be now. Our book will change your life.

Our mission at Designers Insights, will continue by sharing our

passion for design, by preserving high standards of graphic
design, by offering education and training, by providing profes-
sional knowledge along with up-to-date resources and last,
but most important... by inspiring you to succeed in ways you
may have only dreamed of.

Visit designersinsights.com and leave feeling inspired and fully

resourced.


 Designers Insights

PREFACE

Why did I write this book? Why did I even think I could write a
book? I’d never written anything before, except printing in-
structions. Well, the answer is simple, because I’ve been there.
Because I’ve walked in your shoes. Because I overcame great
struggles and I’ve had great successes in my career. I wrote it,
because I know exactly how it feels. I know exactly how you feel
wherever you are at this time in your own graphic designers’
career. Let me start by sharing my own story…

Before graduating from high school, I was like most kids at that
age; I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I was good
at only one thing. I was a good artist. My first mentor was my art
teacher. She said that I was destined to become a great artist,
that I really didn’t have any other choice in the matter, and she
always offered me great moral support where there was none
from my family. She made the biggest positive impact on my life
at that time, and I’m forever grateful to Régine Mallet. The next
school year, I was torn between my family expectations and
what I felt I needed to do, so on the first day of school, at the last
possible minute, I gathered my courage and walked up the stairs
to the main office of the only French university in my province, and
enrolled in the Fine Arts Program. That was the best decision of
my life up until then. I just loved it! Drawing, sculpting, painting,
film making, animation, and working in these art studios all day,
sometimes all night, was extremely gratifying to me. But as a first
year student, when I looked at the artists doing their masters
degrees, I thought to myself, this is not what I want to do with
my life. I realized that the life of a fine-art artist was not for me.

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 How to Succeed as a Graphic Designer

It was a life of struggles and I have always had more of an en-

trepreneurial spirit, which came from my family background. I
expected so much more from my life, so I did the next best
thing, I moved to the big city, far away from home, to Ottawa,
our nation’s capital, and I took a two-year college course to
become a graphic designer.

When I graduated from college, I was extremely fortunate that

my last school placement was with one of the best creative firms
in town. Turquoise Design. My art director became my second
mentor and made the most positive impact on my entire career.
He was a very kind man, with exceptional creative abilities. I owe
Mark Timmings all the success I’ve ever had as a graphic de-
signer, and as a business person. He made me the professional
I am today. He taught me everything he knew about great design,
how to serve clients, how to solve supplier, client, and project
crises effectively and swiftly, and how to always generate a
positive outcome from every negative situation. He introduced
me to the best clients in town and I started doing work for them.
These extraordinary clients became my regular clients, their
extraordinary projects became my projects, and all of this only
because they trusted Mark’s judgment. It had nothing to do with
me or my creative abilities. I was in my early twenties back then.
Sadly, after almost five years of working for the firm, Mark left
for Vancouver for personal reasons and the firm closed its shop.
Meanwhile, the firm still had great clients, and Mark offered to
keep me working with him on their projects, as a freelancer. I
quickly said yes and that’s how Mario Godbout Design was
started. I was thrilled. I had always wanted to have my own busi-
ness and Mark, again, made it super simple for me. So from

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 Designers Insights

one day to the next, I went from intermediate designer to busi-

ness owner! Honestly, I had no idea of the amplitude of what I
had just done, but my ego liked it and I trusted Mark’s judgment
with my life!

After a year working out of my apartment, I rented the second

floor of a century-old brick commercial building for my growing
business. Originally the place was used as an old general store,
up until the mid-1900s, but now the first floor housed a Café.
Everything in its interior was authentic; natural wood floors, old
and big Victorian molding, high pressed tin ceilings with huge
original windows all around. It was a very cool place… you could
still feel the authenticity and history of the building. The café was
a cultural center for artists. The walls were used as a gallery and
featured upcoming artists, and the place hosted many openings
and events. It had a mixed crowd of younger and older people
and professionals. People in suits, sitting next to an unemployed
artist, and everyone in between; it simply had a great creative
atmosphere.

By then, my firm had started landing some pretty big, high-profile

clients and projects. Business was booming and I had three
designers working for me, plus I had built a really good network
of outside suppliers to complete my team. It was at the turn of
the millennium, when everyone thought the sky was ‘really’ the
limit, and then, boom! The dot-com bubble burst, the high-tech
companies crashed, and a recession followed. As a young entre-
preneur, I was not at all prepared to deal with this. I mean, it had
nothing to do with how I was taught to deal with a crisis. This was
way bigger than me and my little problems of being a business

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 How to Succeed as a Graphic Designer

owner with a staff to provide for. Regardless of the slow econ-

omy, I managed to keep thriving, and a couple of years later, I
bought a century-old brick house of my own, renovated it and
turned the first floor into a graphic design studio, replicating
exactly the same creative environment I had loved when I was
working for my first firm. At that time, my firm grew to more than
seven employees.

During this period, I trained dozens of young designers for well

over a decade, exactly the same way I was taught by my art
director. Always doing my best to give them the same in-depth
knowledge and guidance I was given as a junior designer, which
made me successful for so many years, and made most of them
very successful too. In Chapter 13, I will share with you the per-
sonal stories of Sophie, Bob, Danny and Jim, so you can learn
first-hand from their successes and failures. But before you get
to chapter 13, let me share with you my own personal struggles
as a creative designer, not as a business owner, even though
business immensely affected the direction I took.

At first, I was like any young talented designer. I gladly believed

what they taught me in design school and worshiped at the
altar of the ‘visual’ with all my designer friends. During my first
year and the years that followed, I started winning awards; lots
of design awards, local, national and international awards. My
head grew so big, I really thought I was going to become the
next super star of graphic design, and I gave it my best. Every
day, I would slave at the task of becoming the best of the best.
For a long time, winning awards was all that it took to get the
best clients and the best projects, up until I learned my biggest

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 Designers Insights

lesson as a designer. I wasn’t really bringing ‘real value’ for my

clients. Yes, I made them look amazing, and in return, it made them
look very smart, their projects went on to have great success, and
everybody had something to win from these collaborations. But
every time the economy slowed down, all I had to show for it was
a ton of awards, a great portfolio, and a growing staff I felt re-
sponsible for. I had no real knowledge of how to create value for
my clients, so they could, in turn, make measurable profits and
could attribute their new found success to me or my firm. My
clients at that time were in the arts and cultural sectors. I was
promoting cultural events, exhibitions, governor general awards,
prestigious projects, but I had almost no private sector business.
I left this to all the other design companies. I didn’t care.

Well, during the past twenty years, our industry had many ups
and downs, mainly due to the economy, the recessions, gov-
ernment policies, followed by the next big thing and the constant
rise of new technologies, which profoundly transformed our in-
dustry in ways we couldn’t even imagine back then. I wasn’t
prepared for any of this. I was on a roll in my thirties, but then
reality struck, and struck hard. In order to keep my agency alive
and keep my valuable staff, I had to start working for more private
companies. What a shock that was. These guys couldn’t care
less about my award winning designs of the past, and I quickly,
out of necessity, learned how to create value for their customers.
After ten years of doing it my way, I had to start listening to my
clients’ wants and needs, I mean really listen, if I was going to
survive. I needed to adapt, and adapt quickly. Then my whole
philosophy changed dramatically, I had to put my humongous
ego aside. I went completely in the opposite direction, and I

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 How to Succeed as a Graphic Designer

started making money for my clients. Creating real value for their
brand and offerings. I even stopped entering graphic design con-
tests entirely, right on the spot. I never entered another design
contest again, to this day. I needed this reality check. The result
was that it made my company very successful once again, and
for the next decade after.

The lesson to be learned here is obvious; by putting my ego

first I couldn’t survive. The second lesson is that I had to adapt
quickly to the changing market’s needs and wants. I had to
embrace new technologies and find new ways to make my clients
more profitable. A designer’s capacity to adapt to change, like a
chameleon, is what makes him successful. Being efficient from
the very beginning of a new project by meeting its requirements
head on, and our capacity to adapt quickly, is the key to our
growing success. That’s our greatest strength! It is by constantly
finding new ways of bringing more value to the market, that we
succeed. I’ll pause here on this subject, because the next sixteen
chapters of this book are covering every aspect of ‘How to suc-
ceed as a graphic designer’. These sixteen chapters will teach
you how to become invaluable in the competitive profession you
have chosen, by applying proven professional design knowl-
edge that works for your clients.

My primary reason for writing this book is that I want to share

with you my twenty-five years of on-the-job designer knowledge,
so you can also look forward to having a long and successful
career. Secondly, during these past twenty-five years of being
in business, I went from working with the highest standards in
graphic design, winning all sorts of awards, to witnessing two

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 Designers Insights

decades of our industry becoming a shadow of its former self.

This steady decline of the graphic design industry has to stop.
By passing on this precious knowledge to the next generation
of designers, maybe—just maybe—we can all begin to make
our industry great again and in demand. Our profession needs
to become relevant to the world once more, because we are!
We hold a high responsibility within society, we are shaping its
culture! That’s the by-product of our role as graphic designers.

Thirdly, I also strongly believe that we need to start closing any

generation gap, between the older designers and the younger
generation, if we are to create the business ventures of tomor-
row. If our industry is to thrive again, it will be through cooperation
and learning from our past failures and successes as graphic
designers. By taking back our place within the whole commu-
nications industry, we will achieve our common goal. This book
will give you step-by-step methods which you can start using
right away in your day-to-day work to make you invaluable in
the eyes of your clients and employers. I’ve been teaching young
designers for so many years and I sincerely wish this kind of
success for you.

At forty-seven years old, maybe my attempt to change our in-

dustry may seem futile, but applying the knowledge that made
this profession great is not! I guarantee that! This book was
written to begin an ongoing, one-on-one conversation with the
next generation of graphic designers. My career’s continuing
success came from what I was taught by industry professionals
a long time ago, and I want to share this past, and my present,
knowledge with you, the current generation of designers, in the

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 How to Succeed as a Graphic Designer

true spirit of master to apprentice. This may feel like throwing a

rock in the ocean, but it is my sincere wish that its ripples will
reach you, wherever you are.

Mario Godbout, RGD

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 Designers Insights

Introducion
1
“It’s art if can’t be explained.
It’s fashion if no one asks for an explanation.
It’s design if it dœsn’t need explanation.”
—Wouter Stokkel

If you’re reading this book, it is probably for one of two

reasons. You either have great ambitions, and are look-
ing to succeed in a big way, or you’re disappointed with
where your design career has taken you and feel lost. As
a developing designer, you’re probably asking yourself,
“How am I going to survive and keep making a living as
a designer? I can hardly even recognize my industry any-
more!” If you’re just starting as a graphic designer, you’re
probably asking yourself, “Where do I fit in? Where do I
go from here if I’m to have a long and fulfilling career as
a designer?”

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 How to Succeed as a Graphic Designer

This book was written for the graduating designer, the

junior designer and the developing designer, who are
faced with the challenges of being today’s generation of
graphic designers. We believe so strongly in the designers’
insights provided in this book that it should become a
mandatory manual for all graphic design schools and their
graduating design students. To the seasoned designers,
it will give you the ‘key’ missing ingredients to take your
career to the next level and put you right back on the path
of growth and success. This book was designed as a per-
sonal development tool and is a step-by-step guide to
develop the right mental attitude to succeed in this highly
competitive industry regardless of your age.

This book was written with objecive of instantly adding

twenty-five years of proven on-the-job professional know-
ledge to any designer, regardless of your present experience
or skill level. Imagine if you could step back and look at
your career and see yourself in twenty-five years, knowing
what you have learned during this time, how different
your career would be now. Our book will do just that;
it will change your life! Let’s be clear. This publication
is about the true, sometimes ugly, business of graphic
design. We will give you the hard facs and show you the
profound transformations and challenges our industry
is still going through. Through our insights, teachings,

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 Designers Insights

and instrucion we will clearly show you how to become

invaluable and irreplaceable to potential employers, to
current clients and to the design industry. This is the
best job security of all. Our book will give the kind of
information you can’t get from schools, colleagues or
your friends. This book is one-of a-kind.

Our mission at Designers Insights is to build up funda-

mental and advanced design knowledge to greatly enhance
your day-to-day workplace performance. It dœsn’t matter
if you’re a junior designer fresh out of school, an inter-
mediate designer who’s been on the job for a while, a senior
designer with years of experience, or even an art direcor.
All that matters is, if you’re at a point in your career where
you feel you are lost, stagnating, have been left behind,
are feeling disappointed with your design career expec-
tations and wonder how you are ever going to find your
place in the design community… then this book was
written for you. Our book will rapidly take you from
where you are… to where you want to be.

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 How to Succeed as a Graphic Designer

HOW TO INCREASE YOUR VALUE

“It took me a few seconds to draw it, but it took me

34 years to learn how to draw it in a few seconds.”
—Paula Scher

Perhaps you already feel that you have tons of creative

talent, growing ambitions and are ready to conquer this
creative business and make a name for yourself. Or,
maybe you feel you are not that creative, that you have
limited talent and therefore feel less ambitious and
wonder how you’re ever going to make it in this creative
business. Rest assured, you’ll soon discover in the next
chapters why it’s rarely the most creative designers that
have long lasting careers in design. That it’s all about
creating the right mental attitude you will need to develop
as a professional. Know that talent without persistence,
will, and desire vanishes quickly and even the most modest
talent with these characeristics can grow rapidly.

There can be several reasons for feeling frustrated or lost.

Perhaps you feel you have been short-changed after
spending all that time in college. Or possibly it’s about
being stuck in the same position for so long. Maybe you’ve
been changing companies regularly trying to find that
perfec fit for you… without success. You may feel that

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 Designers Insights

you’re struggling to have your work recognized by your

peers and colleagues. If you’re still looking for what you
feel was promised to you and feel an overwhelming
need to move ahead and fulfill your dreams… this book
will show you how and why this is happening to you.
We will show you why it is critical that seasoned designers
need to work hand in hand with the new generation and
why young designers need to embrace the older generation
to achieve their common goals. It is only by combining
their knowledge that they will create the new business
ventures of tomorrow.

This book will teach you how to improve your design

capabilities and make you relevant and valuable in today’s
market. It will teach you that creativity is by definition a
muscle and we’ll teach you how to grow it. We will teach
you the ins and outs of creating the winning client/
designer relationship and how easy it is to create new
connecions, but most important… how to create your
own opportunities were you see none at the moment.
The resulting positive leap forward will lead you to better
paying positions and create a more satisfying, rewarding,
long-lasting career… in any market, recession or business
climate. What we will share with you will provide you
with more than job security. Our insights will give you
employability.

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 How to Succeed as a Graphic Designer

SHARING THE DREAM

“Stay hungry, say foolish.” —Steve Jobs

We’ve all shared a similar dream. At one point in your life

you were excited about becoming a graphic designer.
What a great idea making a living doing what you love
to do. Maybe you wanted to become a designer because
you always enjoyed to draw or showed talent in visual arts.
Maybe you got into it because you have a keen sense of
design in general. Maybe it’s because you’re a creative
person and reached a point were you needed a paying job.
Some of you probably thought it would be an exciting,
rewarding job doing design and learning the latest creative
software. Maybe it was simply the prospec of doing cre-
ative work for a living that got you all excited. After all,
being passionate about your work is what it’s all about.

Maybe what originally got you excited is that you heard

that designers make a good living, and the great ones are
capable of earning lots of money. Maybe it’s all about the
lifestyle. You picured yourself as a young urban profes-
sional. A rising design talent with the latest Mac laptop
and a great circle of agency friends. You thought it would
be awesome to work in a stimulating, creative environ-
ment with some great creative people… and for some
of us that has become a reality.

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 Designers Insights

Do you often ask yourself: What about me? Why do I

feel like it’s just not happening for me at this time? Is it
that I lack creativity, imagination or fresh ideas? Do I
lack some technical skills? Or is it because I haven’t met
the right person who will help me develop my skills or
introduce me to new career opportunities? Is it because
I just haven’t found the right firm for me? Or is it just
the economy?

If you find yourself constantly asking these kind of

questions, this book has all the answers you’re searching
for and should be your new starting point. It’s your
opportunity to get you back on track and moving ahead!

CREATE THE RIGHT CAREER PATH

“Having guts always works out for me.”

—Stefan Sagmeister

Our objecive is to give you all the facs you need. It

may not always be pretty, but you will know everything
you need to know about this business. We will give you
the cold, hard facs. Some stuff you will not want to
hear, but need to. By the time you’ve finished reading
this book, we guarantee you’re going to be pumped up

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 How to Succeed as a Graphic Designer

to succeed! You will gain all the key knowledge and

information that you need in order to create the right
career plan, step-by-step, how to put it in motion, and
find the right people to associate with. We will show you
how easy it is to create your own opportunities. But most
important, we will show you how to create a winning
attitude to meet these opportunities.

And finally, our intention at Designers Insights is to

encourage designers like you to associate more with the
graphic design community and make you realize that you
are not alone, that your acions in your daily pracice have
a profound affec on us all, on the whole design industry,
whether good or bad. That it is vital that we work to-
gether, sharing thoughts, ideas and knowledge, so we can
as a group, elevate the standards for high quality work-
manship as a professional community and find solutions
to common problems.

This book is one-of-a-kind. There is no other industry

book like it anywhere. We believe so strongly that its
unique content will provide you with invaluable advice
which you can start using right away and continue to use
throughout your career. This essential guide on How to
Succeed as a Graphic Designer is intended to help you
develop a ‘winning edge’. It will teach how to create your


 Designers Insights

own opportunities where you think there are none and

will propel your career forward by leaps and bounds.
People will say: “How did you do that? How did you
get so far so fast?”

This book is meant to be read and reread, studied, under-

lined, and used as a guide. The sixteen chapters offer you
solutions, insights and bold advice. Our goal is to give you
the winning edge. Master to apprentice. If you are serious
about succeeding as a graphic designer, this book will
change your life… starting today.

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 How to Succeed as a Graphic Designer

Chapter 1
1
GETTING STARTED

We hope you have enjoyed reading our

free eBook sample. In order to purchase the
entire publication, please go directly to:
www.designersinsights.com/how-to-succeed/

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 Designers Insights

VISIT DESIGNERSINSIGHTS.COM

Our objective with the DI website is to assist you, the profes-

sional graphic designer, in your day-to-day work. We have
gathered, in one complete collection, all the essential technical
knowledge you need to be more efficient, while feeding your
creativity. We also achieve this by showcasing the work of
today’s top designers and by presenting uplifting thoughts and
inspirational quotes from design legends, given in the true
spirit of master to apprentice. There’s no other design site that
compares to DI anywhere on the web.

How to Succeed
What are employers really looking for in a designer? Why can’t
I get the job I want? Should I start my own business? Find answers
to these questions.

Designer Resources
Find all the essential technical knowledge gathered in one
complete collection for the professional graphic designer.

Showcase
Generating creative inspiration by showcasing today’s best
design work by top designers Submit your best design pieces
to our Showcase now!

Design Insights
Each workday we present uplifting thoughts and inspirational
quotes from design legends. Words of wisdom given in the
true spirit of master to apprentice.

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 How to Succeed as a Graphic Designer

Our mission at Designers Insights, will continue by sharing our

passion for design, by preserving high standards of graphic
design, by offering education and training, by providing profes-
sional knowledge along with up-to-date resources and last,
but most important...by inspiring you to succeed in ways you
may have only dreamed of.

We look forward to your visits and participation.

Come back often.
 

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