a) buy a Mac
b) erm.. go to art college

some people do without b, but it is probably an essential part of the 'being a creative' process. Also of course it is advantageous for the ol' CV, getting foot in job doors etc.

Be obsessed with art. Get full marks in art A level, Go to Brighton Uni – do Illustration & Graphic Design course.

I self taught over a few years while working as a Software engineer. Just did loads of pro bono work and built up a portfolio and took the plunge on a job app and got it. I'd always had a degree of talent for it but spent 2 years really going for it and eventually landed that role. I'm very much in digital as my developer roots are useful in getting work…

Tried freelancing for a bit after my first role but have settled back into a nice up and coming agency in Bristol and working on some really interesting gigs!

have settled back into a nice up and coming agency in Bristol and working on some really interesting gigs!

oh and c) be prepared to use the words like 'gigs'
🙂

lol, "true dat" 😉

BluePalomino's concise answer is pretty much bang on

It shouldn't be, but it is. I've known people with degrees in graphic design who are hopeless designers, and people with no formal qualifications who are brilliant. A lot of it's just instinctive

Also: please god don't just buy a Mac and use it as a default setting. Learn to draw. Learn to conceptualize. Ask yourself what the best solution to a given brief is. If your answer is 'turn on mac' then you've got a problem

Every time i see a needlessly applied photoshop filter, a little part of me dies

It depends what kind of level and what kind of clients you are after, but a lot of the design work I see is pretty poor, so you wouldn't have to be that great to compete.

I do some design work as part of my job but I don't really see myself as a designer – I just realised I could do better than some of the chancers out there charging several hundred quid to make a simple flyer. I just taught myself to use photoshop using tutorials etc.

Edit: Oh yeah, and a lot of really talented arty people fail miserably at doing design work, as more often than not the brief is not to create some artistic masterpiece, just to get some information across in a way that achieves the right tone/style etc

gigs. Blimey. Once you get into your third decade of experience you stop using expressions like that!

I'd heartily advise doing work for free – potential clients will fall over themselves for you to do work for them, especially in this climate. As long as you have a bit of skill which you can develop they should be happy with the final product, you hone your skills on real world jobs, and it's content for your portfolio.

Do this for 6 projects then start charging on the back of your impressive portfolio. Obviously don't give up your day job until you have a steady stream of work! And be prepared for many late nights trying to please that really fussy client…

Some people don't agree with working for free but I found it was a good way to get involved in the industry.

Edit: Oh yeah, and a lot of really talented arty people fail miserably at doing design work, as more often than not the brief is not to create some artistic masterpiece, just to get some information across in a way that achieves the right tone/style etc

That's very true. I'm one of them. An awful lot of jobs in graphic design are uncreative choredom (not that that's bad). The freelance route can bear better fruit, tho if you are a natural 9 to 5'er you may not handle it; can be skin of teeth at times.

Yeah but Glen, you gotta be down with the Web2.0 kids…

Graphic jobs are a tough call to get, even if your creative skills are good… the salary has been devalued by over supply, for instance when I left college in Glasgow there were 40 students in my course (+ about another 100 if you factor other design courses in my area) alone chasing about 3 jobs… that was in the boom too!

That said, I got lucky and have been designing since '96… to make more money you tend to do less design, I am now a senior designer and it is about 60% design/creative/artwork and about 40% admin/workload management.

I have hired a fair few designers and creative skills (i.e. portfolio and relevant experience) are what its all about… not too worried that one person has a degree and another doesn't. Also, not too arty… I have seen some work that is TOO creative… it's got to be commercial, your job is to work to tight deadlines and meet clients needs – sometimes designers can be self indulgent.

If you can work industry standard software well… Indesign, Illustrator and Photoshop if your a print designer, are VERY organised and don't flap under pressure, have an nice clean design style and a good grasp of layout/typography and passionate about design – you will be fine.

I would be wary of starting a career in a printer / copy shop as it wont do your folio any good, I found that doing some cheap, freelance work helped lots, it showed interviewers that I could actually send a job to print, and manage the design process.

Plain college folios are rarely enough as it is not live work and deadlines tend to be stupidly long (i.e. 2 weeks for a branding project).

Also: please god don't just buy a Mac and use it as a default setting. Learn to draw. Learn to conceptualize. Ask yourself what the best solution to a given brief is. If your answer is 'turn on mac' then you've got a problem

As being a Graphic design student (3rd Yr @ Hull school of Art And Design) We don't get any decent feedback unless we show lots of research, thought and experiments before we hit the 'Mac'.

I expecting the 'real' world of GD to be flipping hard work with long hours.. But when its something you have a passion for, its all fun!