Blogging 4 the Public - B4P - An Urban Grafix Brand

Graphic Design Inspiration For The Designer In You. PT1

In the past 10 years in the Graphic Design Field I have had the pleasure in meeting many different types of Designers. Some have continued with success and others have given up and decided that taking orders at Rent-A-Center was their goal in life.

After many years in college they’ve decided that this profession is too hard for them. Too much involved for them! Life is better working 2 jobs and taking crap from people who constantly say “The Customer is always right” is okay for them.
Well my friend(s), if your thinking on quitting after many years of studying in this field and want a regular 9-5 then this article is not for you. [click here to leave]

• In this article I will set points of inspiration.
  I will get you working on usefull projects, just to keep your creativity flowing and up to date.
• I will assign you a project that you have not yet finished when you started.
• I will have you reading material that’ll keep your creative spirit alive.
• Last but not least, I will help you get over that Artists Block/Designers Block, and every time you feel out of place just repeat this method and your on your way.

With all this in mind, let me start by saying “we’re all on the same boat”. There are good days and bad days in the Graphic Designs World, Web Design/Coding World and never forget the Marketing World. I know this for a fact, because I too have days that I want to give up, but I don’t.

I once had a busy time that for 6 Months I didn’t see the light of day, I didn’t socialize and all I had was my coffee and cigarettes…err…and a occasional snack from time to time. After that, being busy for that long, things just came to a halt - everything just stopped…for a whole year!
In between that year I kept myself busy with other things, posting ads, looking at classifieds and emailing clients that didn’t need any work done at the time. So I started doing odd jobs, and felt like I was giving up. One reason I didn’t give up was because of my children…the main reason! I’m what they call a jack of all trades, but I stood focused on what I do best. What I love to do, and that’s Advertising and Designing. So as time went by I kept myself motivated. I joined a couple of online communities, I participated in group projects and passed along some tips to people who were just getting into the industry of graphic designs.

Yes, it’s very hard to keep a steady client flow going! They come and they go!
Most of them just want a quick job done with promising deadlines, then after… you never hear from them again. But that’s no reason to give up…seriously…you can’t give up over one job, there’s many more out there. You just have to look for it! Online, in the papers, newsletters, classifieds…EVERYWHERE!

A great way on getting the word out is “Affiliating”, you know “Networking” or as we all know it now “Link Trading”. By getting to know people online and getting involved in projects also keeps the creativity flowing. I have done this for many years, and I must say that its really fun! Today as we speak…errr..type, I am still involved with others in my very own community known as The Grafix Lounge

Let me fill you in:

• Affiliating with others gets the word out, not only for you but for them as well.
  The reason behind affiliating is to gain exposure… you can look at it as getting referred by a pal. Many designers have gotten jobs through affiliating. Clients do a search, their site comes up, but then they realize this person is out of their area… then they notice your little banner or button, they decide to click on it read about you then shoot you an email with an offer for a gig. Most of them keep in contact for a long time and many others call ever once in a while. But hey, it’s a start!

[More to come - Stay Tuned!]