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Can Graphic Designers Work From Home?

Posted by Mike at Gde Traffic?

As more companies and businesses shift to operating remotely, will graphic designers be able to fully work from home? Here is everything you need to know for success at home.

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During my time as a professional graphic designer I have heard mixed opinions about working from home. I have met creative directors and managers that were adamant on being in the office and interacting with coworkers for design to ‘happen’. On the other hand I have also had a few roles and opportunities where I was fully able to work from home comfortably without any judgement or guilt. Not to mention, at the time of writing this article most businesses and companies have moved to requiring employees to work from home for safety reasons.

Being a graphic designer comes with the fortunate opportunity to work from home or wherever you want in the world. As a graphic designer part of your role is to bring together ideas and create visual graphics to communicate those concepts. As technology continues to advance and the industry becomes more progressive, there are tools that enable graphic designers to truly work from home no matter the distance between the client and you. In this article we’ll go over why graphic designers can work from home, what companies have made the switch, where to look for remote jobs, and tools you can use to make working from home a breeze.

How To Be A Successful Graphic Designer From Home

Qualities

While we might agree that graphic designers can work from home. I think it is important to also understand what makes a successful graphic designer? To be a successful graphic designer there are three qualities I believe you need to possess. You need to be a talented maker, a great communicator, and also a great listener. If you find yourself having only one of these qualities or missing one then don’t worry because you can always find a partner to work with that compliments you. These are also qualities that you can teach yourself so don’t be afraid to take the time and focus on improving the area of skill you think you lack. Being a great maker, communicator, and listener allows you to truly understand what your client is asking for and turn their feedback into beautiful visual solutions.

Responsibilities

Now that we know some qualities of a great graphic designer. We can focus on the responsibilities associated with a successful graphic designer. One of the major responsibilities when working with clients will be managing reviews and deadlines. This is usually done by establishing a timeline at the beginning of every project alongside the client.

Another responsibility for graphic designers will be capturing feedback during reviews to make sure you are creating what the client invisions. This where being a great listener will really come in handy. I find that it is so easy for graphic designers to ignore client feedback because they think their idea is better. In full transparency I have been guilty of this and like I said it is absolutely something that you can work on and get better with over time.

One of the last responsibilities a successful graphic designer will have will be to present their work to the client in a way that they can easily understand and digest. Yes, I said digest. As graphic designers it can be very easy to get overly ‘nerdy’ and assume that the client knows the same language or vocabulary as we do. In a way this responsibility of presenting is not only putting together a visually gorgeous presentation but also using language that is easy for the client to align with.

Success from home

Now that we have an understanding of some qualities and responsibilities that make a successful graphic designer. We can now go ahead and apply all of those to working from home. While many will immediately say working from home is a breeze, there is a level of difficulty that comes with it as well. Since you’re not around your team or working closely with the client there will be less opportunities to bounce ideas off of each other in passing. Making sure you schedule plenty of time to review your work and get feedback will lead you to success.

Work From Home Tools for Graphic Designers

Since you will be working from your home there are plenty of tools that will allow you to collaborate with your team and your clients as if you were physically there with them. Below is a list of tools that I personally recommend using. Below this list you will also find a more indepth review of each tool.

Slack
Zoom
Invision
Adobe Creative Cloud
Google Apps Suite

1. Slack

Slack is a messaging platform made for sharing and collaborating with teammates and clients. With slack you can send messages and share files that will allow you to get feedback quickly. I remember the first time I used Slack and I was very impressed with how natural it felt to have a conversation with a coworker. Slack offers a free tier so you can download and use it without paying for it. Slack is becoming more popular amongst organizations and chances are some of your clients and teammates are already familiar with the platform.

2. Zoom

Zoom is a video communication tool that you can use for meetings over video with your clients or teammates. Zoom makes it easy to present work over video with others. Zoom has become very popular recently and it is being used outside of the office as well for friends and family to connect over video.

3. Invision

Invision is a great tool for reviewing work and also capturing feedback from clients simultaneously. I first used Invision while I was working as a product designer creating websites and apps. It is very popular because it integrates with a program called Sketch but since then it has also added integrations for apps like Adobe Photoshop. Invision offers a free tier but it is limited in the amount of projects you can share.

4. Adobe Creative Cloud

If you don’t already have an Adobe Creative Cloud membership then I highly recommend you purchase a subscription today. You can use my link here for a 60% discount with your student or teacher ID. The Adobe Creative Cloud comes with all the apps and programs you will need to create amazing designs. Apps like AdobeXd come with the ability to share you work through the browser and also capture feedback for your projects.

5. Google Apps Suite

All of the Google apps are great for use when you are working from home. Google calendar lets you schedule and invite clients to meetings. Google docs allows you to share notes and documents with clients where you can both collaborate and leave comments. Google Slides gives you the opportunity to develop amazing presentations. And finally Google Drive allows you to keep all of it in one safe place so you keep things organized and never forget where you saved those last documents.

Companies That Allow Work From Home

With the unfortunate happening of the CoronaVirus, many companies have decided to switch to working from home and have seen major improvements in efficiency. Here is a list of a few companies that have recently switched to working from home.

Facebook
Google
Twitter
Square
Shopify
Microsoft
Spotify
PepsiCo
Slack
Box

Where To Find Work From Home Jobs

As the list of companies that are switching to work from home grows there will be more and more jobs for graphic designers to apply for. You can read our Friendly Guide Of The Most Popular Places to Find Graphic Design Jobs here. In case you want the quick list I have included it below.

WorkingNotWorking
Toptal
Linkedin
Coroflot
Fiverr
Upwork
Behance
Indeed
Wethemakers
Dribbble
Krop
NODESK
#epicjobs
If You Could Jobs
AngelList
Craigslist

Benefits Of Working From Home

Working from home may be our new normal for a while but there are a ton of benefits that working from home brings. I personally can attest to some of these as I have recently made the switch to fully working from home.

Morning Routine

Working from home really allows you to establish and own your morning routine. While waking up for work used to consist of getting a quick shower in and packing a lunch before rushing to public transportation to the office. My morning routine has fully evolved to allow me to feel less stressed and more comfortable when logging on to start my work. I now wake up relaxed and I even start the day with a morning workout. The time I would spend getting ready can now be used to improve my well-being.

Saving Money

Saving money has also been a big benefit of working from home in many ways. Since I don’t take public transportation into the office anymore I save on purchasing multiple train cards to get into the city. I also save big time when it comes to spending money on meals like lunch and sometimes even a second later lunch. Since I have a little more time in the day I can now go food shopping and plan out what I want to eat throughout the week so that I can stay focused. We all know how you can sometimes get distracted when you’re hangry so I would highly recommend learning to cook some meals.

Overall Health

While I used to think that I enjoyed the morning commute into work because it was very much a part of my routine, it was also very stressful. Making sure to catch the right trains and dealing with the weather that day over time can definitely have an effect on your stress. Working from home skips all of that and I find that I am more relaxed because of it.

Conclusion

As graphic designers we are very fortunate that our roles and responsibilities allow us to complete them while not being tied to an office or location. As working from home becomes more accepted in different industries, graphic designers that can successfully complete their responsibilities will become more in demand. Have you recently had to work from home as a graphic designer? Do you have any tips that I missed in this article? Share them below in the comments and we’ll make sure to update this article. Also if you enjoy this article sign up for our newsletter where we send you our best articles just like this one directly to your inbox.

How To Build A Design Portfolio WITHOUT ANY Experience? 8 Step Guide

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So you’re interested in graphic design and heard that you need a design portfolio but you don’t have any experience or work to show. Where should you start?

So you’re interested in becoming a graphic designer because you heard all about how you can do it while working remotely, or you’re interested in working visually with your ideas, or you may just like solving problems. You also heard that being a graphic designer comes with the need to have what they call a design portfolio. But what if you’re just starting without any experience at all? Where do you start when it comes to building a design portfolio?

Building a design portfolio without any experience can be very simple as long as you approach it correctly. This involves understanding your career goals, choosing an area of design to focus on, building up your skills with projects, and over time you will have a design portfolio you can be proud of that you built without any experience.

Building a design portfolio with or without any experience is not a task that is completed within a matter of hours or even days. Design portfolios can take time especially because they are one of the most important tools you will use in your career as a graphic designer. In this article, I will go over all of the steps you need to take to build your design portfolio without any experience so you can be on your way to becoming a well-versed successful graphic designer.

1. Define Your Career Goal

The very first step to building your design portfolio without any experience requires no work at all except a little thought and perhaps a pen and a piece of paper if you choose. Step one of building your design portfolio without any experience is to define your goal. As a graphic designer, there are mainly two career paths that come to mind when you are working a graphic designer and those are the “Full-Time” and “Freelance” career paths. They both have their pros and cons of course, but considering which path you would like to choose, before actually building your design portfolio will help tremendously as it can determine how you structure and present your design portfolio. Of course, you can always change your goal as you grow in your career as a graphic designer but for now, let’s choose one and stick with it for a while.

If you are interested in pursuing a full-time job as a graphic designer then you should know that companies or agencies offering full-time roles will want to see more than just the design work you include in your design portfolio. They will want to see information regarding the steps you’ve taken to become a graphic designer, whether that be school, online courses, internships, and design challenges. They will also want to see if you can share any information regarding working with others in a team environment as this will most likely be the case at a company or agency. Don’t be scared or discouraged by this list. This is an article about building your design portfolio WITHOUT ANY experience but it is always helpful to know about these things ahead of time so you can be prepared when it comes time to apply and interview.

If you are interested in pursuing the freelance career path as a graphic designer then you should know that potential clients will tend to focus more on your quality of work. But don’t let this deter you from considering a full-time role as a graphic designer as being an independent designer also comes with the responsibilities of running and maintaining your own business. Building a design portfolio to pursue a freelance career will also require you to show variety in your design portfolio. Now when I say variety, I don’t necessarily mean showing a variety of projects but more so a variety of clients. Showing a variety of clients in different industries with different business goals will help showcase your versatility when working in new businesses. In the next section, I will also go over why showing a variety of projects will work against you and why you should focus on one area of work.

2. Pick a Design Focus

Now that you have outlined your career goal as a graphic designer, your next step is to pick an area of design that you would like to focus on and create work for. There are a ton of different areas of design for you to choose from and picking one will help not only in the portfolio-building process but also when it comes time to look for new projects! This is a mistake I see a lot of designers make while reviewing design portfolios during the 1-on-1 sessions I offer here on Wellfed. As creative people, we love to showcase all of our visual talents and skills, and while that is great. When pursuing a career as a graphic designer, it is easier to “market yourself” when you are focused on one area. This was something that took me a while to learn but after battling with myself for a few years I finally made the change to do so on my portfolio and haven’t looked back since. Here is a quick list of design areas you can choose from to get you started. I have also linked them to some galleries on Behance to give you a sense of what that type of work can look like.

Branding Design
Website Design
UI/UX Design
Advertising Design
Editorial Design
Poster Design

Of course, there are many more fields of design you can choose from but this is a good list to start from.

Tips For Choosing A Design Focus

Choose one area to focus on today.
Don’t worry about only doing this type of work forever. You can always expand on what you do later on as you become more experienced.
Choose the type of work that is most interesting to you.
Don’t overthink this step.

3. Get Inspired

After you’ve selected your design area of focus, it is now time to get inspired and seek out other designers creating the work you would like to create. I find this step to be really important when you are building your design portfolio without any experience. Essentially this step is a crash course in design. You want to take the time to learn as much as possible about other companies, design agencies, and designers making the type of work you would eventually like to create. You can start by searching websites like Behance, Dribbble, or even our list of design studios all designers should know to find inspiration. Then take it one step further and use an app like Pinterest or Figma to create a board of inspiration so that you can reference it throughout your design career and add to it over time. These sources of inspiration will help guide you to better create work and help you to grow in your design career.

4. Practice, Practice, Practice

Now, it is finally time to do some real design work. Or at least to start practicing. Step four of building your design portfolio without any experience is to start creating some work while keeping in mind the three previous steps we’ve taken. Considering what design your goal is, which area of design you’re focusing on, and what kind of work inspires you, we will now use some free resources to get you started on creating a few projects you can put into your design portfolio without any experience.

The resources in this list below are called brief generators and they are all free to use. A brief generator is a tool that gives you random prompts for creating projects similar to how a company, agency, or client would in a real working situation. Brief generators are great to use because they save you time from thinking too long about what it is you should make. Below is a list of free brief generators that I recommend using to start creating projects for your design portfolio.

Good Brief – Top Choice
Sharpen – Great for branding, marketing, and UI/UX
Daily Logo Challenge
BRIEFZ.BIZ
Daily UI

When using these brief generators, try not to rush through and finish these first initial projects as quickly as possible. Take your time and continue to reference the inspiration mood board you put together in step three. Take note of the assets and imagery your favorite companies, agencies, and designers created in their work. In a way, try to replicate their work. Yes, I said “replicate” their work. That doesn’t mean copying their work 1-for-1 but instead, trying to learn by repeating some of the work they did. You can learn more about this process in this amazing book called “Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative”. I recommend it to everyone as it summarizes what we are trying to do in this step of building your design portfolio without any experience.

By the end of this step, we are aiming to have anywhere from 4-6 completed briefs in the area of design you’ve chosen. This will give you some options to choose from in the next step as you begin to assemble the first version of your design portfolio.

5. Assemble Your First Design Portfolio

Finally! You have made it to the very first phase of actually assembling a design portfolio without any experience! In this step, you are going to use a free portfolio website to get your newly created design projects into a design portfolio format. You can learn more about all the 11 free design portfolio websites I recommend and how you should pick one here in this article. To start building your design portfolio without any experience in the fastest and easiest way possible, we are going to use a website called Behance. Behance is a website owned by Adobe and was created for designers and creatives to share and publish their work. Behance makes it easy to build your design portfolio and that is exactly why we are going to use it. Now that you have 4-6 completed design projects using the brief generators, you are going to want to select your 3 favorite projects. These should not only be the projects you enjoyed the most working on, but they should also be the projects you think best represent the quality and style of your work. If you are unsure of how to organize your projects in Behance, take a look at the list above of all the areas of design and reference projects from those categories. Uploading a project to Behance is simple and takes only a few steps. Below I have created a list of tips for uploading your design project to Behance.

Tips for Uploading Design Projects to Behance

Make sure to title your design project correctly.
Make sure to include a brief description of the project at the top of the page. The description should at the very least include who the project was for, some of your thoughts about the problem, and why you created the design solution you did.
Try to include at least 5 images in your project. Of course, you can go over this amount but if you are just starting, 5 images is a great start.
Don’t forget to fill out all the extra details Behance provides in their upload process. It helps get your project seen by more people!

6. Reach Out to Friends, Family, and Community

So now you’re done, right? You have your design portfolio on Behance with your newly created projects from the design brief generators. What else is there to do? Well, building your design portfolio without any experience doesn’t stop there. Now is the time you are going to take your first step out into the real world as a graphic designer! Yes, you are now ready to start seeking out real design work. What I mean by real design work is, that you are going to find projects and briefs that are determined by “clients”, or better yet, friends, family, or your local community. Yes, it is time to let your network know you are pursuing design as a career. Starting with your friends, family, and local community is a great way to get the experience of what it’s like working as a designer. It is probably worth mentioning that these projects may not all be paid projects and that is ok! That means less risk and more opportunity to learn. Now, this may sound frightening for some so don’t worry, I’m going to give you a few tips for how you can do this below.

Tips for Finding Design Work with Friends, Family, and Community

Figure out what it is you want to offer i.e. logo design, website design, social media marketing campaign, etc. This will help you set expectations in your discussions as you offer your services to your network.
Decide if you would like to put a limit on revisions. This can help you from spending longer than you would like on projects especially if you aren’t being compensated for your time.
Start with reaching out to your local community first. Places like non-profits, schools, and local stores are great places to start. The owners most likely are super grateful for your help as this is something they usually aren’t able to afford while running a business.
If you are in a situation where you would prefer to be compensated for your time while working on these projects, set a price for the first project and then raise the price for the next project. You can use the first project you completed as an example of your work to help move the conversation along.

7. Update Your Design Portfolio

After completing some projects within your local community and your personal network it is time again to update your design portfolio. Add those new projects to your Behance profile, but this time try to add more information about the process of working with the clients you found. Including details about what you offered the client, why you chose that specific client, and how the process went, can all be valuable information to include in your design portfolio and helps to build up your experience as a designer.

8. Apply to Jobs or Search For More Clients

Remember in step one where we defined our goal as a graphic designer building their portfolio without any experience. Well, now it’s time to apply that goal to this step. Now that we have a design portfolio with projects we created on our own as well as some real-world design projects. It is time to start applying for full-time jobs or if you choose to be a freelance designer, find new clients. Everything that you have done up until this step has not only helped build your design portfolio without any experience but also gain you valuable experience as a graphic designer.

Next Steps

As you continue to grow in your career as a graphic designer, working on new and exciting projects, and expanding your professional network, your portfolio will continue to grow and evolve. After you go through step 8 of applying and searching for new opportunities, consider building a design portfolio on your website. While I discussed in this how building your design portfolio without any experience using Behance for now. It is always valuable to own your URL and create a design portfolio that expresses your personality, style, and design vision on your very own website. If you are interested in learning what websites to use to do this, check out the “Build Your Own” section in this article here.

Also, if you don’t know where to start and you’re looking for a little extra help, consider signing up for a free 1-on-1 creative session with me where we can go over any questions you have and put together a list of actionable steps for you to get working on your portfolio. You can sign up using this link here. As always, you can also find me on TikTok and on Instagram for any other questions you may have. See you in the next article!

3 Reasons Why Your Design Portfolio Is The MOST Important Tool You Have

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Your design portfolio is the one tool you will always have no matter what stage of your career you are in and this is why it is so important.

Being a graphic designer can be a very stressful but also very rewarding career path. Having the ability to work creatively, express your ideas visually, and help solve problems for clients and businesses has always sounded amazing to me. However, to achieve success as a graphic designer there are many elements to take into account but the one that sticks out in my mind is your design portfolio. In my 10 years of being a graphic designer working in full-time and freelance roles, I can attest that having a well-designed portfolio is the key to success.

Having a solid, well-designed, and up-to-date design portfolio is important because it can lead you to better job opportunities with some of the most exciting companies in the world, connect you with high-quality clients, and provide with you pricing power when it comes to taking on new work.

As a graphic designer who has seen these very results because of having a solid design portfolio. I am going to tell you exactly why your design portfolio is important and why it can lead you down the path to success.

“I now have companies like Meta reaching out to me instead of the other way around.”

Better Job Opportunities

In the career of a graphic designer or any area in the design industry, getting a full-time role at a company can be very competitive. The world’s biggest companies like Apple, Google, and Meta are always looking for top talent and if you’re like me, you and many other designers would also love to work at these companies. The number of design portfolios that are sent to these companies per day is most likely astronomical but what if there was a way where you could get these companies to reach out to you instead? That is where your design portfolio comes in. While this may not happen immediately, my design portfolio over the years has gotten me to the point where I now have companies like Meta reaching out to me instead of the other way around. When you’re starting, your design portfolio is going to lead you to new and exciting job opportunities which over time will start to build your resume and experience. This experience is going to make you a better candidate for those big companies when they are looking to fill their open roles. Yes, unfortunately having a solid design portfolio today isn’t going to get Apple to recognize you tomorrow. Being a graphic designer is very much about the journey and it does take time but that is not to say that putting the effort in now will not pay off very soon in the future.

Higher Quality Clients

Putting the time and work into designing, updating, and maintaining your design portfolio can say a lot about who you are as a designer and service provider. Especially to potential clients that visit your design portfolio website. If you’re looking for some tips on how you can quickly create your design portfolio then check out our top 10 tips list here. The quality and level of detail you put into your design portfolio will speak to clients who value that when they are looking for someone to work with. Your design portfolio can also act as a deterrent for clients that don’t have the budgets you are looking for when taking on new work. Which is a good thing, believe me. In addition to attracting these higher-quality clients, these clients will also have a network of other potential clients that they can refer you to, allowing you to continue the cycle of creating great work for great clients.

“A well-designed portfolio is like wearing your favorite outfit, it can be like a body armor that makes you feel indestructible.”

Pricing Power

Pricing power immediately came to mind when I thought of why your design portfolio is so important. The question of how you charge higher prices for your work always comes up in the design social mediasphere and while there isn’t just one answer, this is a great place to start. Putting the work into your design portfolio, I think, is the number one way to feel more confident in charging more for your work. While it can be hard to confidently say to a client that you charge upwards of $100 per hour or more than $3,000 for a website or project. Giving yourself the tools to approach that conversation more easily can help you feel more confident when you deliver that news to potential clients. A well-designed portfolio is like wearing your favorite outfit, it can be like a body armor that makes you feel indestructible.

Design Portfolio Tips

If you are a designer, illustrator, or photographer and you are looking to improve how you present and market yourself using your portfolio then consider signing up for a free portfolio review using the big orange link below or you can sign up for one using this link here. During these reviews, we jump on a Zoom call and go over any questions you may have and put together a list of improvements you can make to start using your portfolio as a tool to get you your next job or client project. As always, if you have any questions you can leave a comment or message me on my TikTok and Instagram accounts. See you in the next article!

11 FREE Design Portfolio Websites You Need To Know About

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You don’t need a fancy custom-built design portfolio website to stand out. Here are some free options that you can use to host your design portfolio and get the job done.

There are many different ways you can go about creating your design portfolio to showcase all of your creative work. While some of the options require you to sign up for a monthly subscription, that may not be an option for you at the moment. So what are some of the best free options that you can utilize to host and showcase your design portfolio?

After researching all of the free design portfolio options, I have divided them into three categories; showcase, build your own, and alternative. I have found that the best top free websites to use for your design portfolio currently are Behance in the showcase category, Readymag in the build your own category, and Notion in the alternative category. All of these options are free to sign up for and don’t require you to pay for a monthly plan and they are all simple to use which means you can get your design portfolio up and running quickly.

In this article, I’ll go over each of the free design portfolio website options, the features they include, and my personal thoughts so you can choose the best free design portfolio website for you.

Types of Free Design Portfolio Websites

Before we dive into each of the free design portfolio options, it is helpful to understand the three categories of websites that we will discuss in this article. The first is the “Showcase” websites. This category of free design portfolio websites allows you to upload and share your projects in a relatively predefined layout. These websites require no payment whatsoever. They also allow you to easily search and discover other projects and designers in your space. This is a great feature because it becomes a resource for inspiration and also allows other designers, creatives, and potential clients to discover your work, which we know can lead to new paid opportunities.

The second category is what I call the “Build Your Own” website. This category consists of free design portfolio websites that require you to build the actual website layout for you to display your design work. These websites provide you with more customization to create a design portfolio that fits your personality and style of work. While building your own website can take some time, these websites include templates you can use as a starting point. In addition to building your website layout, you will also have to consider how you will promote and market your website as this category of websites does not offer a “showcase” or “discover” feature where you can explore other similar design portfolios on the platform.

The third category of free design portfolio website options is the “Alternative” category. This category is made up of websites and platforms that were not originally intended for hosting your design portfolio but can absolutely be a quick and easy solution to do so. These options have been used by other designers and are somewhat admired for their disregard for aesthetics and focus on content.

Now with our three categories defined, we can jump into our list of free design portfolio website options, starting with the Showcase type options.

Best Free “Showcase” Design Portfolio Websites

Behance

Behance, owned by Adobe, is a portfolio website option that is very popular in the design and creative industry. Behance allows users to upload text and imagery about their projects in a very simple and relatively predefined layout. In order to start uploading your design portfolio to Behance, you will need to create an Adobe account but don’t worry. Behance is completely free to use no matter how many projects you upload unlike some design portfolio website options in this article. Since Behance is a community for all types of creatives, you can also find portfolios in photography, 3D design, illustration, motion, architecture, fashion, and many more. Behance has become so popular amongst designers and creatives from other industries, that it has also drawn the attention of companies, creative directors, and hiring managers when looking to fill new design jobs and opportunities. This is great because you become a candidate for these opportunities as they search Behance for good work. However, Behance does function in a way like a social network and because of that, the popularity and awareness of your projects rely on certain factors of the platform like being featured in Adobe application galleries and interacting with other creatives.

Uploading your design project to Behance is super easy and straightforward. Behance provides you options to upload images, text, video, audio, photo-grids, and even elements like NFTs and prototypes. These elements can be placed in any order you would like to really create a story with your design projects. Once you have laid out your design project and adjusted all the styling to your liking, it is worth it to take the time and fill out the additional detail fields that Behance provides. These extra details help provide more context about your project and also help with it potentially being discovered by others visiting the platform.

Overall I think Behance is a great website to host your design portfolio. It has an amazing community and they make it super easy to upload your design projects and really tell a story about your projects. The extra value added by having such a large and diverse community of creatives and creative employers also makes it a solid choice giving you the opportunity to find new creative opportunities. Since Behance is also owned by Adobe, if you don’t already have an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, you can check out my special link for 60% off the Adobe Creative Cloud subscription for all students and teachers. ‍

Dribbble

Dribbble spelled with three b’s is another showcase-type design portfolio option with a bustling community. Dribbble is more focused on different fields of design. This includes branding, animation, product design, typography, web design, and more. Over the years Dribbble has grown in popularity amongst designers and in my opinion, has formed somewhat of a cult following. The creatives that started using Dribbble early on have seemed to stick with the platform and now contribute to the website on a regular basis. With Dribbble, instead of posting full design projects from your portfolio, Dribbble encourages sharing what they call “shots”. Shots can be anything from work in progress imagery, smaller elements of larger projects, and other pieces or previews of what you are working on. Dribbble is free to create an account and use but also offers a premium account that grants you access to more features such as uploading a gallery of images for your shots.

Sharing a shot on Dribbble is easy. Simply upload an image, give it a name, and a brief description, fill out some additional details for the platform, and then hit publish. Dribbble similarly to Behance also operates in a way like a social network allowing users to comment, like, and share the work of other designers. Getting more views on your shots depends on your network and how active you are on the platform. Dribbble’s community is not only filled with other designers but also companies and hiring managers looking to find top talent for their available roles. This means more opportunities for you!

As a free portfolio website option for designers, Dribbble is not exactly my go-to choice. As Dribbble focuses more on smaller bits and pieces of design projects, it makes it a little more difficult to really craft a story or case study around your work. However, Dribbble is a great tool to use as a designer to share work regularly which can absolutely be used to your advantage when going for new design opportunities.

WorkingNotWorking

WorkingNotWorking is a showcase design portfolio website option that was launched with the intention of giving designers and creatives the ability to display when they were available or unavailable for new projects and opportunities. WorkingNotWorking is used by creatives not only in the design industry. Designers, photographers, directors, copywriters, strategists, and many more all use WNW to connect with the best creative companies. WorkingNotWorking was acquired by Fiverr in 2021 to add to their network but that hasn’t taken anything away from the platform when it comes to using it for your design portfolio. In order to upload your design projects to WNW, you will need to create an account and profile first. This includes adding your previous experience, job interests, and a few other details. Once that is complete, uploading a new design project to WNW is easy and similar to Behance and Dribbble.

While WorkingNotWorking has a community aspect like Behance and Dribbble. I believe it does a better job of highlighting the creative opportunities available on the platform. I’m a big fan of this because that means even if you are just starting out, you have the ability to find a new role or client project quickly. While the design project functionality is slightly more simple than Behance, I would recommend giving WorkingNotWorking a chance when it comes to using it as a design portfolio website option. ‍

Coroflot

I remember Coroflot was one of my favorite job boards when I was just starting off as a designer but since then it has now evolved to also allow users to upload their design portfolio projects onto their platform. Similar to the other design portfolio options in the showcase category, Coroflot integrates the portfolio feature with their job board so that designers can also find new opportunities. You can also view and follow the work of other designers on Coroflot to stay inspired. Creating an account is a quick process and uploading new projects is just like WorkingNotWorking. You add your design project images, provide a description of the project, and some additional details and you’re done.

‍‍Contra

Contra is a new platform for me as I only learned about it during the early days of the pandemic through TikTok. Initially, I was unsure which category Contra belongs in because it is kind of a showcase website and kind of not. Let me explain. Contra is completely free to create an account and use. They allow designers to create their profiles and add projects just like the other design portfolio website options in the showcase category. In addition to this, they also allow users to list the services that they offer to clients because Contra is not only a design portfolio option, but is also a marketplace for creative companies to search for creatives for their available opportunities similar to WorkingNotWorking and Coroflot. The way it differs from some of the design portfolio website options in this category is that you cannot search for other designers or creatives on the platform unless you are in hiring mode which means you have an opportunity or role needing to be filled. So it is not immediately a showcase type of design portfolio option. However, having the ability to be connected to paid gigs through uploading your design portfolio and experience for me is always a plus. Another cool thing that I really really liked about Contra was their partnership with TikTok. This allows anyone on TikTok that connects their Contra to add a badge to their videos so viewers can visit their Contra profile and again potentially hire them for one of the services they offer or for a new opportunity. I can imagine for Contra this is only the beginning of integrating with social platforms as I can see this being a really cool feature on other social platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc. While it is not my favorite in the showcase category of design portfolio website options, I would say it is a very solid second pick because of its innovation in the category and I look forward to seeing it grow in popularity amongst the design community. ‍‍

Final Thoughts on Showcase Design Portfolio Websites

All of the options in this category are suitable to use as your design portfolio website if you are just starting out. While some hiring managers and creatives have their opinions about using these design portfolio website options as long-term solutions, the added value of having a community that can also discover your work is priceless and can ultimately lead to more opportunities for you as a designer. Personally, I believe Behance is the most popular of all of the options in this category and is actually used by some designers as their main design portfolio destination. If you had to start with one, Behance is the design portfolio website option that I would recommend to designers and creatives starting off.

Best Free “Build Your Own” Design Portfolio Websites

Wix

While Wix can sometimes get a bad wrap from designers since the platform used to be very rigid when it came to designing choices. I have to say, Wix has come a very very long way. I went ahead and created a free account for the purposes of this article and then decided to choose the fastest and simplest options during their onboarding process to build a website. Basically, I chose to let Wix build me a complete homepage and contact page based on some of the questions they asked during onboarding and within two minutes I had a full website built. The website included a blog, the beginnings of a shop, an Instagram feed integration, and a few other additional pages. Of course, the website wasn’t filled in with any of my design projects, but again, I was able to have all of those pages up and running within a few minutes. How great is that!? As for design aesthetic, I went ahead and picked a theme called “FUSE” which looks to be a Helvetica, dark type of a theme, and while I can go on about how this isn’t exactly my aesthetic. I don’t think I can really complain after they built out 5 pages for me within minutes. If I were to continue using Wix as my design portfolio website I can see how I could focus more on getting the content of each of my design projects ready before I would jump back into the overall design of the website.

Digging a little bit deeper into the Wix platform, the design interface looks fairly simple to understand. As you click into each panel they provide a nice bit of information so you can understand what you are about to do. Customizing pages is also pretty simple if you are familiar with website builders but also if you are not. As I began to explore how to create new pages I saw my first hurdle with Wix and that is having to create individual pages for your design portfolio projects. If you are trying to get your design portfolio up quickly this will definitely set you back some time. While the way around this would be to create one project page and then duplicate that, replacing all the information with another project. Leaving the design options open and not providing some guardrails can turn into a deep rabbit hole for a designer as we can obsess over small details and make sure everything is “perfect”.

Overall I was very impressed with the Wix website builder and how easy it was to actually get a site up and running so quickly. If you’d like to check out the result of my free account creation without editing or adding anything at all you can check out this link here.

If you are interested in using Wix to build your next portfolio as it’s a pretty awesome option to build a design portfolio check out this link to create your account and for the lowest pricing on a paid plan.‍

UXFolio

UXFolio is an interesting option within the “Build Your Own” category. UXFolio gives you the ability to start from a completely empty canvas and customize your page design. But, similar to Wix, it also gives you prompts while you are building your design portfolio to enable the ability for UXFolio to generate full pages along with project sections from your selected options which I find to be very cool. These generated pages help to get the ball rolling when it comes to your layout and where you add descriptions and imagery for your design project. At this point, it is worth mentioning that UXFolio is marketed toward designers in the digital product design space but I can also see how you could hack it in a way to work for designers that aren’t in that space as well.

UXFolio comes with a few different templates to choose from to help with the overall aesthetic of your design portfolio. Within those templates, you can really only customize your colors as all the other customization options are behind the paid account tier. The paid account for UXFolio is $9 a month and might be something to consider as you can only add one project to your design portfolio under the free account. As a free option, it doesn’t look like UXFolio is ideal if you plan to stay on that tier level but it still stands as a good option to get you up and running quickly.

You can check out my example portfolio that I built on UXFolio here.‍

Readymag

Readymag is an option I’ve seen floating around for a while now and I was really excited to get into the platform and finally give it a try. I went ahead and created a free account and started messing around with their website builder and it is a very cool design-centric tool. You can totally tell that Readymag was built for designers by designers. Everything about their interface just screams graphic design. It is simple, clean, and out of your way so you can really get a sense of what you are building without any distractions. This can also be a little bit troublesome being a first-time user since you may not be familiar with how to use and build inside the platform. After clicking around for a couple of minutes I was able to figure out how to build new pages, add new elements, and actually publish the website. Similar to other “Build Your Own” websites, the same applies with Readymag as you would need to build a unique page design for each new design project you would like to add to your portfolio or consider duplicating one and using that across your design portfolio. Again, not a huge problem and can actually be a blessing to really create a unique experience for each design project in your portfolio. But when it comes to speed and getting your design portfolio up and running quickly. This can ultimately take away from that.

Readymag also comes with some cool features that allow you to search and plugin different images and videos from sites like Flickr and youtube right from the website builder. This is great for when you need to add some additional creative assets to your homepage or project pages and may not want to spend the time creating something unique in something like Adobe. Readymag also gives you control over the layout of your design portfolio on mobile devices so you can make sure that everything looks good but it doesn’t cover the screen sizes between desktop and mobile phones.

I think Readymag is definitely an option to consider if you are looking for full customization over your design portfolio website and have some time to really tailor each page design. Readymag is completely free to use and lets you publish your website as soon as you are done designing with a Readymag URL. Check mine out here. If you want to change your URL to something custom like how we talk about in our article How To Name Your Design Portfolio Website – Don’t Make This Mistake then you’ll have to sign up for a paid account. Paid accounts are only $13.50 a month which is really inexpensive for a design portfolio website builder like this. You can sign up for a paid account using this special link here.

Webflow

The designer’s best friend when it comes to the build your own category of free design portfolio website options. Webflow has been around for a little while now and has become very popular within the design community. I personally use it myself for client projects and even built the Wellfed website all in Webflow. I can go on about Webflow and how it is so great but realistically there is a learning curve when attempting to build something like your design portfolio with it. Webflow is a pretty feature-rich no-code website builder and grants users a deep level of customization when it comes to styling elements within a webpage. With that said it is definitely helpful to have a basic understanding of CSS & HTML as it will make the development of your design portfolio a lot smoother.

Building your design portfolio website with Webflow will take some time similar to the other options in this category as you will need to learn about how Webflow handles collections of content that are similar and either build a page template for your projects or build unique pages for each project. To get started building your design portfolio website in Webflow, all you need to do is create a free account. Within the free account, you are of course limited to what features you have available. For example, free accounts will come with a free webflow.io domain URL. If you want to use your own or choose a custom domain then you will have to upgrade to a paid account level. After signing up and entering the designer portion of Webflow you will be faced with the platform’s interface. While it can be a little overwhelming at first with all the options you are able to customize, it would definitely be worth taking some time to walk through some of Webflow’s educational walkthroughs to better understand how to use it.

While I am personally an advocate for the platform and really enjoy using it every time I open it up. I can say that Webflow will definitely not be the most time-friendly option when it comes to building your design portfolio website. However, taking on the challenge to learn the platform and really understand how to make it work for you will be worthwhile as you will then be able to take that knowledge along with you for client projects in the future.

If you are interested in signing up for a paid account for Webflow and adding it to your design repertoire you can check out the best prices for all of the account options. I personally use CMS and love it for all of my personal and client projects.‍

Final Thoughts on Build Your Own Design Portfolio Websites

While this category of design portfolio website options gives you full flexibility to customize your design portfolio to match your personality and style. It can also take a pretty big investment of time which may not be available to you when you are starting off as a designer needing a place for your design portfolio. With that said, I believe that Readymag is the best design portfolio website option in the build your own category for a few reasons. The first is that the interface is pretty simple to understand and will take little to no time for you to get fully comfortable building in the platform. The next reason is that the level of customization you are granted without having to learn any code is awesome. Being able to implement animations on your design portfolio projects can really elevate your design portfolio and make it stand out from others. And finally, their free account will allow you to fully publish an entire design portfolio with as many pages as you would like under a Readymag granted URL. For these reasons and more I would recommend Readymag as a great place to start building your design portfolio website.

‍Best Free “Alternative” Design Portfolio Websites

Before we get into the options for the alternative category of design portfolio website options I think it’s worth noting that this category is very unique in how it is perceived amongst the design community and its functionality. At the very core of every design, a portfolio is a series of projects that describe the designer’s experience, technical skills, objectives, and outcomes of a project. If you are curious about how many projects should be in your portfolio then check out our article, The Perfect Number of Projects For Your Design Portfolio Website. Within those design projects of a portfolio should be descriptions and images that tell the story of how a designer started from point A and got to point B. If you can do that well then the tool you use to convey that message should not be the most important element and that is why we have this category of alternative design portfolio website options. Now let’s begin.‍

Notion

Notion is a popular productivity tool that is used by a wide range of people for a number of different things. I happen to use Notion to manage my design business, content planning, personal finances, and much more. It allows you to create pages or what they call databases where that information can be accessed around the app and also shared online. When you create a new page you are able to add imagery, text, code blocks, and a few other elements that include. There is very very little styling that can happen within the app but that is also one of the great things about it. Limitations! Removing the focus from the visual presentation of the information allows you as a designer and the viewer to really focus on the content that is displayed. Once you’ve finished adding your content for your design portfolio projects you can then share a public link with whoever needs to see it. Sure it doesn’t have a community behind the app that can also see your work. But at the end of the day, when you’re applying to jobs and emailing hiring managers, most of the time you’re really just sharing links anyway so why couldn’t Notion work. I think it’s also worth mentioning that as I shared a few videos about this article on my TikTok account, Notion was shared in the comments a lot as a popular choice. If you are looking for something quick, easy to use, and without all worries of aesthetics, then Notion could be the tool for your next design portfolio website. As I’m writing this article I am actually considering moving my design portfolio into my account as well.‍‍

Google Docs

Good ol’ Google Docs. We all know it and the chances of you have used it at least once in your life is very high. Google Docs in the Microsoft Word alternative offered by Google. It is a way to write anything you want in a document and make adjustments to that text through their formatting interface. You can also add images throughout a document that covers the two main things we need in our design portfolio projects. While Google Docs is a little rigid, again why not? For the longest time designer, writer, and guest of the podcast Carly Ayres used GoogleDocs as her portfolio/resume as you can see here. If you want to listen to her podcast episode you can check it out here.

‍‍Final Thoughts

Depending on where you are at in your design portfolio website journey there are plenty of free options for you to choose from to use as your design portfolio website. The purpose of creating the showcase, building your own, and alternative categories in this article is to help you evaluate how much time you have available and choose the option that is best for you. If you need further assistance with selecting projects, how to display your work, or what you should include in your design portfolio website. You can always sign up for a free 1-on-1 portfolio review session with me. During these 30-minute sessions we go over any questions you have and how we can work through them to level up your design portfolio and career. You can use this link here to sign up and schedule a time that works for you. As always, you can also find me on TikTok and on Instagram for any other questions you may have. See you in the next article!

How To Name Your Design Portfolio Website – Don’t Make This Mistake

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Your design portfolio URL doesn’t have to be fancy but you should keep it simple for now and here’s why.

If you are starting to build your design portfolio website or starting your job search then you might be asking yourself, what should I name my design portfolio website? As easy as it sounds, a lot of designers spend valuable time trying to come up with a witty or clever name for their design portfolio website and choose something that they end up changing in a year or two anyway.

Coming up with a name for your design portfolio website can be as easy as using your first and last name together for your portfolio website’s domain. This keeps things simple allowing potential employers or clients to easily search for your portfolio while also saving you time. You can also be proud that it is your name and the chances of you wanting to change it in the future are a lot lower.

Using your name as your design portfolio website’s name can sound scary right now. You may be saying to yourself, what if I want to focus on more down the road? What if I only want to show web design work on my design portfolio website? Wouldn’t it be better to have words like design or branding in my website domain? In this article, I’m going to answer all of these questions and tell you exactly why using your first and last name is the best option for you today.

Should You Use Your Name or A Creative Name?

When it comes to naming your design portfolio website I recommend starting off by using your first and last name together in your domain. This keeps things simple for you and is easily recognizable by anyone you send it to. I have used my first and last name together(jonsorrentino.com) as my design portfolio website name since I graduated and have never had problems with people finding my work. When you are just starting, you are a small fish in a big pond. Not only to the search engines but also potential clients and employers. Know one knows you or your work. One of your main priorities, when you are starting as a young designer or creative, should be to build up your professional network and send your work to as many of those contacts as possible. By using a simple domain name for your design portfolio website, you let your work speak for itself. It also lets you expand on it later on once you build up your resume experience.

If you are still questioning whether or not you should use your name or a creative name then I would ask myself this. Do you currently have a roster of clients that you work with consistently that come to you for a specific service? If the answer to this question is no then I would suggest using your name. If you answered yes to this, then there you have it. You may want to consider using a name that is more tailored to the specific type of work you do as a designer or creative.

What If Your Name Is Long Or Hard To Spell?

If your name is long or hard to spell then this might be a small issue. You can run the risk of a potential client or employer misspelling your name and never actually seeing your design portfolio. Don’t worry, there is an even simpler solution for this. If you have a long first name or long last name, then try to use an initial along with whichever option is easiest to spell. For example, if my name was “Johnathan Sorrentino” then I might choose jsorrentino.com for my design portfolio name instead of my full name. If you run into the situation where both your first and last name are difficult to spell or too long then consider using initials for both and adding the word “design” or whatever service you provide behind it. So something like jsdesign.com could work for this.

What About Using Keywords In Your Website Name?

As I mentioned in the example above where your first and last name are too long or hard to spell, then using your initials plus a keyword may be a better solution. While there are many SEO experts out there that will repeatedly say having keywords in your website’s domain will help with SEO, it will not be the sole factor that ranks you higher in the search engines. While using keywords in your domain name can help with search engine optimization, you will need more than just a keyword in your domain to help your rank. Using keywords in your design portfolio website’s domain can also help give potential clients or employers a better sense of what it is exactly you do. While this is great, chances are when you are starting in your design career, you will have many jobs and experiences doing a lot of different work. So other than using “design” I wouldn’t recommend digging too deep in the keyword library. This is also the perfect reason for keeping your design portfolio website name simple with your first and last name. As you grow in your design career you will also figure out what type of work you like to do. This will later provide the opportunity to consider if you should purchase an additional name for your design portfolio website.

Should You Use .com or .design?

Since the beginning of the internet, .com has been the most popular domain to use for any website and this remains the case. Try to remember the last time you shared a website with a friend or coworker and it was anything other than a .com. For this reason, I recommend securing the .com version for your design portfolio website first. There are alternate domain extensions that you could consider purchasing in addition to the .com like .design. The .design domain extension became available to the public for purchase in 2015 and was seen as a way for all aspects of design to have a way to brand their website URLs. While that might have been the intention, it has been a slow process for wider adoption of the .design domain. In addition to .design there is also .co, .io, .xyz, and a ton of other domains you could also purchase for your design portfolio website. At the end of the day, the most important thing to keep in mind is keeping your URL easy to remember and type out for visitors.

Where To Buy Your Portfolio Website Domain?

Now that we have gone through some of the basis for naming your design portfolio website, you are ready to purchase your domain! But where is the best place for purchasing domains? There are more than a few places to buy a domain for your portfolio website so before scrolling below to the list of my top recommendations, here is a little pro tip. While platforms like Squarespace and Wix allow you to purchase a domain through them so you can use their website builders, this isn’t always the best. While it’s great that they offer this, in a way it forces you to have to use their platform. If in the future you decide to use a different website platform then you will have to go through their process for transferring the domain off their platform. For Squarespace, this process can take up to several days and some platforms restrict you from doing this all together. Instead, consider purchasing your domain from one of my recommendations below. These domain services are agnostic of what website builder you use and allow you to switch at any time without any hassle. These recommendations also have the best prices available to allow you to save some money when purchasing your domains.

Namecheap – Get a .com for only $0.98
Hostgator
GoDaddy

If you have any questions about your design portfolio website you can always message me on TikTok or Instagram. Also consider signing up for a free 1-on-1 review where we go over any questions you have about your portfolio, projects, resumes, and more.

Can Graphic Designers Work on Video Games?

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Posted by Carlos from Fortune Tiger Media

If you are a graphic designer and have an interest in the video game industry there are plenty of jobs available that require your specific skills.

Support Wellfed – This platform is made possible by your support. If you enjoy any of our content, please consider joining one of our Patreon memberships here.

As of recently I have been playing a lot of mobile games on my iPhone and asked myself, can graphic designers work on video games? Growing up as a child of the 90s I have played everything from the PC based FPS games to the first iterations of the Sony playstation and Microsoft Xbox. Video games have progressed so much over the years and now as a professional graphic designer, could I potentially work on one some day?

If you are a graphic designer and have an interest in the video game industry there are plenty of jobs available that require your specific skills. While it is easy to think you have to be well versed in game design, there are other elements that go into successfully launching a video game such as user-experience, interface design, marketing, social media and more. In the rest of this article I’ll go into detail about the roles available, how to potentially land one of these jobs and where to look.

If you are just starting off in your creative career it can definitely be a nerve racking experience but it doesn’t have to be. Since I’ve entered the professional industry I have had a ton of questions that I found really hard to find the answers to like how to ask for more money, and how to start that promotion conversation with your boss. That is why I went ahead and launched a Wellfed Creatives slack channel. There you can connect with creatives in a variety of roles from all over the world to help you on your creative speed bumps. If you would like to join go ahead and click this link here.

Design for Video Games vs Video Game Design

When you think of working on a video game the first thing that can come to mind is that you have to have this complex experience with 3D design, interaction, and a bunch of other specific skill sets. While that may be the case if you want to actually design a video game, it isn’t the same if you want to work on a video game. Graphic design is still very much a part of the process when it comes to creating, developing and launching a video game.

Graphic design at video game companies can relate to a variety of assets needed for a video game to function. For example any screen prior to actually playing the game will most likely need a graphic designer for laying out any information, iconography, and menu items to navigate. Depending on the size of the company each of these categories could potentially have their own designated role. A company as large as EA Sports has a graphic designer work on all of these assets as well as marketing materials to promote the game as well.

If you are interested in developing the gameplay, story, or characters of a game then you may be looking for video game design. While you don’t have to have a specific degree in video game design you should definitely have strong experience conceptualizing and presenting relevant ideas in this area. It is also really helpful to have knowledge on the wider gaming industry, trends amongst players and gaming habits, as well as a perspective on the market’s future.

Types of video game graphic design jobs

After looking at some of the most popular gaming company job boards, it is easy to see there are a ton of available jobs for graphic designers. Below I have compiled a list of roles along with a short description and potential salary to give you a better idea of what to be expected.

Graphic Designer

Graphic designers can have anywhere from less than a year to 1-3 years of experience already on their resume. Graphic designers are expected to work alongside more experienced members of the team to help finalize projects and meet deadlines. They are able to demonstrate a variety of skills which can include working with typography, illustration, and iconography.

Salary: $40-85K

Senior Designer

Senior designers can be expected to have 5-7 years of experience and be a role model for younger creatives on the team. Your job can involve creating print and digital assets such as posters, event materials, digital ads, and social media content. Since you are an experienced member of the team you can also be expected to train new joining members as well as coach junior members to success.

Salary: $90K-$120K

Design Manager

As a design manager you are a leader and source of inspiration for the team. You are a liaison between senior leadership and members of the team to help define career goals, review project work, and actively drive your team towards success. Having hands-on design experience isn’t needed to manage a team of designers however it is recommended to have strong people skills and the ability to multi-task.

Salary: $70K-$90K

UI/UX Designer

User interface and user experience designers are needed to help shape how users interact with games. They are responsible for mapping and designing how a user navigates through the game outside of any levels or gameplay. They are also responsible for conducting user research to help refine and improve the game to reach its goals.

Salary: $90-115K

Art Director

Art directors are unique roles in that you are a hybrid between supporting the team to maintain a high standard of output as well as sourcing world-class creators and artists to grow the capabilities for the team. Art directors are very much the curators and taste makers of the industry. You should have a strong perspective and a pulse on what is new, popular, and innovative in the space.‍

Salary: $130-150K

Creative Director

Creative directors can be experienced in a variety of the roles listed above. They have anywhere from 7-10 years of experience and have mentored members of a team before. Creative directors will help develop and lead major campaigns across the department and sometimes the company.‍

Salary: Not listed

Where to look for video game jobs

If you’re just starting your job search then you should definitely check out our friendly guide to 16 of the most popular sites to find design jobs here. In our guide you’ll find the most popular and regularly used websites that companies and hiring managers used to post job opportunities. After checking out our guide I strongly recommend visiting the websites of individual companies and searching for a careers page. I went ahead and compiled a list of the most popular video game companies below and included a link to their career pages to get you started.

Company	Type	Link
Supercell	Mobile Games	Careers Page
Zynga	Mobile Games	Careers Page
King Digital	Mobile Games	Careers Page
Niantic	Mobile Games	Careers Page
Tencent Games	Mobile & Console Games	Careers Page
EA Sports	Mobile & Console Games	Careers Page
Activision	Mobile & Console Games	Careers Page
Activision	Mobile & Console Games	Careers Page
Bungie	Console Games	Careers Page
Take-Two Interactive	Console Games	Careers Page
Rockstar Games	Console Games	Careers Page

How to become a graphic designer for video games

As with a lot of graphic design positions, most companies want to see a selection of work that directly relates to the responsibilities of the role. The work you might include can consist of character designs, menu interfaces, marketing campaigns, icons, packaging examples and more. Most companies will ask for links to your portfolio website but they will also accept PDF files. If you’re looking for tips to start your portfolio check out our article here that includes plenty of amazing portfolio examples.

Another step you can take that will definitely help you stand out is to connect with designers that already work at the company you want to apply to. Using LinkedIn you can message individuals that are already in the department or position that you are considering. Being polite and sending an authentic message asking to learn more about an open role, will allow you to learn a lot of valuable information that can be helpful for the application process.

Applying for any jobs can be an arduous process but the most important thing to remember is to stay persistent and continue to send applications. If you have any questions or would like to review your portfolio before you begin your application process you can sign-up for a 1-on-1 Wellfed creative session here. If you enjoyed this article consider signing up for our supper party newsletter below. Every weekend I send out our best content straight to your inbox.

What Are The Best Schools To Study Graphic Design?

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Setting yourself up for a successful career as a graphic designer can start as early as the school or college you pick to attend. These are some of the most highly regarded schools in the industry.

Support Wellfed – This platform is made possible by your support. If you enjoy any of our content, please consider joining one of our Patreon memberships here.

If you are a young student considering to study graphic design after highschool, you may already be sick of hearing your parents or friends ask “what school are you going to?”. This question can stir up some anxiety especially when most of the schools in the United States put more focus on degrees such as marketing, business, human resources, science, and engineering. There are a lot of points to consider before choosing the school that is best for you to study graphic design. Items such as the location, curriculum, and of course the price, are all important factors that will help you decide which school is best for you to study graphic design.

These are the schools that I repeatedly see students graduate from to get top tier opportunities within the graphic design industry.

School	Location	Est. Cost/yr
Rhode Island School of Design	Providence, RI	$75,000
The Cooper Union	New York, NY	$55,000
Pratt Institute	Brooklyn, NY	$65,000
School of Visual Arts	New York, NY	$60,000
Savannah School of Art and Design	Atlanta, GA	$50,000
California Institute of the Arts	Santa Clarita, CA	$65,000
ArtCenter College of Design	Pasadena, CA	$60,000

‍After spending some time as a professional graphic designer I have met new friends and coworkers through various jobs that have all graduated from these schools. This is not the end-all be-all list, but these are definitely the most popular and notable schools for graphic designers. I do want to make sure I mention that if you are not able to go to any of these schools because of reasons like financial situation or location restrictions, DO NOT WORRY. I myself did not go to any of the schools listed above and am doing just fine as a professional graphic designer. If you have any questions at all, consider joining our creative community on Slack where you can get answers to questions just like this from other designs and creatives currently in the industry. Just click here to join.

What Is A Design School?

Simply put, a design school is a school, college, or university with a focus on visual arts and contains a design curriculum that is maintained and updated regularly to coincide with the professional industry and contemporary culture. Woof, sorry about that long definition. While there are many schools that contain design programs, the differentiating factor for the purposes of this article is that the schools listed are primarily focused on performing and visual arts. This DOES NOT make schools that are not visual arts focused any less valuable. For example, I went to a state university that had a visual and performing arts school within it. This season on the podcast I interviewed Jaquelyn DeJesu Center who also did not go to a design ‘focused’ school and successfully launched her own brand called Shhhowercap. You can listen to her full episode below to learn more.

What Makes A Design School Good?

Now that we can agree on what a design school is, what makes one good? When I think about what makes a design school good, there are a few qualities that come to mind but obviously the most important is that you learn. A good design school provides you with multiple areas of interest for you to test and taste what you like and dislike. Design school should be the time where you begin to understand what you enjoy doing and want to continue that after you leave.

Another important aspect I think makes a design school ‘good’, is that you come out of it, graduating or not, with a set of tools you can use to get hired or get work as a professional in the creative industry.

The final thing that I believe makes a design school ‘good’, is that it provides opportunities to expand your professional network beyond the students and teachers you interact with. It can be super helpful to be well connected in the creative industry. Whether that helps you get a job or to simply ask for feedback, is up to you. I know that I personally reach out to my network often for advice and guidance as I myself navigate the professional field.

To recap, a ‘good’ design school provides…

Opportunities for you to learn something new while trying out multiple areas of the discipline.
Knowledge and tools to get hired or gain work as a professional in the creative industry.
Opportunities to expand your professional network.

If you can keep these 3 points in mind when choosing a school then you will definitely be on the right track to picking the school that is perfect for you.

The Best Schools to Study Graphic Design

Rhode Island School of Design – RISD

Rhode Island School of Design is located in Providence, Rhode Island and can be regarded as one of the powerhouse schools when it comes to studying graphic design. To be accepted into the program, students must complete a home test which includes the infamous bike drawing. Students are asked to interpret a bicycle in an interesting perspective along with other guidelines and the results are outstanding. Also not to mention a lot of notable creatives have graduated from RISD including some of my guests from season 2 and 3 of the podcast.

Estimated Cost per year: $75,000

Carly Ayres

Jon Key

Kevin Lyons

The Cooper Union

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, also known as Cooper Union is a private college located in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City. The school was founded on the belief that education should be as free as air and for a while it was. The school eventually had to abandon this policy as it was unsustainable in today’s economic environment.

Standout Designers that also graduated from Cooper Union

Seymour Chwast
Milton Glaser
Sagi Haviv
Herb Lubalin
Abbott Miller
Ellen Lupton
Reynold Ruffins
Edward Sorel

Estimated Cost Per Year: $55,000

Pratt Institute

Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus located in Brooklyn and satellite campuses all over Manhattan. Pratt’s School of Design offers education in communications design, fashion design, interior design, and industrial design. A lot of coworkers and design friends that I have worked with have gone to this school and all mentioned they enjoyed it with the occasional meltdown from class.

Standout Designers and Artists that also graduated from Pratt Institute

Stefan Sagmeister
Jeremy Scott
Ellsworth Kelly
Swoon

Estimated Cost Per Year: $65,000

Parsons School of Design

Known as Parson is a private school located in the Greenwich Village of lower manhattan in New York City. The school of design offers a variety of programs for communications design, design and technology, integrated design, product design and more. Since I started working in the city I have noticed Parsons taking steps to really improve their program offerings and continue to elevate the school. I have also worked with a lot of other designers that have gone to this school.

Designer and Creative Director, Magnus Atom went to Parsons and was also a guest on the first season of Wellfed. You can listen to his episode below.

Standout Designers that also graduated from Parsons

Roy Lichtenstein
Alexander Wang
Marc Jacobs
Tom Ford
Donna Karan

Estimated Cost Per Year: $60,000

School Of Visual Arts – SVA

School of Visual Arts, or SVA for short is an art and design school in Manhattan. I have come to know SVA for its heavy hitter faculty lineup of industry professionals. Designers like Paula Scher and Natasha Jen for starters and many others teach there. This is the school I would have picked if I had the resources at the time. I have also met designers that have comes from the school who have gone on to start their own design studios such as Justin Colt of The Collected Works.

Design staff of SVA

Gail Anderson
Debbie Millman
Paula Scher
Paul Sahre
Tom Geismar
Sagi Haviv
Natasha Jen

Estimated Cost Per Year: $55,000

Savannah School of Art and Design – SCAD

Savannah School of Art and Design is obviously located in Savannah, Georgia but also they have locations in Atlanta, Hong Kong, and Lacoste. The opportunity to travel internationally during your time at school is so valuable because you can experience different cultures and how design evolves to serve the different geographies. In my previous jobs I have met a ton of super talented motion graphics designers that went to SCAD and their work was amazing. A lot of the designers were talented in so many different facets of design and not just one area. SCAD is definitely a school to consider if possible.

Estimated Cost Per Year: $50,000

California Institute of the Arts – CalArts

California Institute of the Arts or CalArts as some refer to it as is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was actually founded in 1961 as one of the first higher education schools created specifically for visual and performing arts students. CalArts is a small school, enrolling only around 1,000 students each year. Studying design in California sure does sound like a wonderful combination. Imagine the all nights and portfolio meltdowns you’ll have while it’s summer all year round.

Estimated Cost Per Year: $65,000

ArtCenter College of Design

ArtCenter College of Design is a private non-profit college located in Pasadena, California. The school focuses on all areas of Design such as advertising, illustration, environmental design, graphic design, and even transportation design. ArtCenter is also one of the few schools that offers a degree in interaction design. Something I found super interesting about this school was that the famous photographer, Ansel Adams, was a guest instructor there in the late 1930s! It would have been amazing to listen to his lectures about photography as it is very much intertwined with graphic design. One more side note, Mike Shinoda and Joe Hahn of Linkin Park also went to ArtCenter!!11!111!!1!1

Estimated Cost Per Year: $60,000

Standout Designers and Alumni that also graduated from ArtCenter

Jeff Soto
Jesse Genet
Frank Nuovo
Chris Bangle
Clement Mok
Rebecca Mendez

Which Design School Is The Best For You?

Picking the best design school to study graphic design will all come down to your specific situation. However you should absolutely consider the schools I listed above. They are widely recognized within the industry and can lead to some amazing professional opportunities. If you have any questions at all you can always DM me on Twitter or Instagram @wellfedpodcast. Also if you found this article helpful, consider signing up below and join our email supper party. Every week I send out our best content just like this, straight to your inbox. No spam guaranteed!

How Many Projects Should Be In An Online Portfolio?

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It is so easy to just throw every project you have into your portfolio, but should you? Sometimes less is more and the same goes for your portfolio.

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If you’re a graphic designer then you know that your portfolio is the key to new job opportunities and winning over clients. It’s the place to show off the amazing work you love to do but sometimes it can be overwhelming to know how much work to show. Having too few projects can leave clients and companies wondering what you do or who you are. Having too many projects can be distracting and overwhelming for the people looking for you.

The perfect number of projects to have in your portfolio at any time should be between 4-6 projects. This number of projects allows you to clearly communicate the type of work you enjoy doing and want to continue to create. This also makes it easier for the viewer of your portfolio to remember projects that standout to them by not overwhelming with too much work.

Keeping your portfolio focused with the number of projects is surprisingly important and something that I see too many creatives get wrong. In the rest of this article I’ll go over why more projects can hurt your portfolio, why less is more, and what projects to include. I also include 5 quick tips at the end of the article that everyone should make sure they do with their online portfolio so make sure to read till the end.

Why Too Many Projects Can Hurt You

As you progress as a graphic designer and complete more projects it is easy to want to show everything off. During my time as a professional in the creative industry I have seen how this can hurt other designers. For example, if you are at a company for an extended period of time, there is a very high chance you will have worked on a variety of projects. Including each and every single project on your portfolio can be exhausting for someone to click through not to mention the work you have to put in to keep it updated. Overloading your portfolio with projects can actually keep anyone that views it from remembering you. Some designers feel that just because they completed a project, it automatically has to go in their portfolio. Curating the work you show in your portfolio is just as important as the work that goes in your portfolio.

Why Less Projects Is More

As the saying goes, “less is more”, and this directly applies to the number of projects you should include in your portfolio. While having too many projects can distract viewers, limiting the number of projects will help you clearly communicate the type of work you really love and want to do more of. By limiting and curating the number of projects in your portfolio this will force you to choose the ones that you have a deep connection with. After I started to cut down the number of projects in my portfolio, I noticed more recruiters and companies reaching out and actually referencing specific projects during our initial conversations. It was clear to see what I enjoyed creating which also made it easy for anyone who viewed my portfolio to imagine how we could potentially work together. While it might be scary to think of showing only a few projects in your portfolio, try to also understand that as you grow as a designer, your role and responsibilities will change. To continue to progress in your career, you should be able to demonstrate a level of mastery for the tasks you may have started doing as a ‘junior’ designer.

What Projects Should You Include In Your Portfolio

Now that we understand that limiting the number of projects in our portfolio can actually help us, it is time to choose which projects should go in it. The first thing I like to tell designers is to include work that makes them excited. This type of work doesn’t have to be something you completed at a job, or for a client, or even for money. To simply put it, this can be work that you completed in your free time because it was to learn something new. Including 2-3 of these projects will reinforce the type of work that you want to be doing if a client, recruiter, or job gets in touch with you.

With that said you should also include projects that you have done professionally. These projects help demonstrate that you can work in a professional environment and with others. These projects also demonstrate your technical capabilities so it is always good to include a selection of these projects. It is very likely that you will have a ton of these projects from previous jobs. Instead of including every single project try to focus on one of your favorites, a project that required learning a new way of working, or something that gained notable attention internally amongst the company or externally with the audience.

A good rule that I like to keep in mind is that I usually make sure that 40% of the projects I show are the ones I am really excited about. I also make sure that these projects are at the very top of my portfolio so everyone sees them first. These will be the projects that people will most likely click on first and make the biggest impression. I can’t tell you how many times the first project in my portfolio is the one I talk about the longest with recruiters and jobs. For the remaining 60% of projects in your portfolio, these will be the professional ones. You also want to organize these according to how much you enjoyed working on them. You may not realize it but the projects that excite you also make it a lot easier to talk about. Recruiters, jobs, and creative directors are always listening to how you can articulate a project and it always helps to talk about something you had fun working on.

Tip for Including Company Projects In Your Portfolio

When including work that you have done professionally either for a company or a freelance client. Make sure you clear it with your manager, creative director, or point of contact to include the work in your portfolio. Sometimes there may be parts of a project that should remain confidential to the company or client. Other times you may have signed some kind of paperwork that states you cannot display the work publicly. In any case it is always helpful to ask to make sure you aren’t breaking any agreements or exposing sensitive information.

5 Quick Tips for Online Portfolios

As promised here are some quick tips for graphic designers when they are putting together their portfolio.

1. Be As Descriptive As Possible

The projects you include in your portfolio should contain a lot of imagery but also include descriptive summaries throughout. This description can be about the thought process for developing the project concept, the problem you were trying to solve, or simply the result of the project. In any case I strongly advocate against just including images only in your portfolio.

2. Don’t Be Afraid To Make A Project Up

If you are just starting off or having been doing a lot of the same work for a long period of time, your portfolio may look a little thinner than recommended. In this situation I would suggest you come up with a hypothetical project of your own. Rebrand a local business, or redesign a website that needs some refreshing.

3. Less Is More, Less Is More, Less Is More

After covering it above in this article I just want to reiterate that less is more when it comes to portfolios. Do not be afraid to show less projects. At a very minimum I recommend no less than four projects. If you can have four projects in your portfolio that will be plenty of conversation to cover when speaking with a recruiter or company.

4. Use These Website Portfolio Tools To Save Time

A website like Behance is a great place to get your portfolio started immediately. It can be overwhelming to build a website especially if you don’t have any coding experience. Behance takes out all of that extra work for and keeps things simple. If you are a little more advanced than you can check out websites like Squarespace, Wix, and WordPress. They all offer templates that help you get started quickly but require you to sign up for an account.

5. Get Feedback From Others Often

While it may be clear to yourself what you do, asking others can give you an outside perspective that can improve your messaging or the way you organize your projects. Doing this earlier when developing your portfolio will eliminate having to start from scratch after getting too far. When you first start to ask for feedback, start with 1-2 close individuals that are also designers or work in a similar role. Also you can sign up for a free 1-on-1 creative session with me where we will go over your portfolio here.

If you’ve made it to the end of the article I want to thank you for reading. If you are looking to get feedback on your portfolio but don’t know where to start you can join our creative community on slack here. It is completely free and full of other creatives and designers just like you to help with any questions you might have. If you have any other questions you can always DM me on Instagram or Twitter.

What Is Photoshop and What Can You Make With It?

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Here are 10 of the coolest projects I have made with Adobe Photoshop and why I think every designer should learn this program first.

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Have you ever heard someone say “That is definitely photoshopped”? If you work in the creative industry as a designer, photographer, art director or any of the other industry roles, you know this is pretty normal to hear. However if you don’t currently work in the industry but are interested in pursuing a career in visual arts then you should probably know about Photoshop.

Photoshop is a photo editing and graphics creation software that was developed by the company, Adobe. Photoshop offers a wide variety of image editing features as well as the capability to create complex graphics. Photoshop has become the industry standard for many creatives as it is very versatile and is usually one of the first programs many learn to use.

In the rest of this article I’ll go into more detail about Adobe Photoshop, why you should consider using it and how you can get your hands on it.

What Is Photoshop?

Adobe Photoshop is a software used for editing photographs, compositing digital art, animating, and graphic design. Adobe photoshop comes with professional tools that makes it easier for artists to bring their ideas to life. One of the major advantages of using Adobe Photoshop is its ability to create multiple layers that can be altered independently of each other. New tools and features are always being added as Adobe gathers feedback from artists on ways to improve Photoshop.

Who Created Photoshop?

Photoshop was originally created by two brothers, John Knoll and Thomas Knoll. In 1987, Thomas Knoll was a student at the University of Michigan studying engineering but he was also interested in photography. Thomas’s interest in photography stemmed from his Father, Glen, and they even had a darkroom in their basement. Thomas’s father was a professor at a local college and had access to one an Apple II Plus computer. One day with his engineering knowledge, Thomas wrote a script on his father’s Apple computer that allowed him to turn monochromatic images to grayscale. After this initial script, Thomas continued to develop additional processes that applied effects to his images on screen. Thomas’s brother, John, at the time had worked at George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic. Once he saw what Thomas had created, he encouraged Thomas to turn his programs into a fully operational image editor. With Thomas and John working together on the project, they worked to further develop the application and released the first iteration of Photoshop in 1988 under the original name “Image Pro”.

Who Owns Photoshop?

Today Photoshop is owned by Adobe but that wasn’t always the case. After Thomas and John first released Image Pro, they were looking to partner with larger companies to expand distribution of the software. It didn’t take long for them to win over the Adobe team and in February 1990, Adobe released Adobe Photoshop 1.0.

How is Photoshop Used?

Today, Adobe Photoshop is used by a variety of artists and creative professionals within the industry. Photoshop is a software that can be used for photography, graphic design, digital art and more. Below I have listed out a few categories and artists in each category where Photoshop is used to create amazing work.

Photography

Graphic Design

Illustration

Product Design

Motion Design

The 10 Coolest Graphic Design Projects I Made With Photoshop

Create Content To Grow On Social Media

Photoshop is great for creating and editing social media content for your Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook page. I use it to create 100% of the content for Wellfed’s Instagram and Twitter pages.

Edit Photographs To Look Delicious

I used Adobe Photoshop to color correct, sharpen, and modify these images after I imported them into Adobe Lightroom. Adobe Photoshop allows for more granular control when it comes to editing photos. The ability to use layers for unique adjustments is key when producing imagery like this.

Create A Logo For A New Brand

Photoshop is a great tool for working and creating logos. It helps to get all of your ideas down on paper. Being able to organize your layers into groups is wonderful. Also, adding and modifying text is made easy in Photoshop with the character panel.

Present Website Designs

After I create designs for a new website in something like Adobe Xd, I will always bring my exported slides into photoshop to begin organizing my client presentations. This is where Photoshop is really useful as it allows you to work seamlessly with other Adobe programs.

Create Realistic Packaging Examples

Photoshop is a powerhouse when it comes to creating realistic packaging and mockups for your projects. This really helps when working with clients to help them understand the idea you have in mind.

Develop A Mobile App

As a designer I have been able to work on a number of mobile apps and have used Photoshop a lot during the process. This is another example of how Photoshop can work well with other Adobe programs to create work that really makes an impact.

Make Cool Posters

Combining imagery and text is exactly what Photoshop is all about. In this example I was able to edit the image to get the color right. Crop the image to focus in on the subject and then add text that would compliment the objective of the poster.

Interior Design Of A Football Stadium

You can use Adobe Photoshop for interior design! I helped create designs for a fantasy football lounge in a football stadium using Photoshop. Photoshop helped me concept and present my ideas for the various applications inside the lounge.

Present An Amazon Alexa Skill

Working on something like Amazon Alexa where there isn’t a lot of visual materials to create is fun. I used Adobe Photoshop to create slides and infographics to present a voice skill and statistics of how voice enabled devices are projected to grow in the future.

Create Artwork With My Favorite Cartoon

This was one of my favorite projects because I used Photoshop to concept the artwork around a mobile for my favorite childhood cartoon, Transformers!

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Can You Open PDFs in Adobe Photoshop?

Yes you can! When you open a PDF in photoshop you will be asked to choose which page you would like to edit if there are multiple pages in your PDF. Another thing to note is that unless the PDF was created to preserve layer functionality, you will not have the capability to edit text or objects within the PDF. Editing anything in the PDF would be similar to how you edit within a compressed JPG.

Can You Create Animations in Adobe Photoshop?

Yes! You can create GIFs or short animated clips using the timeline panel. When using the timeline, you create and modify each individual frame for your animation or movement. The level of animation you can achieve in Photoshop is great for short clips and small adjustments. If you would like more robust animation tools, you should check out and learn Adobe After Effects.

Can You Open AI files in Adobe Photoshop?

Yes! You can open AI files or Adobe Illustrator files in Photoshop. However when you open an AI file in Photoshop, all of that files layers and components will be “rasterized” or flattened. This means you will not be able to individually alter any of the graphics within that AI file. If you do not have Adobe Illustrator downloaded to your computer then this will be the only way of opening the file in Adobe Photoshop. If you do have Adobe Illustrator on your computer, a best practice is to copy your design from illustrator and paste it into your Photoshop file as a smart object. This will create a dynamic link between the two programs and all you to alter your illustrator design while retaining its layers and components.

Can You Open SVG files in Adobe Photoshop?

Yes! However, similar to opening an AI file, if you try to open a SVG file using File > Open, the SVG file will be rasterized.

Why Is Learning Photoshop Important?

Learning how to use Adobe Photoshop can be very valuable to anyone that wants to have a professional career in the creative industry or as an independent artist. Adobe Photoshop is so versatile and allows creatives to complete a wide variety of tasks within it. Photoshop can sometimes be the only program that a creative individual will need. In addition to learning Adobe Photoshop for yourself, a lot of companies require a sufficient amount of knowledge within Adobe Photoshop to complete the responsibilities for any creative roles available. Once you have a solid foundation in Photoshop, this will also put you in a great position to learn and use other Adobe programs. Some tools and shortcuts are very similar throughout all of the Adobe programs. Teaching yourself to use other Adobe programs outside of Photoshop will allow you to sharpen your skills and open your artwork up to creating something unique.

How To Get Started With Photoshop

To get started with using Adobe Photoshop today you will have to register and sign up for an Adobe Creative Cloud account. Using that link to create an Adobe Creative Cloud will give you a free 7-day trial to test out Photoshop as well as a bunch of other really awesome Adobe programs. Once your 7-day trial is up you will have to choose a Creative Cloud plan to continue using the Adobe software.

Which Photoshop Plan Should I Pick?

This can be slightly overwhelming because there are a few different Creative Cloud plans to pick from according to what your area of interest is. To make things simple there are 3 different options that you will have to choose from that include Photoshop. First the ‘Photography’ plan which is $9.99/mo and grants you access to Adobe Photoshop and also Adobe Lightroom which is a program that allows for detailed photo editing. This is a great value considering the second option is $20.99/mo for use of only Photoshop. The third and final option which I think is the best option is the Student and Teacher plan that is $19.99/mo and includes access to every Adobe program available. This is an amazing value because you get access to everything Adobe has to offer which will allow you to learn and try new things when it comes to creating. If you would like to save 60% on an Adobe Creative Cloud plan then you can click the link here to sign up.

Conclusion

Adobe Photoshop is an amazing tool and a valuable one for creatives of all disciplines to know. It provides a great foundation to learning how to create amazing work as a creative professional and independent artist. If you have any other questions about Adobe Photoshop you can DM me on Instagram or Twitter and I will make sure to add them to this article. Also, if you enjoyed this article, consider signing up for our email newsletter. Every weekend we send you a roundup of our best website content just like this as well as podcast episodes when we release them. Thanks for reading!

I Can’t Draw! Can I Still Be A Graphic Designer?

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There is absolutely no need to ever draw a realistic life-like image in the world of graphic design so please don’t worry.

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When considering a career working in the creative industry it is all too easy to immediately think that you have to be good at drawing. No matter what role you’re considering whether it be an architect, photographer, and especially a graphic designer, people assume you have to be an expert at drawing.

While it never hurts to be able to convey your ideas through your own drawings, being amazingly talented at drawing is not a requirement to become a graphic designer. To be completely honest, as a full-time graphic designer my drawing capabilities as of writing this article consist of drawing circles and squares well enough to get by. In this article I’ll go over what graphic design is, why you don’t need to be an expert at drawing to be one, and some exercises you can do to improve your drawing skills if you really want to.

What is Graphic Design?

Graphic design is the process of using visual elements such as symbols, imagery, and text to convey messages and ideas. Sometimes other terms are used to describe similar processes such as visual communication and communication design. I have found that these terms are interchangeable. When working as a graphic designer or in the field of graphic design you will use these elements to communicate your own ideas or the ideas of clients across a variety of mediums such as printed materials and digital devices.

Why Graphic Designers Don’t Need To Be Experts At Drawing

As much as graphic design is about the deliverable at the end of the project. Graphic design is also about the process and steps you take to reach that outcome. This process can sometimes be mistakenly thought as filling sketch pads full of drawings for an endless amount of time to get the idea perfect. This could not be further from the truth. While some graphic design roles can require a basic level of drawing there are very few that require a level of skill beyond that.

At the beginning of each project you will either use pre-existing references or your own sketches to sell your idea for the solution to the project. I personally use a combination of references and moodboards at the beginning of each project to help the client understand what I have in mind for their solution. This is a direct result of personally not being good at drawing and it is perfectly fine to do this. I have never been asked by a client why I didn’t draw their solution or where my sketches were to look at. As a professional it is up to you to decide what method you prefer and works best for you.

What Drawing Skills Do Graphic Designers Need?

In my experience as a full-time graphic designer I have never had to go beyond drawing basic shapes for any of my jobs or client projects. I have worked as a designer for a major TV network on show posters as well as a product designer working on apps and websites. Never during any of those roles did I have to go beyond drawing simple shapes and details. Here are 10 real current design jobs that will not require you to go beyond a basic level of drawing.

Graphic Designer
Web Designer
Product Designer
Marketing Designer
UI Designer
UX Designer
Brand Designer
Visual Designer
Production Designer
Digital Designer

If you see any one of these jobs on a job board then you can be confident that you will not have to draw like Leonardo Da Vinci. If you’re still wondering what drawing skills you should have then let’s think of it like this. Every graphic designer should be able to confidently draw a circle that is 80% perfect. Every graphic designer should also be able to draw a rectangle or a square that is also 80% perfect. I say 80% because I personally cannot guarantee that I can draw a straight line repeatedly and I have made it this far without having to do so.

Roles That Require Real Drawing Skills

If none of the job titles above peak your interest then you might want to consider taking your drawing skills seriously. Below I have listed a few jobs in the creative industry where being good at drawing can really make the difference.

Illustrator

Being a highly skilled drawer can absolutely be useful in a number of roles within the creative industry. If you have any interest in becoming an illustrator or creating concept art for games or movies then improving your drawing skills will be something you want to focus on.

Animator

If you have an interest in creating animated imagery such as cartoons and short films then drawing will also be a very big focus for the majority of your career. Drawing will be the foundation to this career path as you will constantly be referencing your sketches throughout projects.

Industrial Designer

Industrial design is the process of creating and developing concepts for physical products. While it may not be drawing a beautiful bowl of fruit, drawing multiple angles of physical objects so that you can then manufacture them is not an easy task. I have worked with industrial designers before and I am always amazed at how talented they are.

Environmental/Interior Designer

Similar to an industrial designer in that you will not be drawing flower arrangements, designers that work within physical spaces should have the ability to draw to understand the layout they want to create. Being skilled at drawing as an environmental or interior designer will also allow you to present an idea before going into production to avoid making mistakes and costing you your estimated budget.

Fashion Designer

I don’t want to say that all fashion designers need to be amazing at drawing because I have never really worked with one or knew one personally. However when I think of a fashion designer that designs clothing or silhouettes, I can imagine that being able to bring that idea to life through your drawings will help tremendously throughout the process. If you or anyone you know is a fashion designer, feel free to DM or tweet me your experience!

Exercises for Graphic Designers To Improve Your Drawing Skills

Whether you want to be a graphic designer or one of the other design focused roles I listed above. It can never hurt to want to improve your drawing skills. Here are 5 exercises I recommend if you want to improve your drawing skills today. These exercises should be used as a warm-up at the beginning of each work session and should not be used to produce the final outcome. Remember that the only way to get better at something is to practice and do it consistently.

Drawing With Your Opposite Hand

Switching hands before you start a drawing is a great way to disarm yourself from any preconceived thoughts. Because drawing with your opposite hand will most likely be unfamiliar, it will force you to focus on what you are trying to draw and not so much on trying to draw a perfect line.

1 Line Drawing

1 line drawing is exactly what it sounds like. As soon as you touch your pen or pencil to the paper, you cannot lift it up to draw multiple lines. You must keep your pen or pencil touching the paper the entire time until you finish your drawing. This exercise is great because it breaks the mold of what is considered an acceptable drawing.

Drawing Upside Down

If you are using an image as a reference for your drawing then take a moment to turn it upside. Similar to drawing with your opposite hand. Obscuring the image you are trying to draw will force you to focus on creating accurate lines rather than depicting an entire image at once.

Negative Space Drawing

This is a great warm-up and I would recommend doing this exercise in addition to any of the other exercises together. Negative space drawing means that instead of drawing your subject, draw or fill in the surrounding area creating a contour of your object. By the time you are done your drawing should be mostly filled in depending on your view of the subject.

Blind Contour Drawing

Blind contour drawings are one of the exercises I use the most to this very day. To do a blind contour simply put your pen or pencil to the paper while forcing yourself to never look down at what it is you are drawing. This will help you to better understand proximity with your drawings. Don’t be afraid if when you are done your drawing looks nothing like your actual subject. Mine never do either!

Conclusion

If you are thinking about becoming a graphic designer and are concerned about not being able to draw, then fear not. A graphic designer should at the very minimum be able to draw basic shapes to complete their job successfully. Anything beyond your circle or rectangle will not be needed. If you would still like to improve your drawing skills then go ahead and try out one of the exercises I listed above and send them to me over email, instagram, or twitter so I can see what you came up with!