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 Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 10:14 am
Any tips on how to get your foot in the door in a graphics job? I've been trying for some time now..
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Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 12:22 am
A good portfolio and a university or college degree is usually the way to go about it.
I'm not sure about the US, but in Canada even then with the degree you're not guarenteed a job.
Being accepted into the AIGA or GDC (in Canada) also helps. I'm not sure about AIGA, but for the GDC you must undergo a portfolio review to be accepted, to maintain the standards of the design community.
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Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2007 8:36 am
I just graduated with a degree here in the US. (Granted Minnesota is pretty damn close to Canada on a lot of things) And even with a degree you aren't guaranteed anything. I've been applying at numerous places and what I keep hearing back is the need for some real client experiences. Here's what I'm trying to do to get started.
>Online Quick View Graphics Portfolio
>Fuller Portfolio
>Printed Portfolio (Small 4-5 pieces) of my best stuff
>Mockups. (Since I don't have any real world experience in the field I'm replicated the effects. Interviewers seem to have been rather impressed that I did mock ups at all. It seems a number of people just show up with nothing to show)
>Freelance. I've been told that it's the best way to bolster your portfolio, and help get some immediate cash. So I'm starting to do some RL logo contests for the sake of experience.
>Keep applying. While thus far I'm still unemployed I've only been really job hunting since the end of January. (Granted a family illness has hindered my search.) The average I hear for a recent grad to find a job in their field is around 6 months. Although some of the people I've met with in the industry were out of the field for a year or more before getting a job in it. sweatdrop
I'm not sure if this will be of any help for you. But if still picking a school I advise you to pick one where there will be internship opportunities. I made the mistake of going to a school where there are only 1 print shop and 2 web/multimedia houses. Needless to say, the lack of internship experience has greatly hindered my hirablility.
If your still in school, try to use Craigslist.com to find some logo freelance work. It's a great resource as long as your smart enough not to fall for any of the scams you might get. Right now I'm working on a logo contest for a local organization, and while the pot may only be $50 it's still a good thing to have in my portfolio.
My other advise is try to save up so that when you graduate you have money to move somewhere where there are jobs in the field you want. While I'm now in the Twin Cities where there are a number of design jobs, I'm actually more of a multimedia person. 3d, DVD menus, interactive cds. That kinda thing. But because of where I live I'm having to revamp my skills (though that's not proving hard) for the area. If I had been smart I would have saved up enough to move to California. xp
Well good luck on your job hunt! 3nodding heart
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Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2007 10:56 pm
ChimeraNell I just graduated with a degree here in the US. (Granted Minnesota is pretty damn close to Canada on a lot of things) And even with a degree you aren't guaranteed anything. I've been applying at numerous places and what I keep hearing back is the need for some real client experiences. Here's what I'm trying to do to get started.
>Online Quick View Graphics Portfolio
>Fuller Portfolio
>Printed Portfolio (Small 4-5 pieces) of my best stuff
>Mockups. (Since I don't have any real world experience in the field I'm replicated the effects. Interviewers seem to have been rather impressed that I did mock ups at all. It seems a number of people just show up with nothing to show)
>Freelance. I've been told that it's the best way to bolster your portfolio, and help get some immediate cash. So I'm starting to do some RL logo contests for the sake of experience.
>Keep applying. While thus far I'm still unemployed I've only been really job hunting since the end of January. (Granted a family illness has hindered my search.) The average I hear for a recent grad to find a job in their field is around 6 months. Although some of the people I've met with in the industry were out of the field for a year or more before getting a job in it. sweatdrop
I'm not sure if this will be of any help for you. But if still picking a school I advise you to pick one where there will be internship opportunities. I made the mistake of going to a school where there are only 1 print shop and 2 web/multimedia houses. Needless to say, the lack of internship experience has greatly hindered my hirablility.
If your still in school, try to use Craigslist.com to find some logo freelance work. It's a great resource as long as your smart enough not to fall for any of the scams you might get. Right now I'm working on a logo contest for a local organization, and while the pot may only be $50 it's still a good thing to have in my portfolio.
My other advise is try to save up so that when you graduate you have money to move somewhere where there are jobs in the field you want. While I'm now in the Twin Cities where there are a number of design jobs, I'm actually more of a multimedia person. 3d, DVD menus, interactive cds. That kinda thing. But because of where I live I'm having to revamp my skills (though that's not proving hard) for the area. If I had been smart I would have saved up enough to move to California. xp
Well good luck on your job hunt! 3nodding heart Okay I'm goign to flag this right away. DO NOT EVER DO A DESIGN FOR A FLAT RATE.Why? 1) It's against the AIGA Standards. 2) It degrades the profession and it makes it difficult for more experienced, college educated designers to get work. Clients will say, "Well I can get etc... for $50 why do I hire you?" Currently the design profession is stuck in a phase of constant undercutting by people who don't follow the AIGA standards, and this causes the degredation of the profession as a whole. it is because of this that college educated professional designers often make an average of $24,000 a YEAR. 3) It is NOT representative of the time a real designer puts into the work. You're like every other professional: a doctor, lawyer or plumber. You charge BY THE HOUR.
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Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 8:29 pm
It varies a little from place to place. I live in Oregon (which happens to have one fo the higher salaries for graphoc designers, btw, ans is cheaper to live in than Cali), and I did a job shadow at a place called Creative Images not too long ago. From what they were saying, a degree in graphic design is not important, and few of them had such.
Instead, they stressed having a bachelor's degree in something - journalism, management, communications, etc. They also said to have a good portfolio to back it up.
Now, I should prolly mention that this wasn't in a large metropolitan area. It was in a (smallish, I guess) city in the northern part of southern Oregon. Metropolitan areas are a bit tougher, I'm sure, having more competition.
If you've got the money, you could for for an education at one of the Art Institutes. They're prolly using 2005 because they did well that year, but it shows that overall they had an employment rate of about 90% (9 out of 10 graduates had a job related to their field of study within 6 months). The main problem is that it's freaking expencive, and from what I've heard they can have some cruel waitlisting. xp
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Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2007 6:30 am
.+Destiny.Eclipsed+. It varies a little from place to place. I live in Oregon (which happens to have one fo the higher salaries for graphoc designers, btw, ans is cheaper to live in than Cali), and I did a job shadow at a place called Creative Images not too long ago. From what they were saying, a degree in graphic design is not important, and few of them had such. Instead, they stressed having a bachelor's degree in something - journalism, management, communications, etc. They also said to have a good portfolio to back it up. Now, I should prolly mention that this wasn't in a large metropolitan area. It was in a (smallish, I guess) city in the northern part of southern Oregon. Metropolitan areas are a bit tougher, I'm sure, having more competition. If you've got the money, you could for for an education at one of the Art Institutes. They're prolly using 2005 because they did well that year, but it shows that overall they had an employment rate of about 90% (9 out of 10 graduates had a job related to their field of study within 6 months). The main problem is that it's freaking expencive, and from what I've heard they can have some cruel waitlisting. xp "The Art Institutes" (ifi they're the ones I'm thinking of) vary widely in quality, and the standard wait time for a job in the field is 6 months or more. neutral If you're serious, go to Savannah College of Art and Design or Maryland Institute of Art and Design, or even Ringling, Carnige Mellon or Rhode Island Institute of Art. Those are a few in the US, but SCAD and MICA are easily in the top 4.
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2007 8:11 pm
ningyou-kun .+Destiny.Eclipsed+. It varies a little from place to place. I live in Oregon (which happens to have one fo the higher salaries for graphoc designers, btw, ans is cheaper to live in than Cali), and I did a job shadow at a place called Creative Images not too long ago. From what they were saying, a degree in graphic design is not important, and few of them had such. Instead, they stressed having a bachelor's degree in something - journalism, management, communications, etc. They also said to have a good portfolio to back it up. Now, I should prolly mention that this wasn't in a large metropolitan area. It was in a (smallish, I guess) city in the northern part of southern Oregon. Metropolitan areas are a bit tougher, I'm sure, having more competition. If you've got the money, you could for for an education at one of the Art Institutes. They're prolly using 2005 because they did well that year, but it shows that overall they had an employment rate of about 90% (9 out of 10 graduates had a job related to their field of study within 6 months). The main problem is that it's freaking expencive, and from what I've heard they can have some cruel waitlisting. xp "The Art Institutes" (ifi they're the ones I'm thinking of) vary widely in quality, and the standard wait time for a job in the field is 6 months or more. neutral If you're serious, go to Savannah College of Art and Design or Maryland Institute of Art and Design, or even Ringling, Carnige Mellon or Rhode Island Institute of Art. Those are a few in the US, but SCAD and MICA are easily in the top 4. Prolly are the same you're thinking of, I'm very aware of the varience myself. It's not just quality either, having read some of the "About Us" pages, they differ a lot in atmosphere (and I'm not refering to the obvious differences in location and weather). Two that I read, Portland and Indianappolis, are great for showing the contrast. Indianappolis had me thinking of people in buisness suits, iron poles for spines, eyes straight ahead. Portland made me think of people frolicking about. However, since I happen to be very limited in choices, I'm trying for AI in Portland. It's in-state, and supposed to be one of the best of them according to stats. *shrugs* I'll be visiting in a week.
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Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 8:29 pm
ningyou-kun Okay I'm goign to flag this right away. DO NOT EVER DO A DESIGN FOR A FLAT RATE.Why? 1) It's against the AIGA Standards. 2) It degrades the profession and it makes it difficult for more experienced, college educated designers to get work. Clients will say, "Well I can get etc... for $50 why do I hire you?" Currently the design profession is stuck in a phase of constant undercutting by people who don't follow the AIGA standards, and this causes the degredation of the profession as a whole. it is because of this that college educated professional designers often make an average of $24,000 a YEAR. 3) It is NOT representative of the time a real designer puts into the work. You're like every other professional: a doctor, lawyer or plumber. You charge BY THE HOUR.
In an ideal world yes, I could charge by the hour for a logo. But when a potential client is offered a logo for 80 dollars by a well distinguished logo design firm why would they bother with an industry rookie who wants to be paid by the hour. Most businesses offer a logo design for a flat rate, the same with website designs. Unless you can garuntee that for 15$ an hour you can get the logo done 100% to their needs in 5.3 hours or less why would they go with you?
People like flat rates, how are they to know your not just sitting at your computer for 3 hours staring at a blank screen and getting paid for it? Google "logo design", all these businesses are offering their graphic design services, and most of them do it for a flat rate. Check out the Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines, you'll see flat rate estimates in there as well. It all depends on the service you offer, as well as if your doing it on site or off.
Now back on topic:
I recently asked a man who interviewed me for a job I didn't receive the job what I could do to be more hirable. First off his response was that out of 40 something people that responded I was one of only 6 who actually got an interview, and was one of his favorites from that batch. Therefor I'd say if you apply for a job, make sure you do it as timely as you can and type as politely and straight to the point as you can. If you don't get their attention in your cover letter or email application then you have NO chance of getting the job.
Now I had mock ups with, since I had no field experience, and was very inquisitive and friendly during the interview. All of these things were in my favor according to him. Here are the things that I didn't do, that would have added more to my chance:
+A thank you card. Made by hand, to thank them for your time. It helps show your interest in the position as well as your creativity.
+Contact them exactly a week from your interview. I didn't and was contacted by him the day after my week mark, by this time however he had decided on another applicant.
And well that was it besides "- Constantly work to improve your portfolio. "
As for the Art Institutes, I'm rather surprised the turn around rate for hiring after graduation isn't higher. But I suppose it depends on the year you graduate as well, as some years the market is bloated with marketing (therefor design) and others it's in recline.
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 2:31 am
"Well distinguished logo firm." By that, I'm kind of assuming anything that shows up on google right? Especially in high ranks and returned results? They're usually fly-by-nights owned by the same person.
The people offering the flat rates are the problem, not the solution.
They are the ones who are undercutting the profession and causing problems for the more professional designers who follow the AIGA standards.
A lot of the flat rate logos are stolen and outsourced. I have reported several for copyright infringement. Look up "logomaid" on Google and watch the returns after the first one, and you'll see a grim picture of what "flat rate" logo chop shops do.
Frankly, if a client isn't willing to acknowledge that you are a working professional that is paid by the hour, then they shouldn't be your client.
The exact POINT of charging an hourly rate is that you customize the logo to their needs and spend the time doing the research and getting to understand the client's business.
Good design takes time, and even if the client only wants the damn sailboat and a typeset, they should pay by the hour (or a variant thereof. I bill in 15min increments for accuracy.)
And you know what, if that means that in the end its still only 80 dollars, then that's fine.
The point is that it isn't some "magical" thing that is slapped together.
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