My Top 5 Tips For Undergraduate Designers
PixelHaze Academy member and undergraduate designer Ken Rees shares some of his top tips for those looking to pursue a degree (and a career) in the creative industries.
Nearing the end of my University at the Atrium in Cardiff, I’ve been reflecting on my graphics degree as a whole wondering what I would’ve done differently and how I could’ve approached Graphic Communications with the knowledge I now have.
That’s why I’ve compiled Ken’s Top 5 Tips for Undergraduate Designers. These are things I’d wished I knew at the start of my degree to give me a proper head start in a career of design.
Industry Level Software
When I began my degree, although I was able to use software, it wasn’t industry standard. The software I used was called Serif Draw Plus x4, an extremely outdated piece of software which I used throughout high school. Although I had mastered this programme inside out, it made life extremely difficult when I came to university. All my classmates were using the Adobe suite and when it came to collaboration it made things very difficult. The Adobe Creative cloud is available for students at a far lower cost. Getting a head start with these programmes before university will allow you to hit the ground running both on the course and for other projects. Even without lectures, you are still able to learn a lot about the Adobe Suit through free YouTube tutorials, nothing is stopping you mastering them.
Prioritise the problem
Although being able to use photoshop and other adobe packages inside out is half the battle with design, the other half is problem solving. You could make the most incredible rebrand for a business but if it doesn’t fit within the brand guidelines you haven’t solved the brief. By simply just ‘making things look nice’ you become an artist not a designer. Every step of the design process you must be asking your "Why?”. Each of your deign choices shouldn’t be considered not by the fact that it “looks nice”, everything you do should have a reason. Why have you chosen that type face? Why have you used this design style? Why have you used this layout? Start with Why. A Ted Talk I often refer to is ‘Starting with Why’ by Simon Sinek which describes this process perfectly, take a look!
Free Lancing
Throughout uni I found it invaluable to have a job on the side. Some people will work in bars and cafes for the extra bit of beer money, but why not put your course to good use? advertising yourself as a designer and getting paid for your passion is an excellent way to both build up your portfolio and sharpen your design skills. Working with real clients and deadlines will allow you to improve your design process. You’ll be working with briefs managing your time and often finding yourself juggling multiple projects alongside university work with realistic deadlines and project turn arounds. To ensure I get the most of my week, I use programmes such as Microsoft Outlook’s built in Calendar to map out what needs to be completed. Everyone is different, you may find post-it notes or Trello boards are a far more effective way of planning your time. Visually being able to see what work you’ve completed and have left to do allows you to see your progress. Being able to tick off the work load yo'u’ve completed is extremely satisfying.
Contacting agencies in the right way
Agencies will have hundreds of different students and post graduates trying to get a hold of jobs and experiences every single day. Emails will be flooding in and due to the work load they’ll have, agencies will often not be able to read or even acknowledge your message. That’s why it’s important to aim for the right platform. Emails, Instragram DMs, facebook messages, etc will all be filled to the brim with various requests from all sorts of people. Aim for a platform which other people may not be using as much. LinkedIn is a perfect place to professionally get into contact with design agencies. Few people will be using this platform to approach them so take advantage of this, agencies or individuals have a far greater chance of responding to you here.
What kind of designer will you be?
Throughout your degree you will be presented with a wide variety of design challenges ranging from branding to UX. Although being a jack of all trades can be handy, it is important that you have a speciality. Where is your main area of expertise? For instance, I myself am a designer who specialises in branding and motion graphics, I’m passionate about these two areas and am constantly improving and learning about them. It is a necessity that you know your speciality so that you approach the right agencies for you. Not only so you can be a great part of their team, but so you can enjoy and fully engage in your role. If you have a love for UX there’s no point in attending interviews for an agency which specialises in Branding. Work for somewhere which will need your talents.
If you want to see the work produced from my experiences on my design course feel free to check out here. I hope my own experiences can help you throughout your uni experience!
- Kenneth Rees
