Why It’s Hard To Say Graphic Designer? One Year Into Graphic Design

If you’ve somehow stumbled upon this post and are looking forward to the ramblings of a freelance graphic designer, I must first thank you for taking the time to.. Stumble upon? I’ll just begin.

To start of I must clarify One thing, I’ve been designing for three years, for friends and colleges, but only recently did I realize that being an unemployed Uni student, living on 20c Aldi noodles (Goodbye immune system) wasn’t a good life plan. Relying on the good will of my parents and odd jobs here and there are nothing to be ashamed of, but nothing to be proud of either, so I took it upo… So i decided to sell my skills.

Just for that little extra clarity, money isn’t my motive, but neither was it overlooked. It started simply because I liked pictures, what more can a designer say. I spent hours staring at Illustrator and Photoshop, dissatisfied, trudging through forums for information, skimming through Youtube tutorials, Eventually coming to the realization that this is what I’m good at, this is my passion.

I had to learn fast, I had to cram as much info into the nutshell that is my brain. It was hard, in fact I remember the first time I looked at Illustrator; tears, a lot of “nope”, and hitting the power button multiple times. As I said at the start it was difficult, I was used to GIMP and Inkscape, and as good as they were, and still are, I felt underwhelmed, my progress was a bit stagnant.

I saw the software the Pros used and wanted in.

Computer science and Uni had taught me so much, so because of this, because of the information driven ecosystem I was studying in (Still studying… Kinda), I learned just enough to get of my feet. I built a static site using all about me using Github pages, this was perfect for me, a site for my work, as I got to test my creative mind and brush up on some HTML/CSS.

However I was lost, I had the skills but I still felt like i wasn’t ready, It was almost like I was an imposter, as though I was imposing on an area I had no right to be a part of. However even with these mixed emotions I continued, I made some digital art, uploaded it to deviant art, and started learning what I could.

My first client was an up-and-coming Youtuber, he wanted a banner, so made him one, I was familiar with following another person’s guidelines, plus as a it’s always nice to have something to work from. I finished my work with little to no issue and was payed. There honestly is no better feeling than someone telling you they like what you have made for them. It was similar to the feeling I got when I made this…

Poster design for a band I was collaborating with. Making a piece that someone was grateful for, call me green but it was a great feeling.

So, I got serious, I started making stuff because I could, I was constantly making music at the time (Still am… Kinda), so I would design the artwork, or process some photographs I had and add cool text. Even while I was doing this just for fun, my mentality was always to learn as I played. I would come up with Ideas or maybe even work on existing concepts, but whatever the case was I finally felt a slight bit more faith in myself.

I Rarely Call Myself A Graphic Designer

I only recently started calling myself a graphic designer, but even now after a year of taking requests and a few months of paid work, I still say it with slight wariness as though, another more established designer will pop out of nowhere and slap me with Wacom tablet .

Why Though?
I am not sure. All I know is feelings of verification can only be truly earned from oneself. I’m starting to embrace the imposter in me, it comes with the territory of learning. Every small achievement I’ve made, however minuscule, is still an achievement, 20c Aldi noodles will kill you slowly, but they’re still noodles.

So far so good, this is where I belong, the community is understanding, the work is enjoyable, and I have other areas I can move towards (UX/UI). These feelings of inadequacy, will drift away as I learn more and become more experienced, hoping the next time I make a annual post I’ll have a lot more stories to tell.