Creating Growth as a Graphic Designer: Beyond the Artboard

Being a graphic designer for the last 14 years, I am finding the concept of growth extends far beyond being creative. Growth is a multifaceted journey that intertwines creativity, adaptability, and self-discovery. It is about stepping into the uncomfortable to face new challenges and experiences that freak us out. Through this blog, I will reflect on what it means to grow as a graphic designer, embracing the heartbreak, celebrating the victories, and navigating the ever-changing tides of this vibrant industry.

Today's society is full of nonstop trends. Staying relevant requires an openness to learning. There are always going to be discoveries, and that makes life feel chaotic. Life is always a constant state of chaos and learning to get comfortable with it is how the strong survive. Consequently, each project becomes an opportunity for reflection and improvement. There should always be something to take away from a project. A skilled designer cannot stick to one mindset and routine for how we approach projects and clients. We must experiment with new software, set trends, and know that mistakes are not setbacks, but stepping stones toward growth.

Just as the world moves in seasons, so do we. It may be four seasons, like our weather, or 2 seasons, like a canceled show. So I look at it like this: I have seasons of growth. If I find myself doing the same process over and over with no new results I know it is time to shake the process up. I have a season of growth, a season of doing, and a season of nothing. Here is what these entail for me.

Growth: Paying attention to the current and future trends. What are runways showcasing, the color of the year for Pantone and Better Home and Gardens, who is winning what awards and for why. Reading a few design books old and new from local bookstores and thriftbooks. Curating what it is I want to focus on this year and what needs to happen for me to make that happen.

Doing: This typically comes after my season of growth. During this, I am applying all the knowledge I have been acquiring and applying it to projects for clients and whatever the demands are at my current job. Using a new medium, I have seen others use or implement it into my work to give it my signature look. I am taking time to look at updates that Adobe has launched and see if I can use any of them in the development of my projects. I am reaching out to fellow creatives to get feedback, have conversations, and just keep my mind going.

Nothing: During this time, I am not taking orders, doing small projects, or anything that I am not getting paid for aside from self-marketing. There is no planned learning and I am scrolling Instagram just to laugh at cat videos. I have found over the years that my mind has to shut off for some time for me to do the work I create. This has not been easy, especially being a 26-year-old who feels she needed to start paying her dues the second I graduated in 2020. I believe everyone needs to have a season in their life where they aren't doing more than they need to. They should just coast for a while to recharge for the rest of their seasons. This prevents us from making the same plays repeatedly and taking on our next season refreshed and renewed.

Generating these seasons for myself has made it so I can build healthier habits and apply them to my growth season. Growth has made life as a graphic designer easier to do more in my life. Embracing failure, though not easy but easier to handle. Writing down any ideas as they come makes it so I can workshop them whether or not I am going to do them but still exercise my mind while doing so. The most important piece of advice I can give is to never stop having curiosity in life, lead with this approach and you won't be upset with the results.

In my growth journey, I redefine what it means to evolve creatively and professionally in the world of design. I can't stick to just one way of learning. I have a friend who works for the L.A. Times who shares his work on Instagram and it's completely different from my style. I never pass up the chance to see what he's covering for the paper because his medium can and often does inspire me. This is what keeps me growing. For me, growth looks like this.

• When I can be the go-to for a former client who wants me to update a previous project because their company is growing and changing and I see that as success. It shows they want me to be a part of their growth and success. It also means they have a good understanding of staying consistent with their branding and updating. I work with a travel agent who has grown her clientele a lot over the years as well as her social media presence. This is how she brings in a lot of her clientele which has resulted in her asking me to update her business cards, some web design, and create a few post ideas for her.

• Having clients and strangers not hesitate to pitch an idea that seems out there and still have faith in me to pull it off because they know my skillset is always expanding. I find I am learning a lot of new skills when doing work for a client who promotes her OnlyFans. A lot of her photos have intricate details and fun effects I get to recreate. I never know what she's going to ask for when she reaches out which excites me and she's a great client because she keeps me evolving as a designer.

How I shape my life to center around design helps create habits that make it a little simpler for when you sit down and face the blank artboard. I leave you with this, rise as your goals rise because they shouldn't ever stay stagnant. You sure aren't.