My Design Story

When I graduated college with my design degree I really was not sure quite what to do with my skills. I looked around and eventually found a job at a coffee shop in Orange County. Not the best gig in the world, but at least I could pay my bills. Not the Orange County graphic design job I dreamed of, but I needed work. In my free time I started doing posters and other ads for local companies including the coffee shop.

Here I met musicians and other artists who were looking for unique ways to promote themselves. I offered my services and began creating media for them, mostly at a significantly reduced rate. These experiences taught me a lot about the design process, and most importantly a lot about servicing my customers. My little one man Orange County graphic design company was off and running.

Many designers who get their start straight into large firms these days seem to have very little experience pleasing the end users who are consuming their work. My struggles in the beginning have paid huge dividends today. I still do a lot of Orange County graphic design work and my philosophy for my current customers has changed very little since when I got my start. I still take each client as an individual and work together with them to find the best way to present themselves.

With online active media becoming so important these days, it can be very easy to lose touch of who you are working with and what their desires are. The key to getting a successful solution is to work with your partners, and make sure that they are also working with you. This communication is a two way street, and the consumers need to respect and understand that I have experience with these projects and can show them the best way to portray whatever it is that they are trying to show off. Many graphic designers also lack the strength of personality to push back on their clients when need be.

While ultimately, they are the ones paying the check, you have to be strong enough to present your view point and ideas, especially when you know they are correct. This is true whether you are doing Orange County graphic design or work somewhere else in the country. Being able to control and manage your clients is an important skill to have at any point or level in the design process. Without the experience of being on my own for Orange County graphic design I doubt that I would have been able to learn this. Because of this experience of having to work completely for myself I have learned how to best control my relationship with my clients, and I mean this in a positive way. A vision is a great thing to have, but without proper execution it is useless.

Written By Urbangeko.Com