Graphic Design: Expectation vs. Reality

Many people would usually admire graphic designers for getting paid while pursuing a creative path. People would perceive graphic designers as those who sit all day, drawing up ideas, mixing colors, and getting all designs done for that day. Graphic design seems easy, but is it really?

For those who want to pursue graphic design or are envious of the seemingly easy career path, I don’t want to burst your bubble but here’s what it is and what is not. Read along to find out.

Graphic Design: Expectation vs. Reality

When Looking for Ideas

Expectation: Team effort will make it happen. Just like any other job, you brainstorm your ideas with your teammates from A-Z. You will discuss with the team your ideas and vice versa for your graphic design. What is there to lose when you have all the team members try to bring the best to the table, right?

Reality: You get your ideas from what inspires you, and mostly when alone. Sometimes, taking a walk, a change in the atmosphere or a coffee break will help. Although soliciting ideas from others is helpful, it may sometimes contradict how you conceptualize and might destroy a single, working idea you have in mind. A designer needs a focused perspective and hearing different biases from other designers will only confuse them even more.
 

When Talking With Clients 

Expectation: You probably communicate better because you are the designer and you know how your design can impact others. Clients will tell you what they want, and boom! you deliver right off the bat.

You have laid down the plans and ideas for your next project. You have created your goal and brainstormed, you have prepared the mood, color palette, sample of your work as your portfolio, and the contract. 

Your client is happy with your work, and you are ready to start the project. You only need to make a zoom call to make it all official. After the call, the client is happy, and you are so glad. Hurray! You get a fat paycheck.

Reality: Every client is different so, despite the expertise, a generic design will not be enough. Many clients are very particular about what they want. They cannot express themselves and their ideas visually, so they expect the designer to do that for them. This ends up with a lot of revisions; not once, not twice, but an awful lot of modifications! Your work-life balance has come to ruin. And you wish you had a lot of time to watch your Star Wars movie!
 

Your Desk Space

Expectation: You always go to work in front of a high-end four-screen workstation with complete results plus your favorite music in your background. No clutter around. Only your PC, your tablet, and your dear mouse are on the desk! Your things get organized; besides, one of the skill sets that designers have is good organization skills.

Reality: Papers! What you see are papers! How on earth do you get to survive each day when your desk is a mess? Your plates are on your right, cups on your left, and papers with a lot of different concepts and ideas in front of you. Never mind a clean desk space, you’ll eventually outgrow that dream and be more comfortable with the mess that keeps your mind and ideas clear.
 

The Emotional State

Expectation: You know how to juggle multiple tasks. You are resilient, flexible, and a multitasker. You know how to handle your emotions and are superb with time management that keeps your emotional state in check. 

You are a lover of design and passionate about it, and designing is in your blood. No one can stop you from being productive at work and in your personal life.

You bring emotion through your work with the use of images and words. 

Reality: You are an emotional mess! Bluntly yes! That's life. You keep on going. You keep telling yourself that you are the best in everything you do but are uninspired. Your work seems somewhat off. 

You don't have enough sleep, and it takes all your life from you. Yet, you can manage to finish the job before the deadline, which makes living proof that designing has its yin and yang! Good job!

So here are the ways to help you communicate your emotions through your work. These graphic design tips will help you internalize and share what you feel.

• Use real-life emotions
• Introduce symbolism
• Prepare the images that you will use and the words as well
• Keep in mind the story that you will use
• Use a story image that everyone is familiar with, such as the Facebook and Twitter icons
  
  

The Work Process

Expectation: You have a system that follows your work-life balance. You are always happy because you enjoy your time with your friends and loved ones. Graphic design is a stroll in the park for you. It always comes easy because you are inspired, and the work is smooth. 

Reality: Hold on there, champ! We get you to have a system of your own but wait, and you need to stop and gather new ideas from time to time because you are running out of it. It is a rough spot for you. Are you going to quit? Of course not!

You keep on going because you love what you do. Though the stew of working as a graphic designer may be stressful but rewarding, there is no stopping you. 

So here are some graphic design tips that can help you out with your work process:

• Build a creative belief
• Do your research
• Learn about the design ecosystem
• Create the design
• Feedback is honest, so take it, learn from it, and then implement it.
• Deliver the plan that is finalized and free of error
• Improve from your previous work
• Master the work process
  
  

Usage of Tools and Equipment

Expectation: You have access to thousands of tools and the right equipment for the job. Wow! Your boss not only gave you a PC for graphic design, but he gave you a high-end laptop. You are always ahead of your game when it comes to tools.

Reality: You have downloaded hundreds of fonts and designs but only use a few of them. Talk about a waste of resources. No tools can give you all you need, so you must get more tools for the job.

Here are the tools you can use to help you with your work.

• Proofing tool by Proofhub: this tool can help you collaborate your work with your teammates with an easy-to-follow workflow. You can work in your own space but can be able to get organized to finish your team's project.
   
• Adobe Photoshop: This tool can help you edit your images and work around them. This tool allows you to fix unwanted elements in your image or add text such as the slogan of the brand you are working for. Yet, this tool is intricate and you may need to learn about the editing tools they give you.
   
• Brandcrowd: This tool helps to choose a logo design from over 97.000 premium options you can choose from. Browse and select your own unique logo that’s most suitable for your brand identity.
  
  
• Filestage: This tool can help you work efficiently in terms of the approval process of your work. You can ask your team to use this to make your job easier and help know if your work is approved or not.
  
  
• Picsart: This tool helps edit pictures and add more elements, such as stickers.
  
  
• Removal.AI: This tool can help you work efficiently through their remove bg tool. You can remove your eye sting background and edit with only one click.
  
  
• Designer: This tool has many perks as well. This tool can help you edit your PDF and your graphics. It is easy; you can only drag-drop your piece and start your edit as well.
  
  
• DesignBold: If you are a fan of photoshop yet, you don't have enough time. You can do so with this tool. It is a simplified version of photoshop where you can edit your photo and image easily.
  
  
• Fotor: This tool allows you to edit your photos with one tap. So easy that you can finish your work and still have time to go skating at the skating park with your friends.
  
  
• Logaster: This logo maker can be your next big thing! This tool creates multiple logos with one click. You can then select a logo that you would like placed on your business letters and your stores.
  
  
• Marvel: This is a prototype tool that can help you efficiently. This tool can help your end-user know the feel of your design right off the bat. So it is easy to do some editing on your end.
   

Receiving Client Feedback

Expectation: Awesome! You are one heck of a graphic designer. Everything follows smoothly, so your client is satisfied with your design. It is just like a dream client landed on your workstation.

Reality: Yey! You did well but need to revise everything you made and redesign again after submitting your final work. How is this possible? Because your client changed their mind and wanted a different design, or better yet, you did not make their dream design just yet. So you keep on revising it over and over again.

Salary/Compensation

Expectation: You are a graphic designer, and the pay is good! You have everything that you want to have! It is simply the dream job, and you are compensated more than how much time you give. Your pay is the same no matter what project you make. 

Reality: The pay is measly that. It is not the same. Income differs depending on the budget of the client and the work itself. If your project looks easy for your client, then they may pay you according to the projects they assigned you.

Conclusion

The expected life of a designer is never the same as the reality they deal with. You might think your work is easy and wish for too much, but it is not really what is happening.

You keep doing it, though, because it is what you like, and you aspire to be great! 

There is nothing wrong with being in love with the work that you are doing. You are in the process of becoming great as a graphic designer.

Your design may be different at first, but you keep striving to improve. That is the ultimate goal of being a designer anyway. 

So whatever your niche is, go work it out. You may expect differently than you get in reality, but don't give up. 

Keep on striving to be better in the career that you choose. Who knows, you will be the best graphic designer in the industry.