Graphic Design is solving problems in a visual way. While it may encompass using computers to make images or lay out text, it is not limited to it.
Graphic design is NOT using PhotoShop, running filters, or randomly manipulating images. Just like using a wrench is not the same as knowing how to turn a pile of metal into a new model of car, knowing how to use the tools of design does not make you a designer. A real designer can create great work despite their tools, not because of them.
Advices:
- Collect solutions. Your mind is like a tool belt with unlimited pockets. You never know when one of those solutions will be exactly what you need.
- All designers will work on the web sooner or later. If you don't know Flash, CSS, and XML, your future is going to be limited.
- It never gets easier. It just gets more complicated and you get paid more for it.
- Never, ever do work on spec. Ever.
- You buy success with failure. If you learn from your mistakes, whoever makes the most mistakes knows the most.
- Anyone can be good at doing what everyone else does. Find something that only you are good at, and focus on that.
- Find a creative outlet. Most of your work won't be that much fun, keep your energy up by doing an hour of something creative each day.
- Don't try to beat cheap design by being cheap. Beat it by being worth more in a way the client understands.
- Understand Business. You will work for and with businesspeople. Understand them, what they do, and how to run your own business. Being creative doesn't mean you can be ignorant.
