5 answers
Bella
Student
Malden, Massachusetts
1
Question
Asked
1565 views
How difficult is it to make a living being a graphic designer??
I'm interested in being a graphic designer and doing commissions and selling art, but I keep hearing how difficult and unrealistic it is. Is it really so difficult? Is it possible?
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5 answers
Carmene Gonzalez
Senior Instructional Designer
1
Answer
Corpus Christi, Texas
Updated
Carmene’s Answer
Hi there, Bella. Let me start with your last question - “Is it possible?” By now you’ve probably heard people say, “Anything is possible!” And it is! You’ve gotten some really great advice in this thread and all that they’ve shared is valid and are things to consider.
I’m curious to know if you are interested in a degree/title of Graphic Designer/Artist or are you inclined to be more of a Freelance Artist or Illustrator? By the way your post reads you would be open to both areas of work.
If you’re studied in Graphic Design and are an Illustrator (I recommend Fine Arts Studies and/or Animation) then you can work in this field full or part-time. That would allow you to either work full time and save up to take a hiatus after whatever time you decide and focus on your work without worry for money. Or work part time and pastime in your brand/company to launch your own designs and get your name out there to people. It’s a Visual Art field so create and share your work with mention that you are available. If you have work that is specific to your style consider putting a waterstamp on the digital format before publishing and signing and dating your work.
Get out there!!! Good Luck!!!
I’m curious to know if you are interested in a degree/title of Graphic Designer/Artist or are you inclined to be more of a Freelance Artist or Illustrator? By the way your post reads you would be open to both areas of work.
If you’re studied in Graphic Design and are an Illustrator (I recommend Fine Arts Studies and/or Animation) then you can work in this field full or part-time. That would allow you to either work full time and save up to take a hiatus after whatever time you decide and focus on your work without worry for money. Or work part time and pastime in your brand/company to launch your own designs and get your name out there to people. It’s a Visual Art field so create and share your work with mention that you are available. If you have work that is specific to your style consider putting a waterstamp on the digital format before publishing and signing and dating your work.
Get out there!!! Good Luck!!!
Larry Whitler
Artist and Illustrator
3
Answers
Ocala, Florida
Updated
Larry’s Answer
Graphic Designers in today's world earn varying amounts. I know, that is not the answer you want so let me be more specific.
The differences in salary for a graphic designer vary because of location, industry (I'll explain in a moment), and, of course, the work load of your employer (which, often, can be yourself if you are freelancing).
The location part is easy. Bigger cities with larger agencies and bigger clients will pay more. This becomes tricky in these times because so many employers now allow their creative workforce to work remotely.
The industry part is more complex. You might be working for, or working with an advertising agency, a marketing department, a government agency or department, a manufacturer, etc. The work available to graphic designers includes (but is not limited to, Brand Identity (creating the new Nike or McDonald's logo and related material); Marketing and Advertising Design (probably the oldest form of employment/livelihood for an artist or illustrator, video game production (I know several artists who work as "environment" designers), and pattern designers for the garment and fabric industries. Add to that some of the fields like Web & User Interface Design, publication and editorial artwork, font and lettering design,
animation, data visualization, etc. (Please note that I'm not happy that I ended that last sentence with "etc" because "etc" is always so vague and I know you want a specific answer. Nevertheless, I will leave the "etc" and keep it vague because 1) I'm not necessarily aware of all the applications for graphic artist that are out there and 2) this is an ever changing world.
To give you a dollar amount that one can expect to earn as a graphic designer would be misleading. But, in regards to the topic of compensation, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't sell yourself short. You have (presumably) mastered your skills and if you are being hired, as an employee or as a contracted worker) you are as much a valuable professional as anyone else who has mastered their profession.
Just so you know, I've been around a while (in other words I'm old) and when I first started we were told that this new thing called "photography" was going to take away the job of artists and illustrators at newspapers, magazines, catalogs, and such. It turns out that "they" were right and they were wrong. Yes, fashion magazines began using photographs of models, but the work for illustrators continued to pour in.
By the way, you may not always be in love with your assignments. But, hey, it's a job.
One more thing about progress and how technology is continuing to change things. AI (artificial intelligence) threatens to take work away from illustrators. At least that's what I have read. I'm not a psychic or a business forecaster, but I would suspect that AI would become more of a tool for graphic designers than a replacement for them.
Good luck with your endeavors. You were gifted and if you pursue the avenues your gift is sending you down you will find a place that suits your needs and your lifestyle.
The differences in salary for a graphic designer vary because of location, industry (I'll explain in a moment), and, of course, the work load of your employer (which, often, can be yourself if you are freelancing).
The location part is easy. Bigger cities with larger agencies and bigger clients will pay more. This becomes tricky in these times because so many employers now allow their creative workforce to work remotely.
The industry part is more complex. You might be working for, or working with an advertising agency, a marketing department, a government agency or department, a manufacturer, etc. The work available to graphic designers includes (but is not limited to, Brand Identity (creating the new Nike or McDonald's logo and related material); Marketing and Advertising Design (probably the oldest form of employment/livelihood for an artist or illustrator, video game production (I know several artists who work as "environment" designers), and pattern designers for the garment and fabric industries. Add to that some of the fields like Web & User Interface Design, publication and editorial artwork, font and lettering design,
animation, data visualization, etc. (Please note that I'm not happy that I ended that last sentence with "etc" because "etc" is always so vague and I know you want a specific answer. Nevertheless, I will leave the "etc" and keep it vague because 1) I'm not necessarily aware of all the applications for graphic artist that are out there and 2) this is an ever changing world.
To give you a dollar amount that one can expect to earn as a graphic designer would be misleading. But, in regards to the topic of compensation, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't sell yourself short. You have (presumably) mastered your skills and if you are being hired, as an employee or as a contracted worker) you are as much a valuable professional as anyone else who has mastered their profession.
Just so you know, I've been around a while (in other words I'm old) and when I first started we were told that this new thing called "photography" was going to take away the job of artists and illustrators at newspapers, magazines, catalogs, and such. It turns out that "they" were right and they were wrong. Yes, fashion magazines began using photographs of models, but the work for illustrators continued to pour in.
By the way, you may not always be in love with your assignments. But, hey, it's a job.
One more thing about progress and how technology is continuing to change things. AI (artificial intelligence) threatens to take work away from illustrators. At least that's what I have read. I'm not a psychic or a business forecaster, but I would suspect that AI would become more of a tool for graphic designers than a replacement for them.
Good luck with your endeavors. You were gifted and if you pursue the avenues your gift is sending you down you will find a place that suits your needs and your lifestyle.
Brendan Henry
Agency Owner and Artist
1
Answer
Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada
Updated
Brendan’s Answer
It is entirely possible, feasable, and realistic to make a living as a graphic designer!
However, you will often need to take on jobs that you don't LOVE. Whether it's layout for a brochure, or a logo for a client who doesn't seem to like 'good logos' etc. Sometimes you need to roll the hard 6 and 'absorb' all of that.
You might find more success as a freelancer, working for yourself, or by working for an agency, or for another designer. The thing to remember is that you will always be learning, always getting better, and always looking for work.
It might take months or a year or more to build up a portfolio that makes you look 'hireable' by an agency. I run an agency, and I'm generally only looking for a very specific style of designer that can take over current clients, which means they need to design like me, or in a way that I feel is way better than myself.
However, all it takes to get your first graphic design client is the confidence to offer your services. Your first COUPLE jobs might be very, very cheap, $50 logo here, $50 brochure there, etc. But make sure you value your time far more than you expect. 2/3 of your time will not be billable, which means you can't charge for it. In a 40 hour week, at first, you might only work 20 hours, and spend 20 hours looking for clients or just practicing your craft. That means your hourly rate needs to be DOUBLE what you want to make, to compensate for the lack of clients.
But people won't pay that much? Exactly. So your existence will be spent trying to figure out the perfect price that someone will agree to, without low-balling yourself. You say $200, they say yes, suddenly you're wondering if you should have said $300 instead.
In the end, you can definitely make a living as a graphic designer. You might even be successful, might even make a LOT of money.
It all comes down to how hard you're willing to work, especially at first.
However, you will often need to take on jobs that you don't LOVE. Whether it's layout for a brochure, or a logo for a client who doesn't seem to like 'good logos' etc. Sometimes you need to roll the hard 6 and 'absorb' all of that.
You might find more success as a freelancer, working for yourself, or by working for an agency, or for another designer. The thing to remember is that you will always be learning, always getting better, and always looking for work.
It might take months or a year or more to build up a portfolio that makes you look 'hireable' by an agency. I run an agency, and I'm generally only looking for a very specific style of designer that can take over current clients, which means they need to design like me, or in a way that I feel is way better than myself.
However, all it takes to get your first graphic design client is the confidence to offer your services. Your first COUPLE jobs might be very, very cheap, $50 logo here, $50 brochure there, etc. But make sure you value your time far more than you expect. 2/3 of your time will not be billable, which means you can't charge for it. In a 40 hour week, at first, you might only work 20 hours, and spend 20 hours looking for clients or just practicing your craft. That means your hourly rate needs to be DOUBLE what you want to make, to compensate for the lack of clients.
But people won't pay that much? Exactly. So your existence will be spent trying to figure out the perfect price that someone will agree to, without low-balling yourself. You say $200, they say yes, suddenly you're wondering if you should have said $300 instead.
In the end, you can definitely make a living as a graphic designer. You might even be successful, might even make a LOT of money.
It all comes down to how hard you're willing to work, especially at first.
Lucía Theurel
UI UX Designer
8
Answers
Greensboro, North Carolina
Updated
Lucía’s Answer
Is not difficult at all. You can do a number of gigs as a freelancer or choose to get employed by a company. There are a lot of graphic designers out there. some of them charge very cheap for low quality to compensate for low or any experience. The more experience you gain, the more tools you learn, you charge for more. Quality over quantity is the key. It is a matter of balancing those two. If you know you don't know a lot then perhaps doing more small projects at low prices to make ends meet is the best approach, or go for a salary job inside a big designer team. Later as you get better, you will charge more, have less projects and as such, less stress. It will become less difficult with time.
Dixon Cheung
Game Designer, Narrative Designer, Creative Lead (Advertising)
7
Answers
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Updated
Dixon’s Answer
I'm going to sound horrible with this but my answer is, it depends on where you are. Graphic design is often tied to market condition, and believe it or not, while experts say that it's best to advertise when the market is bad, 9/10 situation businesses would hold back on their marketing budget when the market doesn't look good. For a major cities like LA or NY, the population makes it more feasible for companies to invest marketing budget, meaning clients are more willing to do more. If you're in a small city or a town, you may be competing with other graphic designers over a leaflet design that most likely won't be sufficient to get you through the month. There are platforms today that allow you to get freelance graphic jobs online from far away, but bear in mind that while you're thinking of doing so, there are thousands of designers doing the same thing as well. It boils down to how good is your work, can you build a reputation for yourself, and how much you're charging on these platforms.
Remember, when the market gets bad (like today), everyone's looking for work, and companies are not willing to spend. I've personally seen how jobs dried up during the dot com crisis, and with the aftermath of the Lehman Brother's incident in 2008. Graphic design gets hit really bad, and you will need a backup plan. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, that way you'll be able to survive out there as a graphic designer. :)
Remember, when the market gets bad (like today), everyone's looking for work, and companies are not willing to spend. I've personally seen how jobs dried up during the dot com crisis, and with the aftermath of the Lehman Brother's incident in 2008. Graphic design gets hit really bad, and you will need a backup plan. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, that way you'll be able to survive out there as a graphic designer. :)