Looking back, what are some of the most impactful turning points/learnings that really changed your career trajectory as a creative?
I'll start! :)
I had an interesting email from an illustration student recently asking some great questions. This was one that got me thinking. Personally I think one of the biggest lessons I learnt was valuing your personal work, and realising the importance of it.
At the start of my career (like many young designers) I would chase after every £50-logo-job-for-a-friend I could get, or enter any design competition that came my way. But a little way down the line I began to see how damaging these things are (beyond many of them being downright cons) they'll never be financially viable for you if you're looking to make a living from design, but maybe even more importantly they reflect on how you value yourself as a creative.
By putting this effort into personal work rather than competitions etc you'll inevitably create something you're more engaged with, explore themes you personally find inspiring & interesting and ultimately create better work. Then the old adage "do the work you want to be doing" comes into play. People will see these personal projects and need/want something similar - and hire you! You'll have crafted a solid skillset and a knowledge base in something you care about and eventually become a true pro in whatever it is you do.
The design comps and jobs for friends only lead to more of the same. I will caveat that at an early stage in your career this type of work does have its benefits, learning how to work to a brief, communicating your ideas with others, client imposed deadlines etc, all valuable stuff - but the true growth as a creative still lies in what comes from you in your personal experiments.
What this boils down to is - always invest in yourself - and it's a lesson I still make every effort to practice 10 years in to my career.
Replies8
- Learning the balance of craft vs. concept. I think I started out like many loving coming up with fun ideas, but over the years making the effort to diversify the craft of an idea yet still feeling like it's something I've worked on has been a real turning point. There is something special about a great idea in an illustration or piece of communication but it's fairly worthless if it's badly executed. That's probably my biggest lesson learnt : ) Hope that helps!
- @Rajib Moazzam MATE - what you're describing is basically "imposter syndrome" it comes in all shapes and forms but one universal feature is that it's straight up bullshit! Although I studied Design at degree level I struggle with it massively still, power to you for getting through it man, it can be so debilitating at its worst.
- Hi Josh, this is a great question and I found it very interesting to read your thoughts. I totally agree with you that once you get past a certain point, doing the £50 jobs can really de-value your personal brand. For me personally, the biggest turning point came 3 years into working as a designer. Not having a graphic design degree was a real mental block on my mind, and really held me back. I really undervalued my creative opinion against people who had graphic design degrees. Then one day in a client meeting I came to the huge realisation (albeit something that will be controversial I’m sure) that actually the people around me who I thought were better than me, actually felt like they were just ‘winging’ it from project to project. They all suffered the same fears I did. This was incredibly liberating for me personally and freed me to kick on, and I’ve not looked back since.
- @Greta Beccarello Very well put, especially on the importance of being authentic and transparent (could write another question on that alone) And I'm super glad to hear you can see the value in yourself! As creatives we are our own product - so our value of ourselves corrolates directly to the value of our product, don't let anyone/anything bring that down.Keep on truckin' :)
- @Geoffrey Bunting Wow man - I hate to hear that you had to experience all that, but thanks for sharing it - we all lift each other up with honesty, advice and shared experience like this! And as for bidding sites like Reedsy, Fiverr etc I've been caught by similar ones in the past - they're shit sites that are damaging to creatives and clients alike.Props to you for learning from it all and moving forward positively man - the journalism diploma sounds rad - I hope you smash it!
- Love this Josh!I think something similar for me as well.I value my work more now and the value it brings to my clients and helps them grow as a business eventually.
- A really interesting question.I'd say I had two really major moments that moved my career trajectory.1) When a friend cheated me out of a fair bit of money for work I had done for them. I ended up having to take them to court, despite dealing with the onset of disability (itself having a major impact on my career, frankly), and the whole process just showed me how fraught and difficult client-work is if you can't even trust your friends. It had a major impact on how I conducted jobs and how I valued myself.2) Fully specialising in book design and having to re-enter the self-publishing industry. I asked a fellow professional for advice, part of which was to join Reedsy - honestly, the worst advice I've ever followed. Not only did the fact I joined a bidding site - particularly one that puts so little value in its professionals - demonstrate to me that I still didn't adequately value myself. But after having to engage with the people behind the site, having to see just how bad so many people are in self-publishing, how self-interested they are, how completely oblivious to basic human decency they are, and how little value they have for professional services, it made me realise that I genuinely hate being a designer. So now I'm pushing myself on a new trajectory, taking a journalism diploma, pulling away from a) a career that has made me ill and b) has exposed me to some of the worst people and worst platforms (The Dots excluded, it's great here) I've ever encountered.
- @Josh Callaghan Love this and I agree! Try and explore until you know what's right for you.For me, it changed the moment I started valuing myself and my work more, and I started considering myself as a small business owner. That helped me come out with a framework of ideal clients/collaborators and also mapped out all the red flags that would describe the type of clients I didn't want to work with (there's no alignment with values or beliefs).I think it also helps you stand out and gives you confidence to continue doing what you are doing, because you know you are being authentic and transparent.We are creatives, there is no clear end, in anything - it's our power, because we can mold, adapt and react to make the most of the time we have to leave behind something so unique!
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