What makes a graphic designer an awesome and successful one? Talent. Yes! A graphic designer ought to have talents. What else? Cool new devices and apps to help them work. Yes, those devices and apps are necessary. They cannot design on papers, only the sketches. But what else? What has a graphic designer got to have to be awesome and successful? They have to have the following essential traits:
PASSIONATE & DETERMINED
In order to be great and successful in what you are doing, you have to love what you do. We have heard it everywhere. Not just for graphic designers, all people in general must be passionate in what they do, because if you dont, it would be very easy for you to complain and be depressed all the time. Moreover, you did not just choose to have a career in the creative industry if you dont love what you do. The problem is sometimes having passion is just not enough. There will be times when you are going to work long hours due to enormous workload. Having the fire, that determination to keep going is what separates you from failures. You know you are fatigue, but still you keep on driving. That is when you are passionate and determined.
OPEN TO CRITICISM
Frankly speaking, nobody loves to be criticized. It is never easy to take criticism, but if you want to be a successful graphic designer, then you should learn to open your heart and mind to deal with constructive criticism. Be positive, you will learn from critics and they will help you grow in the long run.
EXCELLENT COMMUNICATOR
An awesome designer should not be able to only communicate the story, ideas and brand of a client in the form of an incredible design, but they should also be able to communicate excellently. Having good interactions with customers will help build great and long-last relationships with them. It is essential to have the ability to communicate eloquently not only in positive situations but also in tricky and stressful situations, for example.
GREAT TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS
Time management is a must have skill, especially for graphic designers who take multiple projects all at once. Without the ability to manage your time perfectly, it is very likely that you will fail to deliver your projects on time. If this happens, you will be marked as over promise but under deliver. As a great graphic designer, you should know your own workload and can predict how many more projects you can take. Remember, be realistic.
WILLING TO LEARN & EVOLVE
Be curious, because without curiosity you will stop learning. You have got to be up to the challenges to evolve. Growing and learning new things are good things. Be it exploring new designs, trying new technology, or anything else. Lillian Smith, an american writer and social critic, once said: when you stop learning, stop listening, stop looking and asking questions, always new questions, then it is time to die.
