Holidays offer us a great time to reset, unwind, and take a break from a busy routine at work — allowing us to reflect on our personal goals in life and career for the next 12 months.
Knowing that new opportunities lie ahead, its very timely to set and execute resolutions to give our career a boost this year! Consider some of these simple new year resolutions for designers that you could include in your own list this year.
Have you ever heard the phrase “A bad workman blames his tools?” Designers who constantly find lame excuses and blames his tools for his failure will do no good in this business. So find time to study intensively your mediums—like applications, software and materials—to maximize your full potential.
Instead of criticizing and downplaying other designers and their works just to catapult you on top, find opportunities to work with them so you can learn from them. Surrounding yourself with the people that are way better than you increases the chances of learning new things that can be useful for your own journey.
Well, congrats! Looks like you’re assured of actually making one of these resolutions, my friend. It is inevitable so just face it. Expecting this scenario will take some pressure off. Make mistakes, learn from them, then move on.
This is a great way to expose yourself more in the design industry. This will also keep you updated of the latest design trends and ideas. Plus, this is a practical way to market yourself and attract more followers.
Find a proper venue to showcase your works. Creating a personal website is probably the best way to do it. But for those who are still unable to create one, you can still create an online portfolio with some of the most popular free online portfolio sites. Check out this post for reference.
Having great amount of clients might mean lots of income. But keep in mind that having numerous clients with various styles and demands can hurt your career path in the long run. Consider working only on projects that you actually believe in. Stay true to your desired path.
We designers are so focused on the visual aspect of our designs that we tend to give little importance to the copy. You could spend hours creating the best possible layout for your design only to find a typographical error during printing. Imagine how much time and money you can save if you make proofreading a habit.
Had enough? May it be from friends requesting for free designs for their birthday invitations or from clients that utterly confuse you with their vague requests, learn to say NO! Save yourself the headaches.
You’re only as good as your last work so never stop learning. Make reading tutorials and watching videos on the internet a habit. Then make time to share what you’ve learned in a design community. You’ll gain nothing but benefits on your part.
Spending too much time on social media platforms will do more bad than good — but same goes when lacking time for it. Social media has so much potential for exposure and marketing just to ignore. Try to balance things up so you can manage your time properly.
You’ll come to a point when you just want to know everything about design. You’ll suddenly jump into web design because you’ve heard they pay a hefty price for that. Then study 3D modelling because it looks so cool to rotate a model. You also have the urge to learn how to animate and create videos to be a well-rounded multimedia artist.
But remember that doing one thing a thousand times is better than doing thousand things for one time. Focus on one particular skillset this year then move on to your next endeavor once mastered.
We can’t give designers a standard template because every designers has his own particular workflow. Some of us start our routine by sketching ideas with pencil and paper while some work directly on Photoshop or any other graphic software to execute their design and ideas. What’s important is having a systematic workflow that will actually work and suit you. This can save you lots of time and effort this year.
Try to join various active design communities and collaborate with commercial and group projects with different members. This allows you to showcase your skills and meet new people with the same passion. Try to build a network and connections because this can play a huge factor in the future.
Humongous amount of workloads—especially if routinary—can be exhausting. Try to give yourself more time working on personal projects this year. Projects that feed your soul and restore your passion for creativity.
The only way to become great at something is to do it as often as you can. Great designers took years to get to where they are today. Just like them, you’ll suck at it during your first few trials. But eventually you’ll do good once you get the hang of it. It’s important to know that this phase is normal. Repetition is the key so don’t stop trying.
Whether your a fan of New Year’s resolutions or not, it is important to make efforts to improve yourself as time goes by. Set simple and achievable goals for yourself this year and see where this changes will lead you. Share us your New Year’s resolution by hitting us below!