10 reasons why designers quit design

Based on the observations of Kelvin Cox, I will try to formulate 10 main reasons that prevent designers from developing their potential and becoming professionals. As a designer, our overseas colleague for a long time tried to understand what was preventing him from developing. And after much deliberation, a list of the main reasons for the “design stupor” was compiled.

Market saturation

The design market has become global. Now, for example, a designer from Minsk can easily make a project for a customer from Los Angeles. This is the reason for serious competition, because now almost any freelancer can work remotely from anywhere in the world without much effort. At the same time, this is a huge plus, because it is thanks to the Internet that the entire huge design market with its needs is accessible to everyone, even to a novice designer.

Become a professional in your field. If you clearly define your niche in the market, you will be more visible and competitive. For example, it will be only informational design of sites or only online stores. Due to the global market, any chosen niche will not be narrowly focused, because almost always there will be a demand for it.

Bad start

A career as a designer can begin with a significant and significant project for you. In this case, you risk being disappointed in the next project and giving up, losing any interest in it.

Do not forget that very few people become rich and successful in a short time. Start by creating a good portfolio, develop professional skills, communicate with more experienced colleagues in the workshop, and learn from their experience. Among the many acquaintances in LiveJournal, on freelance sites, on blogs or on a hub, try to find experts in your field and potential customers.

Wrong Costs

It's no secret that the money invested in your business can come back handsomely. Another thing is that you need to invest them wisely. We can spend a thousand dollars to rent an ad space on a freelance site to attract attention. But the result may not be as impressive as we would like, and money can be wasted.

Calm, only calm. It would be wiser to make the first investment in the future. For example, undergo design training, buy a powerful computer, a professional monitor, or make yourself a stunning portfolio site. Or buy, in the end, a license for Photoshop. Better yet, do it all together. And only then strive for new heights.

Money up front

Before starting work, the designer usually wants to get an advance payment. It is important for a potential client to know how selected the freelancer is professional in the field he needs. To do this, you need to have a good portfolio, then you can count on prepayment and trust. If you still cannot boast of such, then the first time you have to work without a deposit. On the one hand, this is less reliable, but there is a good opportunity to collect work in a portfolio and make useful contacts with employers.

The unknown

As in any business, you need to pay attention to the design market. Post your work in public blogs, do not skimp on business cards for friends and acquaintances. Surprise yourself with an interesting design so that the pictures from your site can be shared by other bloggers with a link to you.

Ask for advice and ask experts to criticize your work on the forums. Remember that just one of your site for a successful freelancer is not enough. I make most business acquaintances on design communities and freelance sites. Therefore, join the community of like-minded people, but do not forget about your portfolio.

You will not please everyone

Remember that it is impossible to please everyone at once. As one acquaintance of mine (a bearded guy of about 40 years old) said, "I am not a sweet girl to be liked by everyone." At the same time, he correctly chose his target audience: he was loved by lovely and beautiful girls. The opinion of the others was of little interest to him. So you can work in pleasure - to make a design that will please you. In this case, your like-minded people will love your work. And they can become your market niche as customers.

Fear of criticism

This is a problem that almost every designer faces at the beginning of his career. If you don’t understand that criticism is useful for design, it can lead to the fact that you will show your works only to people who are guaranteed not to say anything bad about them. It must be remembered that criticism is necessary for professional development .

Lack of personality

Any designer should have his own vision of the world. Do not try to be like everyone else, you need to look for your personality. Beginning designers need a lot of time to work on developing their own style . This can be either an approach to choosing colors for the layout, or branded "chips": lines, bends, gradients, or lack thereof. As Gosha Kutsenko shaved his head and made it his calling card, so you are different from the crowd of faceless "creators" in a unique style.

Have a plan? No plan

To succeed, it’s not enough just to be a good designer. You need to determine your goal (open a studio, conquer the Romanian market, enslave the world, etc.), divide it into tasks and gradually solve them. Try each next project to bring yourself closer to achieving the goal.

Lack of motivation

Many talented designers do not succeed due to lack of motivation . The path to success usually requires a lot of time and effort. And while you reach some heights, you will find many disappointments and difficulties. Usually more than you expect. Despite this, you need to remember your goal and continue to work. The only serious mistake will be to stop moving forward, and the rest can be solved. Therefore, do not despair if something does not work out, and you will succeed. As the saying goes, "patience and work will grind everything."

Of course, this is not all the problems that await the designer on a creative path, but if you do not despair and read my blog, then you can succeed. What I wish you!

The original article on my blog.
Based on materials by Kelvin Cox .

I would like to hear your comments about the article. What difficulties did you encounter and how did you solve them?