Last class was a wake-up call for me. After learning and hearing from Prof. T the road to getting work as a graphic designer, I realized I have to put in a lot more work. Seeing her journey from job to job, trying to find a way to stay creative while making good money was enlightening. It made me want reevaluate where I was going in the graphic design industry. It also made me realize that I need to keep working very hard on my portfolio if  I want to be noticed by agencies and employed for any kind of graphic design work.

We learned a lot about marketing ourselves. Putting ourselves out there to to get noticed and stay visible in the industry. Visibility is the key to creating credibility and receiving more work. You can become visible through means such as Twitter, Instagram, Behance and etc. We were also challenged to create a Instagram specifically for our design work (although she said we could upload a selfie or two, but mostly design work).

When the Prof. showed us part of her portfolio, she had many ways to display work, different websites for certain projects, a PDF, and etc. During her career she tried new things and created credibility by staying visible in the industry by taking on new projects and never settling. She craved creativity more than just making a money. This taught me that even if you don’t know how to do something, you can always learn it and work at it.

Another thing we talked about in class was agencies and competitions. There are lot of different creative agencies out there that designers can apply to. They are also great resources to just know about and learn from. Another way to become visible is conferences and competitions. Both are are great ways to expand your portfolio and find work. The best thing about all of it is they are easily accessible through websites. I’m going to use to these websites to research.and learn more about the kind of graphic designer I want to be. Also to find a internship, and one day soon find a job.