Q&A for How to Become a Graphic Designer

Sometimes, but you don't need to be brilliant in drawing to be a graphic designer.

Yes. Watch tutorials, and get books about graphic design to read. Practice using the different programs.

Yes, you should still learn Photoshop and Illustrator if you wish to become a graphic designer. Both programs are popular and it will often be expected that you know them well.

Nearly every website has something made by a graphic designer on it. Logos are also created by graphic designers.

You can. Your knowledge in product design will help you learn it quickly.

Do well at school in all subjects, but especially art, design, and computer, as those will be useful in a future career as a graphic designer. You might also practice using the suggested programs.

Get books about graphic design to read and practice using the different programs.

The same way as anyone else, minus the high school part. You can always get another degree, take some classes, or just study graphic design on your own. Then follow the rest of the guidelines in the article.

That depends on the type of graphic designing and the skill and experience of the graphic designer.

You can research the program at a specific school to see what it entails, or you could look up general information on it via the internet to see if it is something that would interest you.

In my opinion, CAD would definitely be a great addition to your skill set, but not necessary unless you want to make realistic 2-D and 3-D detailed models of final products. (For example, you could use CAD to make a Pepsi or Coke can with ingredients, logo, design, etc. to show how the can would appear in person.) Like the article states, find your main strong points and master those. Let someone else master CAD and do the dirty work for you.

Check on any library or download the ebook online.

There are many types of graphic design jobs. I was a book cover designer in the publishing field. There are people who work in advertising to create ads and logos for companies. There is magazine design, designing boxes for products, labels for cans, designing catalogs - any area that has a visual component. Of course, there is also website design. University would definitely help. Employers are more open to someone that has studied the field extensively. Also, you will get proper training in how to design, as well as in the software that you will have to master in order to get a job. Some people work for companies, whereas others work on their own (freelance) for different clients.

That would be quite a transition. Graphic design is a lot of hard work, including learning and mastering software programs that are specifically used by graphic design professionals. It's also necessary to know that the field is extremely competitive. The change can be made, but it won't be easy.

You can improve your skills by continually practicing. The more effort and practice you put together, the better you will become.

Yes. To become a good graphic designer has nothing to do with age. As long as you can handle things like coding, scripts, programs and all the other elements of graphic design, you should be able to build good graphic designs.

CorelDRAW is mostly use for CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) color which is properly read by printers, but nowadays all the designers use Adobe PS and Illustrator. Adobe PS is widely use by designers for photo editing. Adobe Illustrator is commonly used for logo designing, character making, illustration because it makes vector files which don't pixellate while zooming in. Your logo or anything made in Illustrator is graphical vector files.

To be considered as a "professional" graphics designer you will need to practice for 1-3 years using Photoshop and other photo editing programs to master the art factor of being a graphics designer.

It depends on your knowledge in graphic design, but typically it takes 3-4 years.

Start to see creative inspiration in the people and situations around you. Look to newspapers, magazines, or books if you need inspiration from sources other than the internet.

Focus on art, design, and computer skills.

Sure, you can change careers anytime.

Send your potential customers an e-mail. Keep it extremely short. Describe your services, quote your price and ask for a reply. Ask any existing customers if they can give you a reference, or even refer you to their colleagues, as in word-of-mouth. Set up interviews with potential customers, bring a portfolio of your earlier work to show your skills. Consider taking out advertisements in specialized and/or general media. This usually costs quite some money, but it is also worth it. You can also sponsor a local sports club in return for a banner at their games and events. Offer free promotional work to convince potential customers of your abilities.

Books that help you to learn Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator will be very useful to help you become a graphic designer.

Start on your own, creating content on YouTube to showcase your skills and experiment. Shift your focus from graphics and move into video editing, etc. and follow the same path if it was successful.