It is not that easy as it sounds. The creative industry is broad and difficult. You really need to be discovered.
The creative industry encompasses many careers that allow you to use your creativity, artistry, and design skills. Two popular creative careers are graphic design and fashion design. If you’re interested in pursuing either of these creative careers, this guide will provide helpful tips and advice.
Graphic Design
A graphic design career involves creating visual communications and solving problems through imagery. As a graphic designer, you may design logos, packaging, publications, websites, mobile applications, advertisements, signs, and more. There is a high demand for talented graphic designers across many industries. Here’s how to launch a graphic design career:
Develop Technical Skills
You must master several technical skills and design software programs to succeed as a graphic designer. Essential skills and programs include:
- Adobe Creative Suite – All aspiring graphic designers should learn Adobe programs like Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. These are the standard design and photo editing programs used in the industry. Become exceptionally skilled in at least one Adobe program.
- Typography – Understanding typography is crucial. This includes knowledge of different fonts, styles, sizes, spacing, etc. Good typography skills allow you to communicate visually through arranging type creatively.
- Color Theory – Mastering color theory lets you use color strategically to evoke certain emotions, unify designs, make elements stand out, and more. Learn how colors complement each other.
- Digital Design – Even print graphic designers need digital skills today. Learn how to design for websites, mobile devices, and social media, and ensure your graphics translate digitally.
- Drawing – While you don’t have to be artistic to be a graphic designer, drawing skills allow you to draft concept sketches and mockups. Learn perspective drawing and human figure drawing.
- Layouts and Grids – Properly structuring layouts through columns, spacing, etc., gives designs clarity and visual appeal. Study professional layouts.
- Production – Understand the printing production process, including formats, color spaces, resolutions, bleeds, and finishing techniques.
Spend substantial time practicing and honing your technical graphic design skills. Stay on top of emerging software programs and design techniques.
Build a Design Portfolio
An impressive design portfolio is vital for landing graphic design positions. Start compiling portfolio pieces that demonstrate your unique style and various technical skills. Showcase at least ten stellar pieces across print, packaging, digital, logo, and other design—iterate pieces based on feedback from professors, peers, and professionals. Feature only your most vital, most creative work when job hunting.
Earn a Relevant Degree (ideal, but not always required)
While some talented, self-taught graphic designers excel without college degrees, earning a degree in graphic design or a related field can be beneficial. You’ll build a strong foundation of design skills, learn from experienced professors, collaborate with motivated peers, and make industry connections. This can lead to more job prospects and higher starting salaries.
Consider earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Graphic Design or Visual Communication. Alternatively, study Graphic Design, Visual Arts, Digital Design, Interactive Design, Animation, or a similar concentration. In addition to design coursework, take business and marketing classes to understand clients’ needs and challenges.
Gain Real World Experience
You are gaining professional experience while in school, making you far more employable upon graduation. Try getting freelance clients, interning at design agencies or in-house teams, working part-time at campus design jobs, co-oping, job shadowing, assisting professors on projects, entering student design contests, etc. This builds your portfolio, network, client management abilities, and more.
Continually Improve Your Skills
The design software, trends, and best practices you learned in school may need to be updated just a few years after graduation. Successful graphic designers constantly sharpen existing skills and expand into new areas. Lifelong learning is crucial for remaining competitive in this quickly evolving creative field.
Follow industry blogs, magazines, conferences, workshops, and more. Experiment with new techniques—master additional programs like animation software or 3D modeling tools. Consider a graduate degree in graphic design. Become an expert in web design, motion graphics, art direction, branding, packaging, book design, or another visual design specialty.
Fashion Design
Fashion designers have creative, fast-paced careers developing clothing and accessory collections worn by people across the globe. As a fashion designer, you may work for apparel companies, fashion houses, sportswear brands, retailers, theaters, and more. Your responsibilities could include conceptualizing themes for lines based on trends, target demographics, and brand identities, sketching design ideas, selecting fabrics/materials, supervising production, and presenting collections. Here are tips for beginning a fashion design career:
Cultivate Strong Artistic Abilities
In contrast to graphic design, a career in fashion design relies more heavily on innate artistic talents rather than technical skills alone. Nurture your creativity and artistry through:
- Drawing – Learn to sketch fashion figures, draw the human form in varied poses, and illustrate fabric textures and drapes. Practice quick gesture drawing to visualize ideas rapidly.
- Color – Understand how colors interact, combinations that please the eye, palettes that align with themes and moods, and colors that flatter different complexions.
- Aesthetics – Continually observe fashion, silhouettes, styles, trends – on the runway, street, art, and culture. Note pleasing proportion, shape, volume, and visual balance. Train your eye through studying fashion magazines and visiting museums/exhibits.
- In addition to inherent talents, dedication to regularly practicing and honing artistic abilities is vital for fashion designers.
- Learn Technical Fashion Design Skills
- While creativity lays the foundation, you’ll still need technical knowledge to translate ideas into functional apparel successfully. Essential skills include:
- Sewing – Learn stitching, patternmaking, draping fabric on forms, incorporating closures, and finishing. Start with hand sewing and progress to sewing machines.
- Construction – Understand garment construction, fit, facilitating movement, incorporating pockets, fasteners, trim, and lining. Study the properties and behaviors of textiles.
- I was sketching – Practicing quickly getting ideas on paper through fashion sketches. Learn shorthand techniques for rendering color, texture, silhouette, and details.
- Digital – Many designers now use digital tools like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator for fashion illustration or designing prints/textiles.
- Presentation – Bring sketches to life through finished illustrations, color palettes, fabric swatches, 3D visualizations, and professional presentations.
- History/Theory – Extensive knowledge of fashion history and theory will make you a stronger, more well-rounded designer.
Regularly experiment with design techniques to expand capabilities. Analyze garments, noting details that do/don’t work well.
Earn a Relevant Degree
A college degree in Fashion Design, Fashion Merchandising, or Costume Design will equip you with essential knowledge and experience. Typical curriculum covers areas like fabric science, sketching, construction, history, trends, tailoring, accessories, and portfolio development. Schools often facilitate internships and mentorships in fashion capitals like NYC, Paris, and Milan. Graduating with an impressive portfolio demonstrates skills and commitment to future employers.
Gain Valuable Experience
In addition to formal education, real-world fashion design experience is hugely beneficial. Seek opportunities like:
- Internships – Interning with fashion houses, designers, merchandisers, and costume shops. Assist with ideation, sketching, production, sales, and runway shows.
- Freelance Projects – Offer design services to student film projects, theaters, local bands and artists, startups needing merchandise or uniforms, and small boutiques.
- Retail Jobs – Working retail exposes you to customer needs/preferences, sizing, production, and trends.
- Trunk Shows – Renting boutique space to showcase handmade collections builds portfolio, connections, and direct customer feedback.
- Assisting Established Designers – Reach out to designers needing help with collections or odd jobs like sewing, social media, and customer service.
- Entering Competitions – Fashion competitions like the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund provide great exposure and career launchpads through funding, mentoring, and networking opportunities.
Gaining exposure to actual world fashion design prepares you for the demands, pressures, and expectations of a career. Each experience progresses skills.
Determine Your Fashion Design Specialty
Fashion design encompasses many possible specialties. As your career advances, consider focusing on:
- Types of Apparel – Womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, activewear, intimates, swimwear, formalwear, casualwear, uniforms, specialty wear (maternity, plus size, petite, etc)
- Price Point Segments – Luxury, contemporary, fast fashion, discount, specialty stores
- Roles/Environments – Haute couture, ready-to-wear, mass market, merchandise buying, trend forecasting, textile design, costume design, production management, quality control, fashion journalism, styling
Choose specialties aligned with your strengths, interests, values, and lifestyle goals. Gain expertise through specialized internships or first jobs.
Relocate to a Major Fashion Hub
The top fashion design opportunities are clustered in capitals like New York City, Los Angeles, Paris, London, and Milan. These hubs offer more open positions, connections with manufacturers, access to rare fabrics, proximity to photographers/models/stylists, and energy/buzz that fuels creativity.
Attend fashion events like runway shows, exhibitions, and industry meetups. Build your local network by introducing yourself to designers, models, photographers, bloggers, editors, and buyers. Consider an international fashion school or exchange program for complete cultural immersion.
Stay on Top of Trends and Innovations
Fashion continually evolves with new trends, technologies, and consumer preferences. Continuing education helps you create cutting-edge, relevant designs.
Follow leading voices across social platforms. Attend trade shows and fashion weeks when possible. Travel for inspiration. Set Google Alerts for news on textile advances, 3D printing, wearable tech, and Biodesign. Experiment with designing digitally, virtually, and sustainably. Collaborate with those expanding possibilities in fashion.
The Key: Build Your Portfolio
As a creative, your portfolio is everything. An exceptional, well-presented portfolio can land you fashion design jobs over candidates with more experience but weaker portfolios.
Include 10-15 vital pieces demonstrating skills in illustration, trend research, conceptual creativity, color selection, fabric choices, CAD sketches, creative silhouettes, detailed flat sketches, original prints, 3D visualizations, draping, patternmaking, and presentation.
Showcase both Womenswear and Menswear. Include some realized garments. Present physically (bound book, professional slides/prints/layouts) and digitally.
Iterate constantly. Refine technical skills and creative vision based on feedback from professor, mentor, and supervisor. Demonstrate hunger, growth, unique perspective, and innovative ideas. Success in graphic design or fashion design careers requires solid technical competencies, unwavering dedication to improving, and bold creative visions—master essential hard and soft skills. Gain real-world exposure through internships and projects. Continually push your abilities. Build an exceptional portfolio that opens doors to your dream creative
