DAY ONE!

Senior year has officially begun! This semester I am taking Practices of Design, a course designed for design students who want to build their personal brand and learn how to develop a personal business plan before entering the design profession. After creating several brand identities for scholastic projects, I am exited to take what I have learned and apply it to create my own identity as a designer.

I am currently reading the book Work for Money, Design for Love by David Airey, a self-employed graphic designer who provides answers to many questions that designers often have before starting their own business. It is a great read and I recommend it to all who are about to enter the design field.

To become a "good design business owners", Airey says that tit is important to have some specific characteristics:

Curiosity - as designers we have to be curious and question everything. Such characteristic is not new to me and it has been repeated to me since my freshman year. Why? How? Where? What? Only by asking questions we can keep our mind open and explore different ideas to find the perfect solution to a design problem, and therefore develop a better design product. Always be open to learn something new!

Empathy - learn how to understand your client wants and your customer needs. It is important to put yourself in their shoes and understand where they are coming from. Only after doing so, you can establish a positive relationship with your client and develop a great product for the user.

Confidence - believe in yourself! "Being confident isn't the same of being outgoing. It's OK to be an introvert". Only by doing so you can sell your skills and have a successful business.

You're the Manager - growing up you have learned how to manage yourself and your life. Now you you just have to step it up and manage your business and your clients.

Motivation - as a designer you are not always going to have projects you personally enjoy doing. You have to find something you look forward everyday to motivate you in working.

Professionalism - "it's called design profession because it's full of design professionals". Learn how to create a professional platform that showcases your best work and communicate your missions and values as a brand. Furthermore, learn how to communicate with your clients, though email, phone, or in-person.

Balance - by running a business in the same space where you live can have you constantly working. It is important to find a good life-work balance.

Don't Blindly Trust your Experience - there is always going to be someone that has more experience and knows better then you. As a designers I am fortunate to constantly be learning something new. Whether it is a new program, skill, or information for a project that is being worked on. The job embraces different disciplines, deals with new problems, and is constantly changing users. It is impossible to have experienced all of them!

Smile - if you are friendly and positive your clients will have a better experience and will most likely contact you again for future projects.

Find your Niche - a niche is a distinct segment of a market. Designers need to find their personal niche by selling a specific kind of design or selling to a target audience. For example your niche can be in graphic design, web design, web development, product designer, digital designer, package designer, etc.

Focus/Specialize - there is a lot of competition out there! Further define your niche by narrowing in a specialization. "Choose to spend your energy in what you love". For example, designing for restaurants, working elusively for breweries, doing brand identities for small business, etc. However, careful to not get too specific!

Take Risks - you learn from your mistakes. Many times a good business is working based on trial and error.