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Graphic Design Evening Learning Birmingham – Common Obstacles Graphic Designers Face
Whether you realise it or not, every single day you encounter work created by hugely talented graphic designers from all walks of life. From the website background that you browse in an evening to the packaging label on the food you buy in the shop, it is all created by a graphic designer.
Those in the midlands have been found to be particularly fond of graphic design as of late, as there has been a big spike in the amount of interest shown in graphic design evening learning Birmingham courses.
Graphic design is a career that pays generously, it’s a career where you will never be short of work, it opens up a whole host of possible career avenues for the future, and it’s also a skill that will come in handy in your spare time.
As beneficial as taking a graphic design evening learning Birmingham course can be however, like all things in life, it isn’t without its challenges. If you’re considering becoming a graphic designer, you need to take the rough with the smoot, which is why we’re outlining some common obstacles you’ll likely encounter as a graphic designer.
Short deadlines
As the designer, it is down to you to tell your client, realistically, how long it will take you to deliver the work that they’ve requested.
Sometimes however, there will be times where you compromise, you need the work, or you simply need to keep a client happy which will require you to work within a shorter deadline than you would have liked.
Obviously, we can’t tell you how to operate your business, but generally it never pays to rush your work to meet deadlines because rushed work will be sloppy work and that likely means your client will request revisions, or they won’t use you again, or they won’t recommend you.
Too much interference
When you qualify after taking your graphic design evening learning Birmingham online course, how you operate will be your call. You may choose to go freelance, or you may be hired by a graphic design company.
While freelance graphic design and employed graphic design both offer their advantages, a downside is the fact that you may encounter a lot of interference from other people.
Whether it’s your superiors at work, or your clients, it can be frustrating having people constantly asking for revisions, telling you to make changes, asking questions, offering unhelpful feedback, and generally poking their noses in where it isn’t wanted.
They say that ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’ and in graphic design that’s especially true. In a perfect world, as the designer you’d get the brief, get the details and info from the client, and then be left alone to create the design they requested. This may indeed be the case, but you should also prepare yourself for the fact that you may have to deal with interference from other people.
Competition
As we mentioned in the intro, the number of people showing interest in graphic design evening learning Birmingham online courses has increased noticeably since the pandemic began in 2020, and as a result more people than ever before are considering becoming graphic designers.
In business, a little friendly competition is good as it helps keep you on your toes and ensures that you don’t become complacent. One of the main issues faced by graphic designers nowadays however, is the fact that there is so much competition.
With more and more people now seeing the potential in graphic design as a career choice, as more graphic designers become qualified, this does mean there will be more competition for you in a business sense.
Providing you produce quality work however, and that you go the extra mile to keep your clients happy, you shouldn’t struggle to find work, especially if you can pick up regular clients by keeping them happy.
Keeping up to date with technology changes
Technology is at the forefront of the graphic design industry nowadays, and as a result the industry is constantly changing and evolving.
Despite graphic design literally having been around for centuries in a primitive form, the graphic design industry now, compared to just a decade ago, is now drastically different.
If you want to become a successful graphic designer, you need to get with the times and stay up to date with the various advancements in modern technology and software used for graphic design. The good part about signing up for a graphic design evening learning Birmingham course online is the fact that you’ll be taught how to use the latest tools, applications, and software favoured by the graphic design industry right from the outset.
Once you’re qualified however, it will be down to you to stay up to date with modern technology and indeed, the techniques utilised in the industry.
Trying to be unique
They say that ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’ and consequently you’ll quickly find that the most popular designs, typefaces, colour schemes, and techniques used in graphic design will quickly be replicated by other designers.
It isn’t other designers that can cause this however, as clients will also latch onto trends and will see designs which are popular and doing well, and will have you reproduce your take of it to meet their brief.
To really stand out as a designer you need to add your own unique stamp to your designs and you need to look for ways of standing out and being unique to offer your clients something different.
Communication
Trust us when we say that graphic design can be very frustrating at times. Don’t get us wrong, after taking your graphic design evening learning Birmingham courses and qualifying, it will be one of the most rewarding experiences you could wish for, but it can also be frustrating, largely due to a lack of communication.
There will be times when you’re hired by a client, you get the brief, you complete the work, send it to them, only to find out that they changed their minds early on about the colour scheme, and instead wanted completely different colours.
Now, that’s fine, they are of course the customer and they are paying you, but why did they have to wait until you’d finished the design before they told you that they’d changed their minds about the colours? Why couldn’t they tell you the second they decided to make the change?
