What's the key to a successful design career? Speaking on day two of OFFSET festival, Emily Oberman of Pentagram, Veronica Fuerte of Hey Studio, Sue Murphy of Wolff Olins and Oscar-winner Annie Atkins reveal what they think are the most important attributes of a successful graphic designer.
01. Do your homework
"To work as a graphic designer in film, have to understand both graphic design and film-making," says Annie Atkins, who won an Oscar for her work on Wes Anderson's 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'. "If you have no knowledge of filmmaking whatsoever, you'll find that you have to start from the bottom again on any project you work on.
"The difficult thing is that there's not many graphic design jobs in film. It's a hidden area... an invisible world and colleges really don't push their students towards it. The Grand Budapest Hotel really shone a light on design in film, so people are more aware now. But you really need to know your stuff. In both graphic design and film-making."
02. Have a positive attitude
"It doesn't matter how big your portfolio is or how much experience you've got," begins Hey Studio's Veronica Fuerte. "If you don't have a positive attitude, you won't get anywhere. You need to be confident and personable. Remember to take a breath and talk to your team... you're going to be spending a lot of time with them and without a positive attitude, you're not going to be nice to be around."
03. Have a clear idea
"You need to always be enthusiastic," says Sue Murphy. "We're luck that there's a tutorial for everything online, but you need to make sure you're always striving for original ideas. You need to have a good, clear and well thought out idea behind everything that you produce. What is it that you're doing? Why? Ask questions constantly."
04. Stay curious
"You need to be curious and work really, really hard," enthuses Pentagram partner Emily Oberman. "There's something great about wanting to produce the best solution and that's one of the best things about being a graphic designer - that 'Ah-ha!' moment when everything comes together.
"You need to care. Caring and being curious is beneficial to anyone, whether you're an intern or a creative director. Always push yourself outside of your comfort zone."
Exclusive OFFSET offer: 2-year Computer Arts subscription for the price of 1
This year, Computer Arts has teamed up with OFFSET to bring you an exclusive offer. Simply sign up to a two-year subscription to Computer Arts magazine and only pay for one. Take advantage of this great offer here.
Liked this? Read these!
