Graphic designing is an awesome, creative, and highly-paid career. The most amazing thing about graphic design is that you can be a professional graphic designer and start earning even though you don’t have a university degree. Today I will explain to you how to become a graphic designer without a degree.
I’ve been a seasoned graphic designer for 9 years. From my experience as a designer, I can confirm that Spending years and thousands of dollars in a university is not mandatory to be a successful graphic designer. This is a misconception that you can not become a seasoned graphic designer without a degree.
Ultimately, your skills, creativity, and portfolio are often more important to employers than a formal degree. So I will explain to you how to become a graphic designer without a degree. Before starting your career as a graphic designer you have to know the following important things about this career.
Table of Contents
What is a Graphic Designer?
A graphic designer is a visual communicator who creates visual images and content for businesses or organizations. The responsibility of a graphic designer is to convert the idea or message into visual content by using typography, colors, images, graphic elements, etc.
For example, there is a brand that makes candies by using fruit like apples. Now this brand wants a logo and packaging for them. So the job of the designer will be to create that kind of creative logo and packaging for them when anyone sees the logo and packaging then they will easily understand that this is the brand that makes apple-flavored candies.
In this way, the designer covers the idea or concept of the brand in the visual content so the users or viewers can easily understand the story behind the design.
How To Become a Graphic Designer Without a Degree?
As we discussed there is no need for a university degree to become a professional and creative graphic designer. Here are the easiest and most important steps to become a seasoned graphic designer and start earning without a degree.
1. Basic Graphic Design Theory and Fundamentals
If you are new to graphic designing and you don’t know where to start then firstly you should learn the basic graphic design theory and fundamentals.
The graphic design theory and fundamentals are the principles that will guide you to create a more visually appealing and creative design. There are many design principles but if you are just starting now then you should know the following important principles.
Understanding and applying these basic theories and fundamentals can help you create effective and visually appealing graphic designs.
• Color Theory
The colors are the most important part of any design you are creating. You can make the design amazing with a good color combination and make the same design worse with the wrong color combination.
It would be best if you learned about color psychology and how colors affect emotions and perceptions. For example, Most bubble gum brands use white, blue, and green colors in the design of their bubble gum packaging because white, blue, and green colors deliver the feeling of freshness.
This is how we can target the emotions of our users or buyers with the help of the correct color combinations in our designs.
• Typography and Font
Typography is the art or technique of arranging the written language or text to make it more visually appealing and readable at the same time when displayed.
Typography and font are the essential parts of any design just like colors. Using different font families in a single design can be effective if it is done correctly. It can add visual interest and help create a clear hierarchy, guiding the viewer’s eye through the content.
However, it can lead to a cluttered or chaotic look if not done thoughtfully. In the end, it will look unprofessional. That’s why you should know about typography and what type of font is good for what kind of design.
• Alignment
Alignment is also an important part of the design. You are arranging elements so they line up along common edges or axes. If your selected colors, typography, and font are on point but the images, text, and graphics elements are unaligned then your design will not look good in the end.
Alignment helps us to create a clean, organized layout, making it easier for viewers to understand the information presented through design.
2. Master Graphic Designs Software
If we talk about graphic design software then there are many software available for graphic designers. But I highly recommend you start learning industry-standard software like Adobe Photoshop (used for image Editing), Adobe Illustrator (used for vector and illustration design), and Figma (used for app designing).
It is very easy to find online tutorials for all this software. When you learn how to use this software then you can easily design anything. But you have to keep practicing.
3. Develop a Niche
After learning the graphic software, you have to consider specializing in a specific area of graphic design, such as logo design, social media design, T-shirt design, web design, branding, UI/UX design, etc.
If you are a beginner then in the start focusing on a single design niche will help you a lot. By focusing on a specific area, you can become an expert in that niche, making you more attractive to clients looking for specialized skills.
In a specialized niche, there may be fewer competitors, allowing you to stand out more easily and quickly. When your earnings start from your specialized niche then you can focus on other niches as well.
4. Build Your Online Portfolio
A graphic design portfolio is a collection of a designer’s best work that showcases their skills, creativity, and experience. We use graphic design portfolios to demonstrate our abilities to potential clients, employers, or collaborators.
Once you understand the design theory fundamentals and know how to use Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Figma. After that, You can build your online portfolio. A strong portfolio can set you apart from other designers by clearly showing what you can do.
Create your design projects to practice and showcase your skills and upload those designs on Behance, Instagram, and Pinterest. If you want you can also create your professional website as well where you can upload your work.
5. Earn with Graphic Designing
After all the above steps now you know how to become a graphic designer without a degree. So the next thing is how we can start earning as a graphic designer even if we don’t have a degree. Earning online as a graphic designer can be both rewarding and lucrative.
There are numerous ways to earn money by leveraging your skills as a graphic designer but here are the easiest and underrated methods to generate income as a beginner designer without a degree.
• Freelancing Platforms
If we talk about Freelancing platforms then Fiverr and Upwork are the best to start earning as a graphic designer if you are a beginner. You only have to Create a profile, showcase your portfolio, create a gig, and bid on projects that match your skills.
The most amazing thing about Freelancing is that you can set your working hours and work when you are most productive. You have the freedom to choose which projects to work on, and the ability to set your rates.
In freelancing, you need a decent portfolio and skills. You have to optimize your freelancing profile to get orders. If you can manage to do that you can start earning hundreds to thousands of dollars within a few months.
• Sell Digital Products
As a graphic designer, you can create and sell digital products like business card templates, letterhead templates, social media templates, vector illustrations, icons, etc. This approach can provide a steady stream of income, once you’ve created and listed your products. You can make thousands of dollars by selling digital products.
You can start your website or store to sell your digital products but I will recommend you to sell your digital products on Stock Sites like Freepik, Shutterstock, Adobe stock, and iStock. These are the Stock sites where we can upload our digital products and earn per download.
The most amazing thing about selling a digital product is you have to create a design for just one time and then you can earn a lifetime from it by reselling it.
• Sell T-Shirt Designs
Selling T-shirt designs is a very profitable business you can start as a graphic designer. The demand for good T-shirt designers is also high because people want creative and original designs for shirts.
You can create T-shirt designs and sell them on Amazon, Etsy, and print on demand. Similar to digital products you need to create a t-shirt design for one time and you can make money from it by reselling it for a lifetime.
The profit margin is also high in the selling of T-Shirt designs but you need to be creative while designing a t-shirt. If you can create amazing designs for t-shirts then as a beginner designer, selling t-shirt designs will be the best choice for you to start your career in this field.
Final Thoughts
So, we have explored how to become a graphic designer without a degree. If you don’t have a degree still you can be a good designer. You only have to know the basic graphic design theory and fundamentals, and master the graphic design software, and by focusing on these steps, you can become a skilled graphic designer. After these steps, you can easily build your portfolio.
There are so many ways to earn as a graphic designer, but the following are the easiest and underrated ways to start earning as a graphic designer without a degree which are Freelancing, Selling digital products, or selling T-shirt designs.
