Quiet Creative | Founder & Creative Director at Joint Medias | 30+ Year Design career
I stumbled into my graphic design career. I was a HS & Tech school dropout, construction worker, x-ray tech, and bartender before starting down this design path. I'll tell the full story someday, but how did I go from dropout to Creative Director of my own creative studio without going back to school? Did I discover a way to unlock my hidden natural design talent? Did a mentor take me under their wing and pass down all their secrets?... nope.. it was magazines. Hundreds and hundreds of magazines... piles and stacks of magazines! I would read HOW and Print Magazine from cover to cover. Devour Computer Arts and Digital Arts magazines. Would loose myself if Tower Books happened to get a copy of Emigre or some cool UK design magazine. I would get all jacked up on creative juice, I would jump on my computer and try to design like everyone featured in the magazines. My computer, a stack of magazines and whole lot of late nights was my education. Of course everything I designed came out like crap because I didn't know the fundamentals of graphic design. I had taste and I knew what looked good but was lost when it came to type, color and layout. That’s where Before & After's online magazine came in. John McWade and his pdf tutorials taught me the basics in a way that a visual learner like myself could follow. Everything changed.. It all started to come together for me. If I have any design sensibilities at all, they are because of what I learned from B&A magazine. If I would have known back then that Mr. McWade was local to Sacramento, I probably would have bugged him with so many questions 😋. I honestly owe a lot to B&A.. It helped me become a legitimate graphic designer and propelled my career to where it is now 30 years later. Would I have gone to design school if I had the chance? Absolutely! While I don't think a formal education is necessary to be a good designer ( obviously 😁) .. I can only imagine how much better I would be if I was surrounded by like-minded, passionate designers back then. It would have been something. Not to mention the connections. Don't undervalue the importance of connections in this field. So what's my advice to someone trying to teach themselves graphic design? - Study the masters (Michael Bierut, Stefan Sagmeister, David Carson, Paula Scher so many more) - Learn what looks good, then obsess over why - Keep up with the trends, but learn the fundamentals - Join a local club or group, AND participate (Capitol Creative Alliance or one of Chris Do's The Futur™ business groups) - Copy all the good stuff until your ready steal it and make it your own #graphicdesign #designer #graphicdesigner
As someone with more similar lineage than one might think I also want to add: • it’s ok to copy at first, so long as you aren’t releasing it. The Beatles played covers endlessly their first couple years. And doing that taught them precision Pop mechanics of songcraft from the inside. If they had insisted on originality from Day One they would have been the worse off for it and likely wouldn’t be The Beatles as we know them. When I started I would devour Carson and Olly Vaughn and Designers Republic (dating myself here) and try to decode what the magic was that I was feeling. And it made every difference
Similar for me also, Brian Espinosa. Learned as I stumbled along. Would have gone to art school given the chance, but instead this annoying kid with no design experience but with great persistence (me) bugged a local print shop long enough that they finally gave in to letting me push papers around for them while I stumbled through what I think was Illustrator 9, Photoshop 7, and Quark Xpress. I remember the first time I used that darn pen tool 😂. Was 2004-ish. I've learned some great lessons along the way. Good advice you give. Connections are key. Study the masters. Keep an eye on Chris Do. Develop good taste. Learn fundamentals. Join good communities. I will add this: Let's keep one-upping ourselves, even past the point of graphic design, even into other areas such as strategy, sales, entrepreneurship, psychology, and more. As our skills and knowledge increase, our confidence rises also, as does the value we can bring to the table and deliver. This will allow us to do more than we though we could do, and have a greater impact. Cheers
Great insights. Sometimes it takes the right learning material or the right way of presenting it to finally understand a subject. It reminds me of the first time I heard about software development or programming in general. I understood nothing and was very bad at it. Then I found a tutor who explained it in a way that made sense to me, using simple, precise learning material, and suddenly it clicked and it was all clear to me.
It's amazing how something as "simple" as a stack of magazines and a computer can be a powerful learning tool. Your advice to others is spot on: studying the masters, learning what looks good, and keeping up with trends are all essential steps in becoming a great designer. And I completely agree that connections are crucial in this field.
Love the non-linear journey! It's always a messy ride which not many talk about!
Your perspective and experience are surely going to resonate with other creative minds who may find themselves in a similar position. Life doesn't have one path, and college is certainly not the only way to achieve a successful career. Determination, grit, talent, and desire go a very long way, as does the ability to recognize the need for mentors and examples. Very inspiring, Brian!
So a Napster download of Photoshop,some mags, and a Jolt cola weekend of creativity…. You’re my kind of GenXer.
A formal education is certainly not necessary. I have a basic design education, but determination, hard graft and plenty of mistakes have given me more than any course could have. My gas boiler has more certificates than me!
Learn how to get more clients, grow your influence and build your personal brand. Launch w/ Accelerator, Go Pro, or Level Up w/ Bootcamp. ← Apply Today
2modesign is a calling. we hear it not according to a specific timeline, but more when we learn to listen to our heart.