A Way to Grow as a Creative
My creative journey and things I've learned
Welcome to my first newsletter! In my weekly newsletter, I will try to keep things super simple, guiding step by step, like a checklist. I like to share things when they come naturally.
Today, I've got:
My Journey - Why I design and share online,
A few things I've learned since I started working as a designer.
My journey — Why I design and share online
I still remember the day I used Photoshop 7.0 for the very first time, which I believe was in 2012. I also remembered trying to figure out my dream almost every day. from learning to sing to working in a bookshop to earn money. However, I had an instinct on a different faith that my journey was heading in another direction.
This is where the magic happened. The magic was enrolling in my first graphic and web designing course, While I was completing my design course I got my first job and I hardly making 20,000 INR (200+ USD dollars monthly) + living expenses.
In short, my journey was very hard in the early days. I took on many jobs as a designer in different companies and grew from web and graphic to UI design, UX/UI design, and product design, and eventually to the position of senior principal designer and now Design Director.
While I was working full-time, I started pursuing a freelance career as a side hustle in 2016. To be honest with you, I was not getting any projects, but I began sharing my work on platforms like Instagram and Dribbble. After 2-3 years of consistent effort, something remarkable happened. In 2018, I earned $28,000 from Instagram alone. This motivated me to quit my job as a full-time designer.
As I was sharing my work on Instagram and Dribbble, I saw countless designers asking questions about design, and I noticed a lack of knowledge within the community. This is why I felt like I should share my authentic and transparent design process. So, I started sharing online content about design, freelancing, and productivity.
A few things I've learned when I started working as a designer.
Mix creativity and business
A lot of creatives are afraid of mixing the two things together, "I'm just a designer; how can I freelance? It's not really my thing." But here's the deal: Designers can tackle anything, and having design and business skills is the secret sauce to success, make you more valuable.
Build your own process early
When I started my design career, I learned the importance of building processes. Instead of just copying steps from Google, I experimented with different approaches and refined them over time. Now, I have a customized process based on the specific project and timeline. Building a process early on can save time and help you earn a better living.
Ten clients vs. one client
Believe it or not, whether you work for a 100-dollar or a 10,000-dollar project, it takes the same effort to complete, I used to work all day, feeling underpaid. That's when I started focusing on high-quality clients for projects that paid the same as ten smaller ones. In summary, I work on high-ticket, valuable projects because the client's business is my responsibility too.
Stay on your unique path despite all the distractions
Learning in today's fast-paced world can be quite challenging. With the overwhelming amount of design content available, it's hard to believe that we can truly grasp anything meaningful in just 15 seconds. It seems almost impossible and lacks real value. That's why I believe in having a clear path in your learning journey. If I had to start over, I'd create a list of goals and stick to it, step by step.
Don’t overthink
My biggest time-wasting concern is overthinking. It's a part of the process, but as a creative person, I tend to do this a lot. Sometimes I get so caught up in my thoughts that I forget to take action or I'm afraid of making mistakes. Although making mistakes is natural and it's okay to fail, not taking any steps at all is the real problem. It is the thing that really kills creativity. To make progress and improve, we must take action even if it means that we might make mistakes.
Link Highlights
Handpicked links worth sharing
Material Design — If you are designing your design journey and want to learn better UX or another discipline, I would definitely stop watching YouTube videos and start reading the best practices of user interface design.
The Price We Pay For Consumerism — This great video by Austin Williams truly inspired me. It discusses working jobs we hate to buy things we don’t need! (I don’t want to be a part of any compilation, I want to create, but not because I have to).
The Faker You Are, The More Successful You Can Be — This is another video by Pablo that very much inspired me. He talks about how the faker you are, the more successful you can be.
My Resources — I have listed the tools and apps I use. Everything is here, in case you want to know about my tools and resources.