7 habits of highly effective junior designers

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Talent isn’t everything: 7 habits of highly effective junior designers

July 12, 2006 by Chanpory

Here’s a common myth: to be a successful creative person, all you need is talent. It’s a nice myth to believe in, because “talent” suggests a divine or evolutionary genetic gift. So if you have talented DNA, you’re special and can be a cool creative person. If not, you’re destined to be an accountant. After working for the past three years at MetaDesign, I’ve noticed that this troubling notion of talent has very little to do with the success of a junior designer who’s just starting out. Instead, the ones who survive and last more than six months, practice these 7 habits:

1. Work quickly, produce a lot

2. Attend to details

3. Be versatile

4. Make an effort to learn

5. Anticipate problems

6. Set goals

7. Display a positive attitude

1. Work quickly, produce a lot

In a design studio with large collaborative projects, time is money. So being fast is paramount to your survival. The studio relies on your speed in two areas: idea generation and production:

Idea generation

Let’s face it, being a junior designer means your final work won’t be great. Fortunately, design is more than just the artifacts you produce; it’s about ideas. The quicker you can generate ideas, the more value you bring to the design studio. Keep this in mind:

* In early phases of a project, worry more about generating a lot of ideas instead of being perfect

* Generate many distinct ideas rather than variations of the same idea. (I still have a hard time with this one)

* Don’t be afraid of dumb ideas

Production

Great ideas are useless if you can’t show them off quickly. On the other hand, if your ideas aren’t great, other designers may rely on you to execute their ideas. This all means you need to be well-versed in the most commonly used software applications and prototyping methods in your studio. You don’t need to know them like the back of your hand (but it helps). You just need to know enough to meet the possible demands of the studio. To become more proficient you must:

* Seek help by asking another designer how to do something, Googling for answers, or finding a manual

* Keep updated on product announcements, tutorials, and updates

* Try-out and adopt new software

* Read blogs like this one for tips and tricks

2. Attend to details

Successful junior designers take great care in preparing files. They pay attention to pixels and picas, check spelling, remove unneeded files, and strive to make it easier for someone else to understand their work. Nothing will annoy your supervisor or creative director more than having to clean up sloppy work. Some tips:

* In programs with layers, such as Photoshop and InDesign, name and order your layers with a logical naming convention. Delete any layers and ruler guides that are unnecessary

* If you have linked or placed images in a file, make sure they work when you package them for your creative director to review. Linked images should also be named according to a logical naming convention

* Make it easy for your manager to give you feedback by making a list of specific questions you need answered to take the project to the next step

3. Be versatile

Versatile and flexible designers can weather the economic ups and downs of a design studio, because they can be staffed to more types of projects. A sure-fire way to shoot yourself in the foot is by saying, “I don’t do web” or “I don’t do print.” You’ll be seen as a diva and won’t last long. Effective designers instead say, “I don’t know how yet, but I want to learn how to do it.” Eventually, you will learn new skills, and more importantly ways to adapt these skills to new demands.

4. Make an effort to learn

To be versatile, you must learn new skills all the time. Effective and successful designers are lifelong learners. They are curious, enthusiastic, and passionate about design and want to learn more. This passion translates to better job satisfaction and productivity. They also:

* Seek out mentors

* Choose jobs based on those that let them learn the most. (when you’ve stopped learning, it’s probably time to leave)

* Read and write

* Have projects outside of work (such as cute productivity blogs)

* Participate in the design communities by attending lectures and other events.

* Keep up with technology

* Are early adopters

5. Anticipate problems

Junior designers can make themselves indispensable by recognizing and anticipating things that create problems for their managers. For example, you might:

* Point out potential production issues that might delay the project

* If you need more time to do a task, tell your managers early on so they can rearrange the schedule

* Alert managers when work falls out of the project scope

6. Set goals

To be an effective designer, you must be goal-oriented. Set goals for yourself, and discuss them with a manager who can help you achieve these goals. This is especially important during performance reviews. These goals can relate to:

* Skills you want to learn

* Responsibilities you want to have

* Types of projects you want to work on

7. Display a positive attitude

Design studios can be riddled with changes in staff, project requirements, and even company vision. Even in times of change and uncertainty, it’s important to remain positive. Nobody likes a grump. Here are some ways of showing a positive attitude:

* No matter how junior you are, mentor others by sharing information you’ve learned

* Identify problems in the studio, and find ways to make them go away

* Ask what you can do to help

* Avoid gossip and talking ill of fellow coworkers, clients, and competing studios

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All Credits goes to LifeClever ;-) » Talent isn’t everything: 7 habits of highly effective junior designers
 
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