An advertisement for food that takes away your appetite. A commercial that leaves you wondering what the product actually is, and how you can avoid it. Whether it’s a billboard, a television commercial or a magazine advertisement, we’ve all seen bad ads and wondered, ‘What was that company thinking?!’ Yep, a graphic design disaster strikes again!

The plight of designers is somewhat dissimilar to other specialists and professionals when it comes to payments. In majority of the cases, clients tend to be fussy over payment matters. Thinking of graphic designing as an undemanding field, most of the clients undervalue the work of designers. This makes me think… Are graphic designers correctly valued and paid? Since clients don’t really understand the effort and cost incurred in a design project, they mostly underestimate the value of designers.

graphic design is my passion rates for business related types of projects are usually the most clear cut as far as price scale goes. A logo might cost around $500 and a complete brochure around $400. These two examples illustrate an important concept of design. It would appear at first glance that the logo would require less actual work to produce when compared to a complete brochure. Although this is true, the logo also will require more artistic skill whereas the brochure is more of a nuts and bolts design project. The lesson is that you have to pay for imagination and talent.

Plan out your courses for what will best fit your schedule and lifestyle. If you want to start working sooner, work with school counsellors to fast track your graphic design program so you can start working sooner. If you wish to get more classes to expand your design knowledge (which never hurts anyone), you can also work this into your program.

What is it that sets one other than another? Just how do you judge graphic design for yourself? It’s not an easy task, because it also involves preference, but here are some basic design elements that will assist as you watch their portfolios.

Keep it simple in the combination of colors, message and images. Too complex and your door hanger goes in the trash can. You have about 3 seconds during the first glance to get their attention so they read the rest of your message.

Don’t be scared, share your work. Share your vision. Share your passion with the world. You’re in the business to make money & make yourself known so let the world know.