When I am older, I want to become a professional graphic designer because I have been doing graphic design since about 5th grade and have always enjoyed the art of graphic design. I would describe myself as very creative and graphic design provides a great way to express myself. Graphic design to me is a self-driven activity because I am able to create anything I want for either myself or others but also there is a decent demand for it from others.
When someone asks me what graphic design is, I say that it is a digital way of showing creativity. Manipulating images and adding effects and layers. And finally sharing to a community of people.
Over the years I have joined and participated in a handful of online communities where I could share my work with others and get feedback. This really opened my eyes to not only what I could do in graphic arts but that I really enjoyed doing it with others.
I would like to be a graphic designer because it is a profession, I believe I could do most of my work at home and get time with my family and enjoy what I love to do at the same time and that is a huge bonus for me in the long run.
Graphic design has been around for a very long time. From the first logo’s in the late 1400’s, Chromolithography in 1837 with advertisements. A large advancement was when Photoshop was first released in 1990 which leads to millions of pieces of art after that made on the very useful tool of Photoshop. In 2014, there were about 261,600 graphic designers and based on the website BestValue Schools (https://www.bestvalueschools.com/faq/what-is-the-employment-outlook-for-graphic-designers/) , the projected growth of computer based graphic design between now and 2024 will be 24-26% per year.
The best schooling for graphic design from my research is Rhode Island School of Design; it is described as “The Harvard of art schools” According to PrepScholar.com (https://blog.prepscholar.com/best-graphic-design-schools-in-the-us). From 2015-16 it cost ~$64,000 / year to attend including tuition, room and board. After much research I heard that The Rhode Island School of Art is by far the best graphic design school in America so I believe it would be the best for me to be able to succeed in this career.
I have been doing graphic design since 5th grade. I was on a website where people made graphics like sports cards and wallpaper and would sell them for online currency on the website to then use on other things like games. My parents were already supportive and helped me get the tools I needed to be able to explore and have fun with something. I was always inspired by other’s graphic designs, so I subscribed to Photoshop and researched many tutorials online, mainly on YouTube, to see how other people were using it and creating the images that inspired me the most. The amount of information online and on YouTube seemed endless and really helped spark my curiosity about this and becoming a professional one day.
I will often make free wallpapers for friends, family, and teammates to first get better at what I do and have more experience but also to get feedback on what to work on next time. I can also make designs to transpose things like shirts, sweatshirts, cups, etc. I once made shirts with designs and sold them to people in my class in 8th grade to first see if I was able to do it and then realized that my classmates enjoyed them too and were willing to pay me for them. That experience was something that really changed my thinking about this as a profession and I almost immediately started thinking about it in those terms, a profession.
Another example that comes to mind is my dad works for a high-tech company out of San Jose CA but works remotely in Leavenworth in a coworking space. In that coworking space someone had asked for help in designing a logo they needed for a new business they were starting. My dad offered one day for me to meet with her at the coworking space and brainstorm on some ideas for her logo and then return with some designs that she could use. This was a great experience for me as an 8th grader to work with someone’s ideas of their business and how to transpose that into a logo design. I learned a lot from that experience, and it motivated me even more to continue down this path.
Many times, I am asked by my classmates to teach and/or tutor them in Photoshop to help in their other classes. In 7th grade I was in a computer class and the class was working on Photoshop and my friend had no Photoshop experience. So, I helped her out by looking over her shoulder in class and in another instance, I looked over her shoulder virtually over a video call while I was on my way to a football game with my teammates. This classmate now believes that I was the reason she passed the class. I am very patient when I teach people stuff on Photoshop. I remember what it was like learning Photoshop for the first time and I often put myself in others’ shoes to help explain and show them things to help them understand faster.
I would like to start working a graphic design job / internship early to get even more experience. Then hopefully go to college and learn even more about graphic designing and then have a very successful career in the graphic design field for a very long time because it is something I really love to do.
