The reason so many aspiring artists is obvious: they except to find regular work as professional graphic designers, either as freelancers or through an agency. However, even with all the graphic design training that a school of graphic design provides--even with all the opportunities for portfolio development afforded by such a school--this final step is often the most nerve-wracking and most difficult to take.



To find work in graphic design, in theory one need not even have a . A strong portfolio showing a thorough understanding of design principles will be all that impresses any potential employer, whether you want to design for a small town or for a big book publisher in Chicago.

Graphic design education, on the other hand, is often the only way to acquire the skills to build the portfolio you need. If you long to enter the professional world right away might want to look at specialized graphic design colleges. Chicago and other big cities have many.

You Have A Graphic Design Degree; What Now?

Enough about college. Once you've graduated and have enough strong examples of your work to show potential employers, your quest for paid employment can begin.

Of course, your first communication with someone who could potentially hire you is going to be via your resume. However, this typewritten piece of paper has a special importance to those involved in the design industry. In any other profession, a resume is just a way to quickly convey relevant work information about oneself. In graphic design, a resume has to be, itself, an example of the kind of work you can do, albeit a simple and understated one. To increase your chances of being asked for an interview, try to format your resume in a lucid, easy-to-understand, yet elegant manner, as befits a top-notch designer.

If you're trying to find work with a graphic design firm or agency that gets many applicants, it sometimes helps to telephone their human resources department to make certain that your resume was received, and did not get lost in the shuffle. Likewise, if you manage to get an interview scheduled, contact the company by phone the day prior to the interview to make sure it hasn't been moved.

After the resume, your next, and more important, hurdle will be, of course, to organize your work in a portfolio to show to your would-be employer. A portfolio is a mass presentation of multiple examples of your work, most of which was, no doubt, originally intended to stand alone. You must recombine individual portfolio pieces such that the whole portfolio produces a pleasing effect. At the same time, you must not lessen the impact of individual works as originals in their own right.

Make your portfolio tell a story, with a logical progression among your work, from beginning to middle to end. Where that progression begins and where it ends is, of course--like the progress of your career--ultimately up to you.