What is your portfolio looking like? Did you have any internships?

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Part of the update:

"We are in the works to make more copies available as we speak—as soon as we can negotiate the extended print run, we will add more reward tiers. That includes domestic, EU, and ultimately worldwide."

Bingo. Of course some people won't get it. That is the nature of the beast, but then I'd argue they might not be the best clients.

Another thing, a lot of designer think they have to take everyone willing to pay as a client. When in reality, we should be screening people for a good working fit as well. Everyone with money to pay isn't a worthwhile client.

A "reset" button for the pixel avatar and image header. It'd be nice to draw a new one, but not if I have to manually clear the grid.

Thank you.

Cosign. Everyone needs to read Design Is A Job

http://www.abookapart.com/products/design-is-a-job

Being a designer is about problem solving. Working with clients is no different. Client management/building relationships is a separate skilled that needs to be learned. The ability to translate what we do and the value of what we do is a thing you add to your tool box. Trashing clients is an easy way out, and also often does not lead to repeat business. This is an essential skill even if only for business purposes, but the bigger picture its about the value of design. We are the ambassadors.

Amazon payment for whenever I do freelance.

Hi Bilal,

I will tell you a shortened form of my story.

I was artistic and creative during high school–invested in my art for 4 years but was encouraged to go to business school and had no idea one could pursue an artistic /design career.

My parents encouraged me to go to business school. I was in a 5 year MBA program but decided to finish in the Bachelors only option after several internships when I knew that I'd hated this decision and wanted out.

Funny enough I was quite successful n my coursework and internships it was just not the thing for me. However, during one of my internships I met a guy who was a designer who worked for some pretty serious companies freelance and I was inspired by his work. Little did I know that this friendship would change my life course. Side note, he was formally educated.

After graduating business school, I took my first job that paid well but that I absolutely hated. I decided to go to grad school to get out of this job and buy some time. Meanwhile, my designer friend begin showing me his work and introducing me tools that he used and of course I downloaded copies of CS and started playing and making my own things– I was intrigued.

I started my masters level history program. I loved it and thought I might go on to a Ph.D. program and become a history professor. Meanwhile I had begin to earn a bit of side money with my designs, which were absolutely horrid, even for that time. But that did not stop some people from paying and it also built my confidence.

I had to do a co-op for my masters program and I worked for a tiny museum. They had a graphic designer do bigger things but they had a lot of unmet needs because of capital constraints --which allowed a canvas to hone my skills and actually do things that people would see. It was here that I realized A. that I LOVED design and B. That I had bumped up against the wall on my self -taught skills. My work was just OKAY at the time but lacked so much polish and refinement relative to the designers I admired. So I while I applied to Ph.D programs I also decided to apply to design programs after putting together a portfolio, which I now consider laughable--but it got me in and some scholarship money.

This is the best decision I have ever made. Learning the fundamentals in a group setting in a structured way was just what I needed to add polish and refinement. My typography courses were extremely essential. It also opened me up to amazing opportunities that I would not have had as a self taught designer. For example, I was a design team member in college --meaning I tried out and won a position on the schools' brand team, which gave me a lot experience designing real things for the school for several years. I also got exposed to highly renowned designers--for example I got do the invitation for Ellen Lupton's lecture, which also means I got to dine and make a connection with her.

I also had several highly coveted internships with major brands, i.e. Converse. My graduation portfolio was full of professional work and very little school assignments compared to my peers. This allowed me to go pretty far fast. I am now a designer at IDEO, which would have never happened if I toiled away in my basement solo. Also being a few years older and having earned a degree gave me a serious advantage in design school. I knew why I was there and had a bit more maturity which means I worked my ass off comparatively. While other kids thought it was fun to go out and get wasted, I would be in the studio toiling away on my work burning the midnight oil.

So I say all that to say it really depends on what your objectives are. School was very good for me. It gave me the polish and skills I needed in a structured environment. It allowed me to build a network and access degree-only opportunities. It carved out the space and time for me to actually dedicate my time to learning the craft. It provided a level of legitimacy to my skills--which some people require. So I'd ask myself-- How much time you have? What your needs are? What kind of learner you are?

Getting a formal education is almost never really a bad thing. Especially at 22, you're still very young . Also since I already had degrees all of my liberal art education was taken care of , and I only had to take core classes and art history. So it was shorter than 4 years.

In terms of schools it depends on what your major is. I majored in Graphic Design--although I do way more than graphic design on my job. But AICAD schools are a good place to start to look.

This might be the most inspiring thing I have read in a while.

This is so CRINGEWORTHY.

This is one of the first things I ever "designed" about 11 years ago with a pirated copy of Photoshop (a website made from slices). It was a halal cookie site for a friend. You should have seen the product page. You could click on each of the cookies to purchase and there was an oven with product information typed in the door window. CRINGE.

I included screenshots of this site with my cover letter when I applied to my job at IDEO.

http://i.imgur.com/DcB8K0Y.jpg