It is estimated that more than $600,000 in sales are lost every day due to poor design according to an article by Kleinman anime good morning gif. But this doesn’t have to be the case. If you’re skilled in designing and have a passion for it, never let your skills go to waste again.
1. Know what you’re good at:
If you’ve never tried designing before and are unsure of your skill, just know that it’s not all about the look of the product. It is also everything on how to make it work. Knowing the purpose and function of your design will help you determine if it is properly executed. This also means knowing what kind of person your target market is, so that you can have a general idea of what they would do with a product that was designed by you.
2. Spend time in solitude:
Just because you’re good at something, doesn’t mean that others are willing to pay for it on top of everything else. If you’re good at something and nobody is willing to pay you for it except for the ideas that you have, then it might be better if you took up a different hobby or just go back to your usual one.
3. Be open-minded:
According to an article by The New York Times, the more people are familiar with a design, the less likely it is that others will accept it as their own. This can really cripple a designer’s success in the industry especially if they’re not willing to accept constructive criticism as well as always being open-minded towards newcomers or people who want a new take on an existing concept.
4. Be free with your own design:
Take pride in your work and don’t let people take advantage of that. If you’re known for creating great designs and nobody is taking the time to give you credit for it, then there’s a chance that people might be passing off your work as their own. Don’t let it get to a point where you’re being misused by others just because they know that you won’t do anything about it.
5. Know when to stop:
Nothing is forever, no matter how passionate you are about something, eventually someone will come along who can do it better than you or someone who has a better idea than yours. Just because you’ve invested ages into doing something doesn’t mean that you can’t just accept the fact that it’s over and move on to something else.
6. Be open-minded and try to see things from a different perspective:
It’s true that originality is a huge thing in the business world but, if you’re just doing it because you like it all the while not trying to see if it can work at all, then there’s a chance that your design is not only close to being a copycat but it could be even worse than it. This could also mean that your design might end up looking like something out of an anime without any realism whatsoever.
7. Never get discouraged:
Don’t ever let yourself get discouraged by the things that are holding you back. This is especially true when it comes to the engagement of your target audience. Just because they’re not interacting with you doesn’t mean that they’re not enjoying whatever you have to offer. Some people just aren’t comfortable expressing themselves in a social setting and that’s fine. It’s just enough to know that they are enjoying it in their own way and just be content with it.
8. Never let someone’s bad idea stop you from creating a good one:
Don’t EVER let someone else’s bad idea get in your way of creating a great one. If you focus on the bad ideas that people come up with, then you’ll never be able to create anything for yourself. It’s not about who came up with an idea first, it’s about whoever executes it in the most optimal way regardless if they came up with it.
9. Never let something like having others accusing you of copying someone else’s work get into your head:
If there are indeed similarities between your work and someone else’s work, then all that means is that they just did something similar to what you did. Just because they came up with something before you did doesn’t mean that they have some sort of copyright over what you’re trying to do at all. Don’t let them get to you and don’t take it as a personal attack. They just don’t know how to express themselves when expressing their own ideas in the most effective way, but you already know exactly what they want to do with it, so there’s nothing that needs correcting.
10. Be open-minded and adapt to the recent trends:
If a new trend comes about in the design industry, then follow that trend because it might just be something that you have never tried before or the most optimal way for what you’re trying to accomplish at all.
