How to Get Your First Job as a Graphic Designer

The Creative Review blog highlights an excellent e-book for aspiring graphic designers – Twenty Four Seven by Adam Graveley.

A couple of years ago Graveley was looking for his first graphic design job and couldn’t find a useful guide – so he showed a lot of initiative by researching and writing it himself, by asking for advice from renowned designers Tom Roope (Tomato Interactive, UK), Alexander Gelman (Design Machine, NY), Jan Wilker (Karlssonwilker Inc, NY), Jonathan Ellery (Browns Design, London), Peter Saville (London) and Adrian Shaughnessy (TiRA, London). And when he couldn’t find a publisher, he showed even more initiative by designing and publishing it himself as an e-book.

It’s lushly designed and full of the kind of practical advice that should help to direct creative enthusiasm without crushing it. The big name interviewees offer wisdom based on years of experience, but Graveley gives plenty of useful tips himself, written in the tone of the bloke at the desk opposite you:

You will not have six weeks to complete a brief. You will need to produce relevant concepts quickly and must be able to articulate them in progress meetings. You could only have a few hours to produce something. You have to be able to handle yourself when time is running out. You will panic, you will cock up and you will learn from your mistakes. Be aware of time management.

I’m not a graphic designer but if you’re looking to land your first job at a design studio this sounds like a voice worth listening to.