My Top 3:

Package Design - 5/5 yes answers to the questions

UX/UI Design -  6/6 yes answers to the questions

Branding Design - 5/5 yes answers to the questions

 

This was NOT the result I was expecting! As a self-taught artist and designer, I've been channeling all my time into trying to design greeting cards and illustrate children's books.

I just assumed that since I've been creating art for 22 years, I should lean in to illustration. (The title image for this student project is one of my recent illustrations.)

But truth be told it's been a SLOW, MISERABLE process.

I can geek out about Label Design all day, but I have to really WORK to create a greeting card or book cover.

I lost sight of what I love about design, and to be honest, I didn't KNOW that the freelance work I've been trying to land could be grouped in with Print and Editorial Design. NOT my strongest category AT ALL.

This course also reminded me how much I HATE designing logos and social media graphics, but LOVE deep-dive research and strategy required for Branding and UX/UI.

 

I guess I should really focus on the areas of design where I'm freakishly obsessed :)

 

This brings me to the next question: Is there any new software I need to learn?  If so which ones?  

• Wireframing Tools (Adobe Xd, Sketch etc.)  - I've always created my wireframes in Keynote like a total newb, so I NEED to learn these tools.
• Sketching and Drawing Apps (Procreate etc.) - I've never created digital art - but I group Adobe Dn in this category and I NEED to master this for mock-ups (Which I was doing in Photoshop).
• Vector Program (Illustrator, Affinity Designer) - I'm an ok hand at Illustrator.
• Multi-page editor and layout program (InDesign) - I'm pretty good with InDesign.
• Photo Editing Program (Photoshop etc.) - I'm not bad with Photoshop.
• Design Tools and layout programs (Canva etc.) - I've used Canva.
• Art Mediums? (Drawing, sketching, painting, watercolor etc.) - I'm pretty good with traditional art.
  
  Is there any design theory I need to brush up on? If so, what? 
• UX/UI Theory - I need to learn this. I dealt with it some when I was getting my Masters in Internet Marketing, but I think I just made a lot of lucky guesses vs really knowing what I was doing.
• Color Theory - I never feel like I know enough about this.
• Layout Theory - I think there are some rules and principles missing from my knowledge bank here.
• Photography and Photo Editing - I'm ok at this.
• Sketching, Drawing, Illustration - I'm always practicing in this area.
• Typography Theory - I'm a drooling, stark-raving-mad fan of typography. I need a LOT of practice to be able to turn out the kind of quality work I dream of in this area.

 

I may need to do a few practice projects first before taking on client work, what will be my first practice project in this niche? 

Project 1___I'd love to design a t-shirt and brand identity for an organization focused on serving gender non-binary parents.

Project 2___I'd love to design a better website and appointment-booking app for for one of my favorite nonprofits

Project 3___It would be neat to design a sweet-looking water bottle for a non-profit that participates in a lot of marches and parades

Fears, Hopes and Dreams about shifting to a new design focus/niche? 

Fears? My biggest fear is that I’m too old.

I already have a design portfolio, and I've interviewed for more than a dozen positions in Communication Design, UX/UI, Copywriting, Content Strategy, Marketing and Brand Development. ANYTHING to get on a team where I can put my design skills to good use.

At the end of the day, all I have are my self-driven projects and very little client work to show.

I don't even know HOW to fight the chicken and egg paradox - I'm super educated but lack experience, and I can't get experience because I'm too old or overqualified for positions where I could learn efficient workflow, client relations and the print process.

My work experience is pretty much, 8 years in the Army followed by 10 years of sucking up all the knowledge on marketing, copy, and of course design.

Hopes? I hope I can someday work with lots of clients who pay fairly. I know it sounds basic, but I've tried to find work on UpWork, ThumbTack, and other similar sites and I find a lot of clients who will drop you from the project after you've done all the research and preliminary work because they found someone cheaper. I really just want to get my hands dirty designing products I can see on shelves when I shop, websites I use and helping brands communicate more clearly.

Dreams? I dream of making an ok living, traveling to design-related conferences and having my work open doors for me to meet people I look up to. I dream of having them be really jazzed about the work I made for them, AND having a positive impact on their bottom line.

 

This course was an unexpected kick in the pants to get re-focused. Thank you!!!!!!!