I stumbled upon graphic designing when I was interning in Unacademy as a Summer Intern back in 2016. Rachit Tank, an extremely talented and creative designer from MIT, Pune was interning in Unacademy as well. He acted as a source of inspiration for me. He recommended that I watch various YouTube tutorials on how to use Adobe Illustrator and to understand the basics of Graphic Designing. Gradually I created my own illustrations and even posters. Over the years I learned various forms of design such as social media posters, logos, UI/UX design, motion design to name a few. I started freelancing as well. As a college student, it provided me with a  great learning experience and helped me become independent as well.

1. Free gigs:

It might sound absurd when I say free gigs, but hear me out. Initially, I did a huge number of free gigs which not just helped me get better at designing but also helped me get a variety of freelance projects. I designed creatives for almost all my college events and clubs on campus. They gave me a ton of experience to start with while helping me establish a network by making people aware of my skills through the work I did. I was approached to design for startups or friends/family ventures on multiple occasions. I started charging a small fee for my work at that point. That’s precisely where I started.

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2. Friends and Family:

We often forget to promote our work with the people who we know the best. We get stuck on our fear of being judged by them. As for me, more than 90% of my freelance gigs have come through my friends. So let people around you know about your work. When your friends and family are aware of your work, they will not just appreciate it, but in turn, promote your work for you.

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3. Cold emails:

This method will take a lot of trial and error before you can start gaining traction from it. It’s usually difficult to convert a lead into a client through cold emails but it’s not impossible. I got less 5% of my projects through this method. However, a couple of steps can help you get replies to your cold emails and get potential clients on board.

Clients may themselves not be completely aware of the nature of the problem faced by them. Developing a clear understanding of the problem faced by a client and offering a workable solution for the same can help grab the clients attention. Along with this, using a catchy subject line can help ensure that your potential client will open your email.

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4. Build your portfolio:

Portfolio forms the most important aspect for any designer. Out of excitement about our work, we usually make a huge mistake by uploading all of it.

Always upload your best work and the work where you can take the viewer from the problem statement to the solution that you arrived at. Behance is a great website to upload your portfolio projects. Avoid Google Drives.

Your first project may not be the most ideal project or something you’d definitely want. Over the years I’ve understood that it is important to grab every opportunity that comes along your way. There have been times when I learned a new skill from scratch just because the client had a particular requirement. It’s always about learning, building & breaking.

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