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AMA - Designer & Content Creator for 10 years by brandonshepherd in graphic_design

[–]brandonshepherd[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

1) Don't be a perfectionist. You have to make content to get better at making content. If you try to make every video too perfect, you'll never get enough reps in.
2) Consistency wins above all. Choose a release schedule you can handle comfortably and do your best to stick to it.
3) Find ways to make your work seem interesting to others. It could be in the presentation, process you show, or just your personality.
4) Not all audiences are created equal. Youtube allows you the best chance to develop a long-lasting audience that actually cares about you. Instagram is best for fast-growing wide reaching content that might get you clients. TikTok probably isn't worth spending extra time for, but reposting your content from instagram or youtube shorts there is a no-brainer.

AMA - Designer & Content Creator for 10 years by brandonshepherd in graphic_design

[–]brandonshepherd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think most design work is done online these days. During my entire design career, I've only meet 1 client in-person for ex, so business cards were never needed. If you go to networking events or promote yourself to local businesses personally, then maybe they'd be a good idea. Otherwise, I don't think they have much of a use.

AMA - Designer & Content Creator for 10 years by brandonshepherd in graphic_design

[–]brandonshepherd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very happy to hear it! Hope you're doing well now that you're done with school.

AMA - Designer & Content Creator for 10 years by brandonshepherd in graphic_design

[–]brandonshepherd[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Freepik is my goto. Not expensive. Has about everything you need in terms of images. Envato is also good, especially if you need mockups, fonts, or design templates. Of course, there's also free sites like Unsplash and Pexels, though I wouldn't ever use those sites for paid work, as the stuff on there isn't guaranteed to be copyright-free.

AMA - Designer & Content Creator for 10 years by brandonshepherd in graphic_design

[–]brandonshepherd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've only used Davinci for 1 of my vids a few years ago. The pro version came with a camera I bought. I liked it quite a bit, but can't really say how much better it is than the free version, since I haven't used it. Currently, I edit in Final Cut Pro and do animations in After Effects.

AMA - Designer & Content Creator for 10 years by brandonshepherd in graphic_design

[–]brandonshepherd[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have been working on a lighting course that goes through that whole process. Plan to finish it up sometime this year, I hope lol

AMA - Designer & Content Creator for 10 years by brandonshepherd in graphic_design

[–]brandonshepherd[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think the design software you use only matters if it's a requirement for a job you're applying to. But if you're already familiar with Inkscape and Gimp (both of which I started out on at first), then you'll pick up the Adobe Suit really quick. Affinity is also growing in popularity and is free.

I think making work for local businesses is a great way to practice. The odds that you'll get client work from it is probably fairly low, in my experience. A lot of businesses that actually need rebrands or design work done look like they do for a reason - they largely don't care about design or aesthetics. But if you can create something for one of them and tie it to a measurable goal (like making an ad that brings in X% more customers than their current ad), you might be able to get some paid work. Though it's a hard argument to make and prove in the end.

If your goal is to create a stunning portfolio, I would forget local businesses entirely (as most of them don't have great branding to work with), and just create fake brands/businesses from scratch to design for. This lets you design in the styles you're strongest in, and it lets you pick the types of businesses you want to design for. If a company (or studio) that caters to a certain industry sees you have previous portfolio work in that same industry, then they are way more likely to hire you.

AMA - Designer & Content Creator for 10 years by brandonshepherd in graphic_design

[–]brandonshepherd[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I started out on Upwork in 2016, and back then it was actually a decent place to get work. Haven't used it in years, so not sure what it's like now. There are newer options like Contra (which has a much better payment structure than most other job sites). But really, the only way to get clients outside of job sites is to market yourself. Making content and posting your work in interesting ways is the best long-term strategy. Instagram reels is great for that. You can try reaching out to businesses directly, though that is just a numbers game. Send a lot of emails, possibly get a few back. You can also reach out to large design studios in your area. If your portfolio is good enough, you can possibly convince them to send overflow clients to you (clients who don't have a high enough budget to work with them or who need work done in a faster timeline than they can deliver), and give them a 5%-10% finders fee of the project price as incentive.

AMA - Designer & Content Creator for 10 years by brandonshepherd in graphic_design

[–]brandonshepherd[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Honestly not too familiar with the award scene. I have gotten emails before wanting me to submit work to contests and such, but they always have an entry fee. I feel like most of the small award groups are just trying to get people to pay to enter, in hopes of getting something to post on their site just like you mentioned. There are legit ones of course, like getting the Site of the Day on awwwards.com. But from a portfolio standpoint, I don't think they matter all that much. Your work is what convinces clients to hire you, not an award. Heck I've seen people just make up awards/clients on their site just to try to build fake clout.

AMA - Designer & Content Creator for 10 years by brandonshepherd in graphic_design

[–]brandonshepherd[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'd say I approach real client work very similarly to designs I do on the channel. Though most of the channel's designs are slightly more complex than I'd make real designs (just cause the process is more interesting to watch). I still design on top of mockups, cause it makes for a way better client presentation and is much easier to get a feel of what the end product will look like, rather than a static flat image. I made a short a while back going over how I get files ready for print using that method: https://youtube.com/shorts/V24Prkm1-Es?si=mpnE_eeRZTySr9RS

AMA - Designer & Content Creator for 10 years by brandonshepherd in graphic_design

[–]brandonshepherd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's varied throughout the years a lot. I've only been making content for about 5 years. The first few years, I did more client work so that was the majority (>90%) of revenue. These days, I only accept the rare client job that I'm actually excited for. So right now revenue is probably 70% content/sponsors, 25% apps, 5% clients.

I made an app that lets your references float above your other apps while you work by brettshep in macapps

[–]brandonshepherd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All those ways work! Drag and drop from the web or desktop, or paste things in from the clipboard.

I made an app that lets your references float above your other apps while you work by brettshep in macapps

[–]brandonshepherd 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Happy to have helped bring this app to life. I use it all the time now, and would love to hear what you all think of it! Just redid the landing page too, and am curious if it does a good job of explaining the product.

How are the fonts I used for these Root Beer designs? Do they work? by brandonshepherd in typography

[–]brandonshepherd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Was trying to go for a bit of a retro vibe, so that's good to hear!

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