Entrepreneur Press - Start Your Own Graphic Design Business: Your Step-By-Step Guide to Success

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Table of Contents

Additional titles in Entrepreneurs Startup Series

Start Your Own

Arts and Crafts Business
Bar and Club
Bed & Breakfast
Business on eBay
Business Support Service
Car Wash
Child Care Service
Cleaning Service
Clothing Store
Coin-Operated Laundry
Consulting
e-Business
e-Learning Business
Event Planning Business
Executive Recruiting Service
Freight Brokerage Business
Gift Basket Service
Grant-Writing Business
Home Inspection Service
Import/Export Business
Information Consultant Business
Law Practice
Lawn Care Business
Mail Order Business
Medical Claims Billing Service
Personal Concierge Service
Personal Training Business
Pet-Sitting Business
Restaurant and Five Other Food Businesses
Self-Publishing Business
Seminar Production Business
Specialty Travel & Tour Business
Staffing Service
Successful Retail Business
Vending Business
Wedding Consultant Business
Wholesale Distribution Business

Preface

Graphic designer. It kind of sounds like someone in charge, right? From the initial idea, the designer starts the work and poof, magically a great new piece has been created. From a scribble on a napkinall great designs start on coffee-stained napkins, dont they?a new logo is born. Within months, that logo starts appearing everywherefrom business cards to billboards. Its on packages, labels, reports, boxes, brochures, catalogs, and even on those shirts the companys employees wear.

Its great to be a graphic designer. Its challenging and creative work. And its everchanging.

It is hard to think of any other creative profession that has undergone more massive changes in recent years than graphic art and design. Writers, for example, have abandoned their typewriters for word processors, but many successful writers and authors use word processing software that is a decade old. They do not need the most recent updates in either hardware or software. With what others would consider an outdated or legacy computer, the writer churns out manuscript after manuscript.

Using outdated equipment is not an option for graphic artists and designers. They may still use traditional methods to create some art. For example, they might draw an illustration with black ink and a pen, the same method used for decades. But just about everything else has changed in the last 30 years.

Graphic designers now use computers to produce their work, but not just any old computer. Because of their need for extensive computer graphics, todays designers often need and use the latest, most advanced technology to produce their work. Animation, for example, once drawn one picture frame at a time by an artist, is now totally automated. Todays animation is created on computer screens. Those computers that produce animation sequences are not like the machines that only need to drive word processing software. The software has tremendous capability, but it also requires more from the hardware: extra memory, substantial disk space, and faster processors.

The graphic artists and designers that use these kinds of powerful computers and software to create their work must become experts on their machines. They must master and develop a high level of expertise with their software. Those that do are quick to find work, either as an employee or a freelance graphic artist. Their services are worth moneyand plenty of companies, organizations, associations, and businesses are willing to pay for it.

Yes, the world of a graphic designer has changed, and shows no signs of slowing down. Its an excitingand profitable timeto be a graphic artist or designer. A skilled graphic designer with sound credentials and strong interpersonal skills can easily earn $40,000 to $60,000 per year or more as an employee or an independent contractor. If that same graphic designer understands the basics of starting and running a business, he or she will find the opportunities presented by owning a graphic design agency virtually limitless.

Employment and Jobs

A recent trade industry report found that U.S. design salaries are up, and demand remains steady. Because of the varied names and descriptions of design jobs, it is difficult to make exact comparisons.

According to the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts)/Aquent 2007 survey, margins are tighter and clients are contracting for work against smaller budgets. However, the overall trend is still positive, with signs that American businesses are recognizing the value of innovative design in promoting themselves internationally. In 2007, the design salaries survey reported an upward trend in graphic designers earnings. For 2006, salaries were slightly down, but the trend is still looking good from a workload point of view. As expected, art directors and senior designers earn considerably more than junior designers, the AIGA website reported. Freelance or self-employed designers tended to earn the equivalent of a senior designers salary.

From a regional point of view, substantial wage differences remain. For example, graphic designers in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Atlanta were near the top of the salary pile. Designers working in Denver, Dallas, and Philadelphia earned at the lower end of the income ladder.

The opportunities for freelance graphic artists and designers are growing at a rapid rate. Graphic designers work on a wide array of projects and media. With the never-ending development of new electronic media and electronic communication, graphic designers capable of producing digital images will certainly remain in demand.

Whether you want to start a part-time graphic design business, or a one-person full-time operation, or build a substantial company with a full stable of graphic designers and trainees to work with you, this book is for you. Regardless of the type of graphic design business you want to start, I recommend that you read every chapter in this book. Most of the information applies to all sizes and types of graphic design operations, and the information is interrelated.

Ill start with an overview of the industry, looking at the market, who is using graphic designers and why, and what services graphic designers are offering. Then Ill go through the step-by-step process of setting up and running your new venture. Youll learn about basic requirements and startup costs, day-to-day operations, and what to do when things dont go according to plan. Youll gain a solid understanding of the sales and marketing process, as well as how to track and manage the financial side of your business. Throughout the book, youll hear from industry experts as well as graphic designers who are eager to share what theyve learned.

What this book wont do is teach you how to be a graphic designer. There are hundreds of organizations and schools that provide courses or study programs on graphic design, desktop publishing, and other related topics. Seek out the best of those courses to build your own professional knowledge base and credentials. This book focuses on the business side of graphic design, giving you the fundamental information you need to start and build the company you want to own.

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