How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul

 

Adrian Shaughnessy was co-founder of the leading London-based design company Intro and was the company’s creative director for 15 years before leaving in 2003 to pursue a career as a design writer.

The kinds of questions young designers most often need answers to are the practical things—how to find work, what to charge, what the first step is interpreting a brief, and how to work it out when with a job or a client relationship goes wrong. Shaughnessy, the co- founder of a London design firm as well as a design writer, provides a guide that tells all.

How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul addresses the concerns of young designers who want to earn a living by doing expressive and meaningful work, and who want to avoid becoming hired drones working on soulless projects. Written by a designer for designers, it combines practical advice with philosophical guidance to help young professionals embark on their careers.

How should designers manage the creative process? What’s the first step in the successful interpretation of a brief? How do you generate ideas when everything just seems blank? How to be a graphic designer offers clear, concise guidance for these questions, along with focused, no-nonsense strategies for setting up, running, and promoting a studio, finding work, and collaborating with clients.

The book also includes inspiring interviews with ten leading designers, including Rudy VanderLans (Emigre), John Warwicker (Tomato), Neville Brody (Research Studios), and Andy Cruz (House Industries). All told, How to be a graphic designer covers just about every aspect of the profession, and stands as an indispensable guide for any young designer.