How to become a graphic designer in less than a year

Traditionally, becoming a graphic designer takes much longer than a year. First, you were expected to complete a three-year degree. And it usually doesn’t involve a lot of hands-on experience, so you’ll probably need to intern for a few months after to fill in the gaps. Only then can you start applying for your first graphic design jobs.

This was all very well in the days when you could get a scholarship to go to university and expect the state to pay your fees (although even then many couldn’t afford to take that much time off the workplace). However, in 2022, with degrees costing £9K a year and inflation pushing the cost of living to record levels, this is an increasingly unattractive option.

It is therefore not surprising that more and more graphic designers are finding alternative paths into the profession. Nowadays, it is common to find that a significant number of designers in any agency or in-house design department will have come through a different path than the traditional degree.

So how can you follow in their footsteps? Read on as we give you some suggestions on how to become a graphic designer in less than a year.

1. Take the Shillington Graphic Design Course

Don’t like three years of study? How about three months? Shillington’s graphic design courses are spread over three months full-time or nine months part-time. And because these courses are designed by working graphic designers who know what the industry needs, they are highly respected across the industry and have a great track record of finding graduates employment.

Shillington’s courses are held at their campuses in the UK, USA and Australia, or you can take lessons online, making them available to anyone in the world. They’re less about theoretical study than learning what designers actually do in practice, so you’ll be working on real briefs, in a studio-like environment, to the right deadlines. This way, you’ll have an industry-ready portfolio the moment you graduate, which will take you a long way when it comes to applications and interviews.

This approach to becoming a graphic designer is becoming increasingly popular with school leavers, university graduates looking to upgrade their degrees and working professionals looking to change careers. For more details, visit the Shillington website.

2. Read some foundational books

While art is about aesthetics, design is about creating something that performs a function. To understand the basics of design thinking, it’s important to read some foundational books, and here are some good ones to get you started.

The School of Graphic Design by David Dabner, Sandra Stewart and Abby Wickres is firmly focused on future designers who are unwilling or unable to attend university. Its authors describe it as a basic course for graphic designers. The first section deals with the fundamentals of design, such as composition, hierarchy, layout, typography, grid structure, and color. The second section puts these fundamentals into practice and explains studio techniques and production issues.

Graphic Design: The New Basics by Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips is a classic text by Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips, completely revised and updated in 2015. This is another excellent introduction to graphic design for new entrants, with visual demonstrations and a short commentary explaining the principles behind everything from logos to website design.

A good supplementary read is Know Your Onions by Drew De Soto. It’s designed like a notebook, with all of the authors’ tips and knowledge contained within, along with blank pages that allow you to add your own personal notes and thoughts.

Aside from the principles of graphic design, it’s also a good idea to research what a design career actually looks like in practice. One of our favorite reads on this topic is Oh Shit, Now What? by Craig Oldham. In this revealing volume, the celebrated designer answers common questions raised by aspiring graphic designers, such as: Where do you live? Can you afford to live? How can you make money designing? how do you get a job who do you want to work for and are you good enough?

Alternatively, there’s Extra Bold: a practical and informative career guide for designers that’s part textbook and part comic, part zine, part manifesto and part self-help manual. Written by multiple authors, it contains an array of interviews, essays, typefaces, biographical sketches, and projects from dozens of contributors that will really help you get to grips with the subject.

3. Learn through podcasts

While not a substitute for a professional course or how-to book, podcasts are a great way to supplement your learning, especially when you’re in the middle of mundane activities like housework or commuting. Here are some of our top recommendations to help you in your flourishing career as a graphic designer.

Pathfinder is a 16-episode podcast series by Shillington that gives advice to graphic design graduates around the world entering the creative industry. Hosted by Shillington New York teacher Jimmy Muldoon, it features related content that helps designers navigate the highs and lows of the journey from graduate to working designer.

Design Matters with Debbie Millman was one of the world’s first podcasts and is still going strong today, 15 years later. The show is about how creative people design the arc of their lives, and the guest list is legendary.

Make it in Design features interviews with designers who have made bold moves and followed their hearts to thrive as creative professionals. This podcast is a place for curiosity and discovery, and you’ll get some good pointers on what working in the design industry is really like.

On Design with Justyna Green brings you insightful conversations with the most inspiring figures in design, from designers to artists, creative directors to entrepreneurs. This podcast is a great way to discover what inspires leading creatives, how they work and how they see the world.

Finally, the Creative Boom podcast gives you the inside scoop from artists, designers, illustrators and photographers on the highs and lows of being a creative and their daily challenges. Each episode is packed with insider career advice, honest business advice and eye-opening stories.

4. Put yourself out there

Graphic design is not like being a lawyer or an electrician: you don’t need a qualification to practice. So once you’ve learned the basics, either through a course or self-study online, there’s nothing stopping you from putting yourself out there as a freelancer and improving your skills through work.

Of course, winning your first client is not easy. Few will trust someone with no experience, so there is a vicious cycle to break out of. You can show what you’re made of by posting personal projects and student work online, and if it’s good enough and you’re lucky, some clients might bite.

Most of the time, however, the most effective way is to target people you already know. Start with friends and family, spread to colleagues, fellow students, former professors, etc. Keep going until you find someone who needs design work done, whether it’s building a website or making a poster. You might be surprised how many people jump at the chance because most people have no idea how to hire a designer and would welcome a familiar, friendly face to guide them through the process.

5. Check the job boards

Once you’re trained and experienced enough to start applying for jobs, freelance roles and internships, finding the right opportunity can turn into a full-time job in itself. So it pays to cast your net far and wide to make sure you don’t miss out. Here are some places to start.

The Shillington Jobs Board is very selective: they only approve and share job and internship opportunities that respect designers’ time and talent. The roles are available in the UK, US and Australia and you don’t need to have graduated from Shillington to apply, although that obviously helps.

If You Could is the job board of the design blog It’s Nice That. At the time of writing, it was advertising 167 positions, mostly based in London, but some for remote workers.

Nikki Lyle describes herself as a “creative recruiter with a conscience” and was president of D&AD in 2020. Her graphic design job board offers opportunities in the UK.

The recruitment section of veteran publication Design Week features a wide range of jobs in a variety of media roles. There were 35 graphics roles here at the time of writing, mainly based in London and southern England.

Start studying graphic design!

To find out more about studying design in Shillington’s intensive courses, visit the Shillington website.