Tips On Making Career Out of Graphic Designing in Lagos

One of the cool ways to make money in Lagos is by offering computer services. Now, when it comes to computer services, there are lots of skills one can use and one of them is in graphic designing.

The thing about Graphic design services is that it doesn’t require selling a tangible product but it basically requires just using a computer to design graphics. It is a kind of business one can start with little capital because what it mostly requires is your knowledge about graphic designing tools and how to use them to create attractive looking images.

Graphic designing basically involves using computer programs to create images such as logos, banners, adverts, charts and other works of computer art.

The focus of a graphic designer is to create an appealing work of art by making use of a computer software.

A company may be looking for a corporate logo that best represents their company and better project their image. You can design one for them if you are skilled to do so.
You may even approach those companies personally and try to offer them a much better looking logo even if they already had one.

A graphic designer must first of all ensure that his work is already publicized and known. He should first of all create many designs and hang them in a gallery to help in advertising his business. Afterwards, he would be able to attract a lot of customers who may want his service.

A graphic designer may set up an office where he offers the service or even offer it as a freelancer by going out to meet with companies and businesses. He would also have to decide on his rates and how he would normally charge for his work. Complex designers that require more service time would normally cost more to his clients than simple ones.

Computer programs normally used by Graphic designers include but are not limited to CorelDraw, Illustrator, Photoshop and Fireworks.

A designer can make money by creating computer artworks for advertising, logos, print design, animation and multimedia. He needs to be skilled with using programs. He should also have a creative mind.

The thing is that once you are good as a graphic designer and people know how good you are, you are more likely to make money from the business. All it basically requires is a computer and a designing software to start.

STARTING A FREELANCE GRAPHIC DESIGN BUSINESS FROM HOME – SAMPLE BUSINESS PLAN TEMPLATE

1. Assess your skills

Do you really have what it takes to work as a professional graphic designer? You need to give yourself a satisfactory answer to this question before going on with your plan to start a graphic design business. That is, you need to assess your skills, knowledge base, and level of creativity to ensure you can really offer high quality graphic design services.

If you are lacking in certain aspects, you must never proceed until you have improved significantly on them. You must also ensure that you can work effectively and creatively with the major graphic design software packages that you will need all the time. You can approach a veteran in the business to get some mentorship and expert advice.

2. Plan your business

You will need to create a business plan for your graphic design business. This plan will highlight how you will run your business and how you will grow it with time. What type of business structure do you plan to run? Would you work as a lone freelancer, or would you set up an agency in which you will hire others to work with you? You need to answer these questions and many others that will define how you will run your graphic design business.

In addition, you should define the kind of graphic design services that you will be offering. It goes without saying that this will depend on your skills. You must also draw up a list of services that you will offer, which can include:

• Logo design
• Brochures design
• Book formatting
• eBook covers
• Infographics
• Website design, and so on.

Depending on your skills, you might also want to focus on specialized services such ascorporate identity, e-commerce design, 3-dimensional graphics, annual reports, and so on, that you can offer to larger clients with huge design budgets. Having decided on the specific services you will offer, you can then proceed to set prices for each.

3. Set up your workstation

If you are planning to work as a lone freelancer, then a small home office would suffice. However, if you are planning to start a graphic design agency, you will need to rent office space.

After choosing a suitable location, you will need to acquire the necessary equipment, such as the latest versions of the various graphic design software packages (Corel Draw, Adobe Photoshop, etc) that you will need, computers, printers, a reliable internet connection, a phone line, and so on, depending on your needs.

4. Start spreading the word

It is important that you conduct some research and come up with a list of individuals and businesses that will most likely need your graphic design services. Send them pitches, telling them about your business and how it can help them. However, you must emphasize how your services can help them achieve their goals and how your business stands out from the competition.

Also, you should contact marketing consultants, public relations firms, brand management agencies and advertising agencies. Let them know that you are available to handle specialist design projects that they cannot cover with their own resources. You can also ask them for contacts of potential clients who might need your services.

5. Promote your business and start operations

You must market your graphic design business aggressively; using both online and offline marketing platforms. Offline, you can send a press release to your local newspapers and advertise in local magazines.

Promoting your business online starts with setting up a small website, where you tell potential clients about your business and how it can help them. Your website will also serves as your portfolio, which showcases samples of designs you have done in the past. Other online marketing strategies that can help you attract clients include social media marketing and forum marketing.

Once you start attracting clients, you must ensure that you deliver high quality and satisfactory services. This will compel them to come back for your services repeatedly and motivate them to tell others about your business.                       -(Source: Ekoconnect)