Advice to Design Grads

Michelle Houlden is the owner and creative director of Maverick Studios, a Saskatoon-based branding and design company that partners with Burr Forest Group to provide expert design and strategic marketing services to its clients. Visit her at maverick-studios.ca.

Dear Vanessa,

Thank you for your recent email. You asked to meet with me to discuss potential opportunities with my organization and whether I had any advice as you begin your journey as a newly minted graphic designer. (Congratulations on completing your degree!)

Starting out in this industry can feel exciting, overwhelming and uncertain all at once. The industry has changed dramatically. Designers today work alongside AI tools, accessible design platforms and a more crowded marketplace than ever before. The ones who flourish are those adept at critical thinking, have strong communication skills and the ability to solve problems for their clients.

That made your questions harder to answer than I expected.

My design and branding company, Maverick Studios, is a one-horse operation (though I occasionally team up with other pros for larger projects). In a previous role, I managed a team of designers, and I loved helping talented people build skills and grow. Today, I run a small independent studio because I value flexibility, meaningful client relationships and a work-life balance I didn’t have earlier in my career.

What I can do is offer you some advice based on the lessons I learned during my 30+ years as a designer:

1. Find a good mentor. I was lucky to cross paths with Jim Emerson, an incredibly talented B.C.-based designer who was hired to redesign The Western Producer in 2009. He saw potential in me, worked with the management team to get me promoted, and helped me build my skills in design, marketing, branding and leadership. He offered constructive criticism when I needed it and had my back whenever I was fighting to improve the visual content of the paper. There are still days when I ask myself, “What would Jim do?”
2. On a related note, be open to criticism of your work. One of the best lessons I learned from Jim was that when one of my ideas is rejected, it doesn’t mean I lack talent or even that the idea is bad (those were always my immediate assumptions). More often, it simply means it isn’t the right solution for the problem we’re trying to solve. It helped me remove my ego from the equation to place focus on the design, not the designer. My final effort was almost always better than the first one. It’s okay to fail. Keep trying. But remember, design is subjective. No one will like everything you do. I’ve learned to pay closest attention to feedback from people who understand the work, the audience and the goals.
3. Never stop learning. I’ve taken workshops and courses on design throughout my career. Just last month, I paid for an online workshop to help me build my service offerings. I subscribe to the Adobe Creative Pro newsletter. I haunt places like Behance and Pinterest. Design is always evolving. The tools you’re using today won’t be the only tools you’ll use in your career. Change is inevitable. Try not to be afraid of it.
4. Networking pays off. I’m on LinkedIn (though not as regularly as I should be) and that’s how I met one of my first business collaborators. He knew me by reputation and contacted me when I announced I was launching my own company to see if I could help him with a big design project that took us more than a year to complete. I met other clients at the Fuze marketing conference, and still others at Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan. I hire people I know, like and trust, so I strive to be someone people know, like and trust. 
5. Volunteer. I present virtual workshops on branding for agricultural grower organizations and small businesses. I volunteer my design skills for charity. I signed up to present information to Grade Five students about farming on behalf of Ag in the Classroom Saskatchewan. Giving back to my community matters to me. Building experience and connections along the way is a bonus.
6. Take good care of your most valuable resource: you. Creative work is demanding. Sleep, movement, stress management and time away from your screen matter more than most people realize. Some of my best ideas happen while I’m on my water rower. I also use that time to listen to podcasts, so I’m learning while I’m sweating.

No one has all the answers. Most careers are built one project, one lesson and one relationship at a time. Determination, a commitment to learning and a willingness to fail are the building blocks to any successful career. Maybe not in that order if you’re a pilot or an assassin, but if you’re a designer, it’s what works for me.

I wish you good luck in your job search. Your email got me thinking about how many new designers are probably asking the same questions. If others in my design circles have advice to add, I will ask them to share their thoughts.

Best regards,

Michelle