Being a professional graphic designer can look different for everyone depending on the industry you work in, the type of work you do, whether you work in an office or remotely, and many other factors.
However, what we do know for sure is that graphic designers love the opportunity to create new and exciting experiences to visually solve problems.
In this article, we asked five professional graphic designers from our For Creatives Only Slack community to give us an inside look at what it’s like to be a graphic designer and what their entire day looks like.
Some of the professional graphic designers we spoke with work as full-time graphic designers for companies and some also freelance independently. If you want to learn more about freelancing as a graphic designer, I wrote an article about the 10 most important things I wish I knew before becoming a freelance graphic designer. You can read the article here.
What is it Like To Be a Graphic Designer?
Megan Luedke - UI/UX Designer
Orlando, Florida
Hello Megan! How did you learn about graphic design and become a graphic designer?
I’ve always been a creative person, but throughout high school, I thought I was just going to become a teacher and I thought I hated art. However, my high school art teacher knew me better than I knew myself.
She persuaded me into taking an Art Class so that I could support my twin sister (who loved drawing) and join the Art Team because they were short a few people. Our Art Team competed in The Wisconsin Visual Arts Classic regional and state art competitions. This required us to have a certain number of students compete in a certain number of categories, meaning most people had to do something they might not have been good at, especially if they were younger.
I was thrown into the Graphic Design categories and after winning a few awards and many many event t-shirt designs I taught myself a little bit about design. We didn’t have any design classes at my tiny high school (9-12 had 300 students), but I had access to photoshop and to youtube tutorials.
Around senior year I chose to go to the University of Wisconsin - Stout, but my friends still had to stage an intervention and convince me I could actually pursue art as a career instead of going down the teaching route. 5 years, 3 Study Abroad Trips, 2 Minors, 2 Concentrations, and 1 Bachelor's degree later I graduated and accepted my first full-time role as a designer.
What area of design do you focus on?
Product Design and UI/UX
Do you currently work as a freelance graphic designer or do you have a full-time role?
I work full-time(remote) at a Higher Ed Tech Company and Freelance on the side.
What type of projects/clients do you work with?
I’ve done everything from print materials and digital assets for branding and marketing to Product and UX design for mobile and web software all within the Higher Education Industry. I went from being an end user of the product to become the designer helping market and build the product.
For my freelance work, I mainly focus on Website and UX Design. I have two main freelance clients. One is a small agency that works with exclusively start-up space companies (think SpaceX and Blue Origin, but way smaller). My other client is another startup app in the Sports betting industry (which I know nothing about but they still like me anyway).
What is it that you like most about being a graphic designer / creative?
I love solving problems as a creative. I think there is this weird stigma that designers aren’t smart, that they just inherently have this creativity that other people don’t have. In reality, design is its own science, our problems are theoretical and psychological and we are solving them with art.
I also think it’s amazing that as a creative we are not tied to one specific industry we can impact anything we want. In my case, it’s High Education Tech, Sports Betting, and Outer-Space, three vastly different industries with vastly different problems.
What does a typical day look like for you as a graphic designer?
What are you working on currently that you are most excited about?
I absolutely adore my freelance work within the space industry. I’m a huge Space Nerd and I feel like the industry is just beginning to believe in the value of design and there is a ton of opportunity to impact and grow within the industry.
I also have a podcast that I work on called Design Atlas with my co-host Jens Bringsjord. This project is one of my ongoing exciting projects. Last year we focused on learning about design and creativity that is out of this world (Design + Space) and this year we are learning how design can save the planet (Design + Sustainability). This project allows me to learn and connect with creatives all around the world in a variety of disciplines.
What would you like to learn about to grow in your career?
There are too many things, I don’t think you’ll ever feel like you know everything but for my career, I want to continue learning and understanding how to make technology better for humanity. I’ve been toying with the idea of going back to get a master's in Human-Computer Interaction / Human Centered Design.
Where can people find you?
You can find my work on my website, or Instagram. You can also follow along with my podcast and listen here.
Jimmy Muldoon - Graphic Designer
Brooklyn, New York
Jimmy, how did you learn about graphic design and become a graphic designer?
I created camp flyers and posters in high school, then moved into hacking code for bands to customize Myspace pages. My introduction to design wasn't formal– it was inspired by bands, street magazines, fashion brands, and photographers and seeing how they visually complicated their ideas. I had a lot of jobs after I finished school; I worked in retail, was a barista, high school counselor, and even owed a construction company, but I always continued to be drawn to creative endeavors. I eventually decided to take the leap and go back to school for design and make graphic design my career.
What area of design do you focus on?
Branding and Digital
Do you currently work as a freelance graphic designer or do you have a full-time role?
I have a full-time role as a Senior Designer at Astronaut Monastery, but I also have my own freelance studio, Partner Studio.
What type of projects/clients do you work with?
With Astronaut Monastery, I do a lot of work for VC and early investors firms launching businesses into the insurance, fashion, and festival space. With my freelance business, I like to work with small local brands that are just starting.
What is it that you like most about being a graphic designer / creative?
The endless opportunity to create a unique experience for someone interacting with a brand's personality. We’re able to help people take their ideas and dreams and build tools to help them communicate that to the world.
What does a typical day look like for you as a graphic designer?
What are you working on currently that you are most excited about?
I'm redesigning a basketball league website, and we're going to inject 3d renders, motion, and AR into their brand experience.
What would you like to learn about to grow in your career?
I’m always excited to continue to learn everything I can about branding.
Where can people find you?
You can find me on Instagram, Behance, Partner Studio, or WorkingNotWorking.
Farah Al Aqrabawi - Graphic Designer
Ottawa, Canada
Farah, how did you learn about graphic design and become a graphic designer?
I’m a self-taught graphic designer. I come from an architectural background and graduated and trained as an architect. When I was completing my architectural degree, I had to learn how to use adobe illustrator in order to design the posters and portfolios that present our architectural drawings and renderings.
My older sister has been a huge influence on my learning graphic design. She is also a self-taught graphic designer who studied Interior Design and has been an amazing design mentor over the years. She is now a Branding Consultant and Creative Director based in UAE. I look up to her Branding design work and she is always my go-to-person with everything design. She is the one who introduced me to the world of Adobe and first person who taught me how to use the Pen tool on Adobe Illustrator. She also gave me tough love, so this means she didn’t spoon feed me. She pushed me to rely on myself and gave a few tips in the beginning. She always says “you can learn anything from youtube and google. And you learn by practicing” And that’s what I did!
I would sit hours on hours on youtube especially watching the Adobe Creative Cloud channel, Chris Do of the Futur, and many others. Gradually, I was able to successfully use Adobe Indesign, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Photoshop by the time I graduated my bachelor’s. I also would volunteer in helping in extracurricular activities in my program to design any required design collaterals. This helped me to gradually build a portfolio which allowed me to secure several graphic design jobs after I graduated.
It felt very fulfilling and rewarding to see that all this hard work has helped land these graphic design jobs and until this day in my current full-time graphic designer job. Back then in 2013, there wasn’t a lot of available resources so it was a struggle at first and Instagram helped in exposing me to other designers from various fields. Nowadays Tiktok has become my go to search engine for branding and photoshop related content too.
What area of design do you focus on?
I enjoy working on Brand Identity projects from A to Z and Social Media Templates along with social media strategy. Additionally, I have become more involved and skilled in designing newsletters this past year on platforms such as Klaviyo and Mailchimp.
Do you currently work as a freelance graphic designer or do you have a full-time role?
I currently work as in-house graphic designer a furniture store that also provides interior design services in Ottawa,Canada.
What type of projects/clients do you work with?
Working closely with OAAARS Founder, Simone Gamble, on OAAARS branding and creative direction since 2020 has helped me narrow down whom I want to be as a designer and the type of projects that align with my values. Since then, I prefer to work with social impact initiatives and even ecommerce platforms that center BIPOC voices.
What is it that you like most about being a graphic designer / creative?
Being a designer allows me to be a part of a bigger cause and make a difference no matter how big or small. I get to use my design skills to help someone make their vision becomes a reality.
What does a typical day look like for you as a graphic designer?
What are you working on currently that you are most excited about?
I have designed the brand identity for OAAARS back in 2020 at the height of the Covid pandemic and been handling all things design related on an hourly basis from social media to posters to any print collaterals. This is where I feel happier when designing it has a social impact aspect rooted in community and DEI. This is an hourly gig where I provide my design services for social media post design, email marketing, and poster design.
What would you like to learn about to grow in your career?
Lately, I’ve become more interested in learning more about UX design and product development. Particularly, Mobile app development. I’m hoping that next year, I can find the time to commit to a UX/UI virtual bootcamp.
Where can people find you?
I’m still trying to put together my design work on Behance but I have some of me design work on Contra, and a design portfolio on issuu.
Batzorig Tsergiinkhuu - Product Designer
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Bat, how did you learn about graphic design and become a graphic designer?
I drew a lot as a kid and even made comic books with multiple panels and characters. When I got my first computer, the first program I opened was Paint. I learned and studied Illustrator on my own with youtube videos and worked with a few clients on small illustration projects. I then taught myself and studied product design during the pandemic and have worked as a product designer since.
What area of design do you focus on?
I am currently a Product Designer, mostly focusing on delivering a great experience for desktop apps.
Do you currently work as a freelance graphic designer or do you have a full-time role?
I am a full-time designer at Centered.app, but I take a few freelance projects here and there.
What type of projects/clients do you work with?
I love working with early-level startups, where I can help shape the product and iterate fast. I believe I can learn so much more and grow as a designer faster in fast paced, early level startups.
What is it that you like most about being a graphic designer / creative?
I love solving problems and building things with my hands. The joy that I feel after solving a hard problem or building new thing piece by piece is what keeps me going.
What does a typical day look like for you as a graphic designer?
As I mostly collaborate with clients in the US (12hr time difference), I start my day pretty late.
What are you working on currently that you are most excited about?
I love how I can move fast between iterations and new features. I get to learn and research new things every day. It helps me keep up with the fast-moving tech industry.
What would you like to learn about to grow in your career?
I used to work with WordPress Visual Builders, but it feels very clunky and slow to me. Lately, I have been interested in learning Webflow and converting a few of my designs into real websites. The learning process is going pretty well at the moment.
Where can people find you?
You can find me at https://batzorig.co or email me at me@batzorig.co. I am currently in the progress of revamping my portfolio. (that never-ending portfolio update)
What does a typical day look like for you as a graphic designer?
Selina Eshraghi - Graphic Designer
Austin, Texas
Selina, how did you learn about graphic design and become a graphic designer?
I started learning graphic design in High School because I was hoping to make money on 99Designs. Although I never did, I did end up designing posters and flyers for student organizations. The rest is history!
What area of design do you focus on?
I mostly produce digital marketing content. I love working for direct-to-consumer eCommerce (DTC) brands. I have a strong understanding of the digital marketing of consumer packaged goods, so my favorite thing to do is work on emails, digital ads, and social posts. I also end up doing a lot of packaging work for these brands! So I've had to learn both best practices in digital and print.
Do you currently work as a freelance graphic designer or do you have a full-time role?
I am currently a "freelancer" in that I run my own design agency! I function like a freelancer, but I technically get paid a salary as an employee of my own company. Taxes, man...
What type of projects/clients do you work with?
For some reason I've worked on a lot of celebrity brands like Chamberlain Coffee (Emma Chamberlain) and Feastables (Mr Beast). It's definitely different than working for brands with no celebrity affiliation. There are more eyes, and these people have final say over creative. Some other cool brands I've worked with include Flying Embers, Magic Spoon, Jot, Alleyoop, Womaness, and Solawave.
What is it that you like most about being a graphic designer / creative?
There's always the opportunity to do cool work in this space. Every boundary can be pushed, every piece of creative can be optimized. Every single day I get to use both parts of my brain–obviously I'm creating art and using the right side of my brain, but I also get to use the left side of my brain as a result of working in DTC ecom, which handles a lot of data. I get to put myself in the audience's shoes and think about what would make me tick, and help connect these people with cool products from the sickest brands. At the end of the day, design is a form of problem-solving, and I think that's the piece I'm the most drawn to.
What does a typical day look like for you as a graphic designer?
What are you working on currently that you are most excited about?
I'm actually rebuilding a lot of local brands' ecom sites! Some of these brands I'm navigating to Shopify for the first time, which will help them make ecommerce a legit channel of theirs. I love feeling like I'm really getting to help a brand grow.
What would you like to learn about to grow in your career?
I feel so lucky to be successful so early on in my career, especially since I have no formal education in design (and actually went to college for Chemical Engineering!) I really want to help other people who want to pivot into freelancing grow their businesses, so I'm working on building my platform as an individual.
Where can people find you?
For design related content, catch my TikTok. If you want to learn more about being a creative in DTC ecom, check out my Twitter . And for travel-related content, and tips on traveling while WFH, check out my Instagram. And feel free to drop a line anytime at Selina.eshraghi@gmail.com or in the DMs of any of my platforms!
How Many Hours Do Graphic Designers Work?
While most sources will say that a typical week for a graphic designer may include 40 hours. After speaking with our graphic design professionals from our For Creatives Only slack group. I think a more reasonable answer for how many hours a graphic designer works is between 40-50 hours a week. This number depends on a few factors such as the type of company you work for, the demand of your specific role, the level of experience you have, and in some cases if you work from home or an office.. As you have read from our design professionals above, the workday of a graphic designer can vary for a lot of reasons. Some graphic designers like to spend the mornings working on projects and taking a break in the middle of the day. While other designers prefer to work straight through their day to get their work done. Ultimately, it all will depend on what is more comfortable for you and better allows you to have a balanced relationship with your work.
If you want to learn more about working from home as a graphic designer, make sure you check out my article, Can Graphic Designers Work from Home?
Conclusion
Being a graphic designer can be a rewarding and challenging career. After speaking with our graphic design professionals I think we can say that a typical day for a graphic designer can vary and involve many different tasks as well schedules. However, one of the most important skills to have as a graphic designer is being able to manage your time effectively and something I discuss more in this article on If Graphic Designers Need to Draw. If you want to learn more about becoming a graphic designer then make sure to sign up below for my Designing a Better Life weekly newsletter.
Also consider joining our For Creatives Only slack group where you can connect with different graphic designers, illustrators, and more. You can join using this link here.
