it can be tough to break into the graphic design business… I’ve had a few people ask me “what’s the best way to get started?” I’m not sure the method I suggest is the best but it worked for me and I’ve been in the business for over fourteen years… here is what I e-mailed out a few nights ago…

the first thing your friend should do is focus on getting a portfolio together… if she’s having a hard time finding someone to hire her have her make up company names, bands, organizations etc and do designs for them… this is how I got my start… I had 10 “fake” designs, (they’ll always look better because you have the final say in the art direction) I started shopping them around and eventually started to get real orders… over time i removed the fake designs and replaced them with real ones…

tell her to go to every business networking event she can find, meet as many people as possible, volunteer her services to charities, get involved in events where newspapers / tv will be present.

tell her to always try and be as original as possible, don’t get stuck in a creative rut where everything starts to look the same… explore design communities in other countries online to see what’s hot in other parts of the world… portugal, hungary, russia and japan always have something cool on the go