This project is an example of a Snakes and Ladders board game that I had the privilege in being involved in creating!
Many elements of this game, uses the Snakes & Ladders mechanics and adds additional aspects to the gameplay.
Additional elements included items such as game cards and collectible tokens. Or to be specific, Bones! Which were needed to complete the game and the end of the player journey.
You will find this post helpful if you are looking for ideas and inspiration to create or commission your own Snakes and ladders styled game.
I will cover my creative process and journey in helping to bring my client’s passion project to life – here is an example of a snakes and ladders type game. Which I had the pleasure of helping to create!
Or, as it was actually called in the end.
DINO BREAK
Creating a Snakes & Ladders type game
It is unfair to say that this is only a Snakes & Ladders game.
For example, when you play Snakes and Ladders, you roll a dice and move around the board trying to dodge the snakes and use the ladders as shortcuts.
With Dino Break, the game combines both challenging questions and token collection to win the game.
When the player lands on the spaces around the board, You ( the player ) must take a card from the deck and read aloud the questions which are themed around dinosaurs (palaeontology).
If the player gets the question correct, they take a token.
You need 6 tokens to win the game and free your friend.
This is an example of what can be done with Snakes & Ladders as a framework and adding to it.
To create the Dino Break game, including the mechanics of the game. It borrowed many of the gameplay elements from snakes and ladders and pushed it to new levels.
Extra parts were added to the game including cards, questions, points, and ‘nasty cards’ that cost the player points.
Examples of the complete prototype game
This is the printed prototype of the game complete with the outer box, game board, cards, rules, and tokens.
The look and the feel for the game were established once the core design had been created.
The narrative for Dino Break
Most of the core mechanics of the game were already supplied to me before I itemised what was needed for this jailbreak/snakes and ladder-type game.
Part of my core roll for this game was the creation of the game narrative. I created a story that would be told through the visuals and character design for the game. – The theme.
It was already established that the players would need to save or free a creature at the end of the game to win.
In order to win the game and free the prisoner, something would need to be collected throughout the game. Tokens, that would represent points.
This allowed for plenty of room for experimentation and the direction of the visual narrative. I took down the path of cartoon prehistoric.
Characters for the game | the players
The other part of my involvement in the making of this game was in creating character concepts. As an extra layer, I suggested that there should be a ‘good team’ and ‘bad’ team.
Protagonist and antagonist.
By default, you would assume that a bloodthirsty Dinosaur would be a villain. A big toothy dinosaur that eats little friendly dinosaurs or cave people!
I wanted to make this breakout game a bit different. Instead of villainous creatures. I made the cavemen the villains and the Dinosaurs the friendly ones – or the hunted!
The Players | The Crazy Saurs
As part of the game, I came up with 4 different playable characters ( and 2 blank playing cards ) in which you can play as any of the 4 different Dinosaurs or … Crazy Saurs
The Friendly Saur is the character you need to save from the cavemen. Collect the 6 tokens to free the Friendly Saur. As with the other designs, this character was sketched out and drawn in Adobe Illustrator as part of my contracting service.
The Cave Man
The cavemen were the villains of the peace in this game. I wanted to cast them as villainous thugs that wanted nothing more than to make Dino soup!
A “very rough” post-it note prototype of the game was sent emailed to me to inspect and decide and the best course of action.
I broke project down into manageable stages. Considering how I would need to achieve x y z on a budget.
Once the core goal was agreed. I set about roughing out the concept for the characters and the look and feel for the game.
Some minor suggestions were offered to the “mission” of the game. How to win.
With the concept, I took it as a snake and ‘laddersesque’ game and considered what we could do differently from a design standpoint. Everybody knows Snakes and Ladders – but what could be done differently.
I offered a range of ideas for the core components. Here is a rough list of core components for the game prototype.
Dino Break rough components and cutting list
Create the characters and character cards
Playing cards
Rules
Tokens
Game board
Top of game box
Bottom of game box
Other bits and pieces
For milestones for the clients and to keep everybody as involved as possible. I showed the project to the clients to keep them in the loop.
I polished the design until it was complete.
Once the visual design was complete along with the flat mockup, I sent the game artwork away to be printed.
Example of Snakes and Ladders board game – Dino Break
This game allowed me to flex my design muscles and jump in with both feet.
You may also feel inspired by this board game example to create your own project.
Thank you for reading.
"I was very impressed with the work itself and your designs were exactly what me and the child had in mind.
You kept to deadlines and were very punctual and took on board any amendments and got these done quickly.
You were a great businessman but also a fantastic person to work with. And you should be proud of the service you provided as you made one little boy's dreams come true." - Anonymous. (Dino break)
If you would like to read more on board game design related articles you can do so by following the links below.
This article is an example of an educational snakes and ladders board game. All content design, cards, characters are copyright to their respective owners. DO NOT STEAL THIS ARTWORK or claim this game as your own.
This post has been written to answer how to get into the board game design industry and what you can do to potentially get through those elusive hidden board game industry doors.
Getting into the board game industry is both simple yet difficult. When you know how and where to look, it Is simple.
When you do not know where to begin, getting into the board game industry is difficult, or at least finding the hidden doors is hard.
Boardgame design is experiencing a creative renaissance and there is no better time to join this growing fun and creative business. Nobody could blame you for wanting to work for a board game company at this time.
Getting involved in the industry is fun, creative, and rewarding!
What does it really mean to be In the board game industry?
Many board game designers are individuals and small teams with board game design being their passion. Their companies and side projects may run secondary to another main source of income.
In other words, their board game companies are paid hobbies that may bring them additional income and fulfilment.
These are all people who have got into the industry and make up for a large portion of the creators behind board games and the creative board game development.
Many of these smaller independent games design companies might be friends, partners, husband and wife teams etc which make up the board game ‘in’ crowd.
To get into the board game design industry, these smaller teams started to create games for the love of making games and published their own.
The smaller studios and tabletop game developers often grow their companies from a side passion to something that can earn money and allow them to continue to make board games.
Of how to get into the board game design industry and get involved with the big publisher to sell your game – that’s a battle in itself and are 2 very different doors into the industry.
Details below, if you are looking at working in the tabletop gaming industry, want to work for a game publisher or sell your game, idea or product then this helpful post is for you.
how to get into the board game design industry and work with smaller publishers and designers
If you are just starting out, looking to change career, or launch a passion project you can start creating your board game now.
There is no harm in starting small on a hobby project and working your way up to the bigger companies later if that is what you want to do.
There is also no shame in working with smaller companies and staying with little studios. By being part of a small team or going solo, you can get hands on experience with game design and development on many levels and in many “departments”.
As with various creative roles in the smaller outfits, it is a great way of being shown the ropes when you are part of a small unit.
But, even getting involved with smaller studios can be a challenge if you don’t want to go solo or you are just starting out.
Here are some tips on how to get into the board game industry and work with smaller developers and publishers.
Steps on how to get involved with (smaller businesses) in the board games industry
1 ) Have an interest in board games! This should be a given, but if you want to create some games, great! If you just want to make quick money, consider other careers.
2 ) Start creating games. Make it all about the game and the enjoyment of creating games. If you are stuck for ideas consider making a personal game project with a pencil and paper. You can make a fan game to, like this website shows – how to create a HeroQuest style game.
3 ) Take an interest in other games that have been created. Ideas rarely come from nowhere! Show interest in what types of games you like to play.
4 ) Sign up to board game forums and become an active member
5 ) Hang around with board game creators! You can attend various meetups and casual board game events
6 ) Network work extensively
That list of steps is a simplified way of what you can do to get into the tabletop gaming business and work with the smaller studios and independent makers.
There are many ways of accessing the industry and at varying levels.
And to be involved – is to be involved!
Enjoy games and meet people that also enjoy creating games, make connections In the gaming field.
how to access the board game industry and sell your game (small scale)
If you want to get serious and commercialise your game, meeting the right people is both important to this goal and challenging.
But how do you make these all-important contacts?
It is a case of where to be and where to look.
The most simple first step to making some initial contact in the industry is by going onto forums, looking at board game directories, and seeing what companies you find on Google.
This is the most straightforward, but in my opinion – not the most effective solution for making contacts in the board game industry.
Meeting face-to-face and showing what you can do is better. You can build up a rapport and discuss board games there and then. Be it at a show or a networking event.
So ‘where’ to meet these contacts and get into the board game design industry.
Get involved with the board game industry by attending shows and conventions
One of the best ways of getting involved with the board game industry is by showing up to conventions and shows and saying “hi”. Go to the boardgame stands, say hello and talk about your passion and see where it may lead!
Going to conventions and shows will also broaden your view on the industry as a whole. You get to meet companies that focus on party games, board games for the family, adult games, card games, poker games, RPG’s, science fiction, fantasy, games for young children!
There are too many to list.
Going to shows is a big way to build those all-important contacts.
Another way of getting into the industry, is through self-proclamation!
Self-publish your board game! “I am a board game developer”
I am a board game designer! Therefore, I am part of the board game industry!.
Another way to get into the board game design industry is by creating your own games and products. You may have already created your own game or aspire to create a game. By actually creating a game or products around gaming you can say –
“You are part of the board game industry”
To what capacity? That can be left to interpretation.
Creating a game and building a board game design career
The main focus of this article is on how to get into the board game design industry and creating your own games is early access to this.
I do not wish to deviate too much into the intricacies of creating a board game in this article. Creating board games is a skill in itself that deserves more than just a few sentences.
You can read more on creating a retail-ready game here if you want to focus on board game creation and selling your own products.
If you would like help with creating your game, you may also wish to look at the board game design services page or get in touch via my contact form.
Creating your first game or board game product is a great way of getting into board game creation. You can learn a lot from even just making a prototype. You can either pitch your prototype to a company or look at selling it yourself.
Getting involved with the big board game publishers (selling to and working with)
Getting into the board game design industry is challenge number 1. Eg create a game or fan game) and show what you can do. Set up a business.
But.
Working ‘with’ or ‘in’ the BIG board game companies is a separate challenge in itself, and tough inner circle to break into.
Because it is hard to get into, it certainly doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth it. Especially from a financial or publicity standpoint.
Here are few listed benefits as to why getting your board game into a larger board game can help your and your board game development career.
The benefits of getting your game in with a big company (selling your game)
Larger market penetration and industry coverage. The larger board game companies – publishers and distributors are more likely to have the retail and business channels to sell more copies of your board game in higher volumes. They might be good to approach after you have also (potentially) created a Kickstarter, if crowdfunding is a path you take.
Great marketing for your board game. At first, getting your name out there can be a huge advantage for the future and for growing your board game design business.
More revenue – Having more revenue isn’t the same as having a higher margin (making more money per individual unit) The the big retailers are likely to shift larger volumes of your game than just you on your own.
More on the example below.
Selling your game through a larger board game company vs do it yourself – rough example
Although “do it yourself” is a great way of getting into the board game industry, you will have to out a lot of energy into multiple avenues of the business. As opposed to the bigger business may be able to sell your game in larger volumes.
Do it yourself method
You sell 100 units, throw all of your time and energy into distribution and logistics – earn £3 (profit) unit for example per game. You take away £300
Selling your game through a large publisher or distributor (getting involved with the companies)
As an example, you sell 10,000 units through a board game publisher or distribution company and earn £2 per unit. (rough example – NEVER a guarantee)
Per unit, that is less.…
The publishers will take a larger cut – BUT – you earn £2 x 10,000 = £20,000. The bigger companies have access and possibly bigger selling power.
Not only will you be more likely to sell higher volumes through a board game distributor or publisher. It will allow you to focus more on board game development and design. If that is what you want to do.
To get involved with the large publishers can be difficult if you are starting out in your career. The next section focuses on how to get into the board game design industry and work with the big board game companies.
“The easier you make it for the businesses to sell your game and increase ‘their’ revenue. The easier you will make it for yourself.”
How to get your board game into the big companies, publishers and retailers
If you are board game designer and developer or an aspiring creator! You may have ambitions to get your game into the big publishers and distributors.
As with any businesses, and contrary to popular belief, most companies and buyers are risk-averse. If working with you and your game proves to be a potential risk with weak financial returns, they won’t sell your game.
To get involved with the big companies in the board game industry, make your game retail-ready and full or promise.
The easier you make it for the businesses to sell your game and increase ‘their’ revenue. The easier you will make it for yourself.
In other words, earn more revenue for them and earn more revenue yourself.
Getting yourself and your board game ready for retail
In order to get into the board game industry, I have written a couple of design-focused entrepreneurial tips that will help you in creating a game for retail in mind.
Creating your game and playing it is one thing but creating game that gets the attention of the bigger businesses is another.
* it should be noted that reading posts and saying “is that all” it takes is not the best mindset to start on. Creating games and creating games ready to be sold is a big time consuming effort and can be a labour of love many.
Tick boxing alone, will not guarantee the success of a game. Use your initiative, use critical thinking, and be prepared to try and try again to crack that industry!
How to work for a board game company (in house, freelance)
To work for a board game company you need to prove that you can work in a relevant field in the board game industry and also work as part of a team!
There are various skills, roles and departments for budding games designers to consider :
To answer “how to work for a board game company“, be it freelance, contract, or in-house, you should consider working on skills that will lend itself to the game company you wish to work for or with.
As with the list of skills and roles above, this is a glance at some or the roles and departments available that you can work in. If you wish to work in a more permanent position at a company or a board game publisher you should network and look on job boards to find the ideal position for you.
You may also need to be prepared to move location for most jobs if you wish to work in-house.
What is the ‘best’ way of getting work in the board game industry?
There isn’t a single and clear cut path of how to get into the board game industry, each journey and career will be unique to the individual.
To choose which is the best way, as based on opinion, experience, and observations on how to get into the board games business. I would say the following are some of the best and most prominent ways of getting into the tabletop gaming industry.
1) Have a passion for tabletop games or/and creating games
2) Meet the right people for your game niche and share passion, knowledge, and skills with games and creating games.
3) Attend trade shows and make contacts. Network with other board game creators * ( personnel and favourite/ best method)
4) Look on jobs boards in the creative industries and dedicated board game communities. Facebook and Board game geek
5) ‘Niche’ on a certain skills and keep scouring the communities equipped with a portfolio or examples of what you can do!
6 ) And above all else – the best way on getting into the board games is to keep trying if you are passionate about board games!
“We found these contacts mostly through trade shows and events.“
How to get into board game design industry | A firsthand account
I wanted to discuss my first-hand account of how I became involved in the board game industry and how you may find my story interesting or helpful in your creative journey!
I was involved In creating a party game at my previous job. It was created as part of “Product Development – innovation engine” which was a weekly process that was rolled out from 2016.
I and the team at the time realised that a game might be popular. It was inspired by something a colleague had seen on TV. I was sceptical initially but I was won around. (good job!)
We spent a few months designing and developing a party game.
The game was a commercial success and we went on to develop more products and expansion at the request of a large board game retailer. This opened a very wide door to more investment.
From there other retailers also requested the game. It grew in popularity in the UK.
We found these contacts mostly through trade shows and events. They were a mixture of board game distribution companies, smaller retailers, and high-street shops.
That was my first-hand experience in working commercially in board games and 1 first-hand example of how to get into the board games industry.
Off my own back.
I then started to find more contacts at conventions and shows. Many of the these people I networked with were a mixture of small independent game designers to larger-scale board game developers.
And to this day, I am always looking for ways of building new contacts and ways I can help independent board game developers create their game.
That was an (‘is’) part of my professional journey.
An example of how to start early – get your children to start making games!
This is an example of somebody that has the will and drive to create something they love! This person was undeterred by pessimism, cynicism, and the knowledge of money!
Just the want and the like of creating their own game. I think there is a lesson us adults we can learn here.
* For confidentially, I cannot mention in detail about the parties involved.
I wanted to draw your attention to this prototype by a budding game designer. ( my part was in the visual and creative design + getting it ready to look at )
The client started first by drawing a rough game on post-it notes and mapping out the game.
They had already playtested and worked out the mechanics before contacting me. They just wanted to figure out “how to make it”.
From the rough prototype. I came up with visuals, character vectors and ideas how it would look and what was going on.
I had the joy of designing the box art, the game cards, conceptualising and creating the dinosaurs, the caveman, tokens, and the board!
This is an example of what you can do if you decide to go down the self-publish route.
Having something physical to show looks both professional and that you are serious and passionate about the board game industry. This will be your early steps of how to get into the board game design industry
People are often tactile and like to look by touch also.
How to get into the board game design industry – The final answer
To consolidate and simplify the answer, there are a couple of main routes on how to work in the board games industry.
The main path is by making the right contacts at shows, conventions, and events – meeting the right people in senior positions at board game companies will put you at a strong advantage.
Another alternative way of getting into the board game industry is by creating and publishing your own game and making yourself part of the industry.
The final point for you to get into the industry is by looking at niche board game job boards or job boards in creative industries. Look on Facebook and Board Game Geek also
With many creative businesses – a big part of it is, who you know, what you can do.
Love (or like) what you do!
that is how you can get into the board game industry. Persistence, passion, and having a lot of good relevant business contacts in the business. And trial and error, luck and determination.
If you have found this post helpful, feel free to share. All the best in your board game creation career.
In your journey into getting into the Boardgame design business you may also find some of the following articles helpful.
Other helpful topics to help you get into the industry
The games and images in this article are all copyrighted, please do not use or distribute. Handy tips – how to get into the board game design industry and how to work for a board game company.
An interesting question came up when looking for things to write about, “why are graphic designers so arrogant?”
Wow, I was surprised at this oddly common question to come up when doing my research.
How to answer this is tricky, but I do have my theories based on experience and general attitudes I have come across. As a short answer, I believe that question has come about as a mixture of client perceptions and expectations, designers taking pride in what they (we) do.
why are graphic designers so arrogant….
The “yes sir” designer, the ones that take orders and maybe earlier on in the career. And the more experienced designer, offer advice and consultation when it’s not wanted or expected.
Some might call this unsolicited advice.
As a designer, you need to discern what is expected of you from either of these two main expectations.
Why Graphic Designers are so arrogant.
Good Graphic Designers, by and large, want to make a mark and a good impression. This could be why a passionate designer may also come across as being arrogant and being full of self-worth.
But, I actually think that the majority of the people asking this question are those that are not used to working with designers. Design, as such isn’t really a commodity that is easy to weigh and measure as you can sugar and grain.
At least, that is my main belief. And still, if asked will try to itemise my services for ease of my clients and new business.
What is listed above is my main view.
But…
Is there more to this perception – egotistical design?
As a collective generalisation based Google Search, are Graphic Designers arrogant? Are we pompous? Or is it the case that companies and businesses think our job is easy and expect less from us? OR they are just uncertain as to the different types of designers out there?
Hmm…
Are you reader, the believer that all Graphic Designers or full of it?
Is it the iMacs? Or the glasses? The style – ah… style do you believe we put style over the substance? Perhaps some of us do. But good design shouldn’t be just about style.
Here are some other theories as to why graphic designers are seen to be arrogant and egotistical.
Possibly…
Your Types of Designer & Non-Designer
Graphic Design has become more commonplace and a much more accessible profession, with somebody that knows somebody who is a designer. There dog, a neighbour, a nephew, etc etc.
This is both a positive and negative influence on this creative industry.
With the over-saturation of Graphic Designers on the market or at least individuals claiming to be, this has lead to the reasons as to why graphic designers are being paid so little. There is an overabundance design supply to design demand.
You can easily find a Graphic Designer anywhere!
Whether they are good or experienced designers is another question. The point being is there are many – too many! Claiming to be Graphic Designers.
You can find some Graphic Designers who are very skilled and talented that didn’t study go to college but these individuals are much rarer. ( as a note, a degree or higher education isn’t a right of passage to good design! )
But, by and large – when recruiting for internships in the past I could tell the “designers” from people just trying their luck.
These people just trying their luck types contribute to over-subscription to an already busy industry.
Some “just trying their luck types designers” were hoping to get another job of any kind. If the ‘have-go-designer’ had a portfolio at all, it would have been a bonus.
When you put the ‘have go designer’ next to seasoned professional or graduate or someone that takes the profession seriously, you may get quite a contrast in personality, experience confidence, and skill.
This is 1 reason I can think of as to “why are graphic designers so arrogant”, or at least alleged to be.
Not all Graphic Designers are the same, your ” have-go-designer, your IT come/design professional, the print house designer, the consultant, the art director, the junior, the middleweight, the senior, director!
We are many!
List of thoughts, opinions and possible alternative answers as to why are graphic designers so arrogant.
Group 1 – neighbours cousin dog used Photoshop for a weekend
Anybody can wake up one morning and decide to call themselves a Graphic Designer.
If they can download a trial version of Photoshop or get their hands on a ‘special’ copy, they can decide they are Graphic Designers without proof or qualifications, Unlike other industries, you do not need to prove you can design. Your life will not depend on it if you go with a rogue designer and your house is unlikely to fall down from a bad selection of typefaces.
Anyone can decide to call themselves a Designer, the bar of entry is low… and this can have an impact on the perception of the industry.
The neighbours cousins dog and your ‘have-a-go-designers” can parade that they can toss together a business card for £5.
There is no policing the ‘have a go designer’.
This in turn can have a negative impact on the designers that have studied and toiled and try to make design better day by day. These designers, the ones that take pride and love in what they do as opposed to your ‘have a go’ designers may be the ones that are sadly getting the bad wrap.
The designer, the casual non-designer designer that is just walking around with the title of the designer can be deemed an imposter by the professionals.
These types of have-a-go-designer may work at the printers, church, school, is a relative and friendly, and have self-depreciation – but you know! They have used photoshop for 2 days! So that makes that person a Designer.
No…
It just means they know a bit about Photoshop., knowing Photoshop doesn’t make them Designer.
There is a difference between somebody just taking orders and doing it in Photoshop to a creative designer looking to come up with solutions.
Price difference between the pro, graduate and have a go designer
“You are charging how much for a business card?”
– client, from the distant past…
Often, it’s not just a business card, you might need to spend hours drawing the artwork, sending proofs back and forward, and perhaps, on certain occasions – actually creating a brand at the same time. And in this instance, it was a lot more than just throwing a card together.
That £5 may reflect much more than you think.
£5 is less than minimum wage in the UK, if somebody is offering a card design service how can they afford to create it and live? Is This a hobbyist? Template service etc, etc.
If their rate is so cheap are they inexperienced?
For £5 is this just a bolt-on service to their main work? Eg design isn’t really their thing. They just added it on to make an extra £5.
There is difference in what you (a client) may expect from a Designer.
– One being – “just chuck it together” – The other being : ” help me out, I want my business to grow!”
I’m going to use the £5 designer as a scale and measuring stick. Or we can call the them the “£5-have-a-go” again if you prefer.
When you go with the said £5 designer, there is a chance that you are using a less experienced level of Graphic Designer too. Experienced designers tend to have had more practice in what they are doing and…
As they have got older ask for more – not less.
A 40 year designer with years of commercial experience and industry knowledge isn’t arrogant for asking for fair wage based upon their service and value to your business.
The chances are, the £5 designer may have aspirations to become that 40-year-old designer one day too. And then ask for a higher rate.
But what I am really trying to get to the bottom of here is this.
There is a VERY big difference between a designer of 2 minutes and the one 1000’s hours.
And I do not feel that an experienced designer with years of commercial experience should be deemed as arrogant.
If a marketing professional, a solicitor, or a nurse had plenty of experience and climbed up the career ladder would you judge them for asking for a fair wage that reflects their skills?
The big question to ask as to why you think Graphic Designers are so arrogant could be more that you may not see the value on their skill or perhaps … you don’t actually want the design work. OR maybe they are arrogant have much higher skills compared to thier actual skill…
You may be just going through the motions and hate all this design stuff and what it represents?
I have written below a list of other potential reasons why designers may be perceived as arrogant, based on opinion and experience, and paraphrased ‘things’ I have heard colleagues and clients say.
1 ) Why are graphic designers so arrogant… snobbery
Graphic Designers may be seen as arrogant due to what some may as regard as snobbish tastes. We scoff at Comic Sans, come out in blisters at the site of the laminating machine and make scoffing remarks on bad menu design when the majority of the world couldn’t care less.
comic sans monster!
But as Graphic Designers, we have been trained for what we do – or at least many of us have. We are charging for service that needs to go a bit beyond the norm. Comic sans, having its place on the rare occasion wouldn’t belong on a funeral parlour or an insurance brokers website.
The visual language needs to be correct for the subject matter. And when we wade in and say ‘no’ because comic sans does not reflect the brand of marketing message of the topic.
You may be baffled as to why. It’s not just about making things pretty and feeling that your personal tastes have been insulted.
Commercial design for business should never just be about your personal tastes… be it the designers or clients. It is about making the visuals work for the task at hand and suiting the target demographic.
Design as a service has a job and a role to fulfill.
Putting things in nice places, patterns, typefaces, branding, just part of it.
Snobby designers!
Stupid… arrogant designers! I’m going to laminate YOU!
I’m going to laminate YOU!
2 ) Designers may be seen as ‘trendy’
Graphic design is often about trends, being modern, being cool, and being in-tune with the current market. It’s harder and more tiring than it sounds.
Trends in web and trends in design are 2 very different stances on the word “trend”.
“Trend” is a word that is used a lot, and as designers we need to try our best to stay on board with what that actually is, depending on the context in which it is said.
Not all design is about “trend”s. But it is often important to a brief. This also translates to activities, fashion cultural habits etc, any many designers being cool and new.
3 ) Perceived as cool (Pretentious designers)
Amazing what you come across when looking through forums and talking to the general public etc.
Well…
This may fit with the view of “why are graphic designers so arrogant.”
Whats is the definition of cool, according to the dictionary,
“cool is slang for the acceptance, a badge of approval from your peers, colleagues, and the general public.”
Being cool, or to say something is cool and is the mark of approval.
It is true, depending on the industry that designers want something to be more than just ‘meh’. They want their work to be seen as cool or the best that it can be and get for an all-important cool badge.
I can see why arrogance and cool can go together and can also then see the link to cool – arrogance and – graphic design. Generally young, modern, and cool – trendy.
Now that we have established why design is seen as “cool” (apparently)
Arrogance by definition means this.
“ having or showing an exaggerated opinion of one’s own importance, merit, ability, etc; conceited; overbearingly proud and arrogant teacher; an arrogant assumption.“
puh…
Maybe some us do put too much importance on the aesthetics of a menu, typeface, advert – maybe it makes us look a bit pretentious too. Or it could be designer that things they are too cool, and their skills aren’t inline with other peoples opinions.
(just so you know, I do not believe I am the best designer since sliced bread, sliced bread is impressive!)
I don’t know…
I have found on a few occasions based on the opinion that is a restaurant is ‘too showy’, it’s possibly not as tasty as some of the places that are a bit less stylish. If I go to a restaurant myself, I can forgive a bad typeface. I’m not paying for a good menu to look at. I want to eat what is on the menu.
4 ) You actually wish you could do the Graphic Design
I have actually come across this on a few occasions.
If the client has a creative eye combined with thinking they are stylish, I have found that his can be a subtle of not so subtle catalyst for them believing that they can do your job!
I know, it is a right of passage! Bought nice shoes – can do Graphic Design obviously.
If you think that design is easy or at least drawing on a computer is easy then you’d be mistaken. Doing is one thing (kudos for trying) and doing it well is another. And sometimes, I happy to admit that even designers might fall short on challenging brief.
Business owner! Or secret wannabe designer. The true annoyance can come when you are not really looking for designer…
As a client you are looking for someone to do your artwork for you. – You don’t want a thinker, you want a hand.
5 ) Designers can act like they know more about your business than you do
This is a bit of a poke at myself and the industry although I’m happy to take a step back and admit that I don’t know anything about property, law or many other industries.
I will assume it to be a case of the client knowing what sells.
In response to why are graphic designers may be deemed arrogant, I can’t help but wonder if you, as the designer feel, as if you know about the target demographic than your client does?
Steering your client towards making the best design decisions that are in their business interest is one thing. ‘Pretending’ that you know more about their business and their audience is another.
Fellow designers, if you are reading this. You probably do not know more about your client’s business than the client and if you do it is not your place to correct them. You may think you are right, you may think you are helping them, but the chances are this will backfire – and you should also value the opinion of your client here.
Even if it cramps your style!
Your duty is to offer Graphic Design as a service for the client unless they ask for business advice too.
6 ) Design Hipsters
A playful bit of fun. Chances are, people call me a bit of hipster when I’m not in the room. Or at least I have not heard them!
But down to the Design Hipster thing. Those pesky design hipsters, they are everywhere.
Especially in East London, riding a penny-farthing without wearing socks – growing copious amounts of heavily groomed facial hair, eating in cereal cafes etc etc.
The hipster style (sorry way of life!) , is a trend. Remember how I mentioned trendy earlier?
There is perhaps a subtle youthful arrogance to hipsters. Trendy, unique, cool… creative etc. I’m cooler than next person and more creative because I have a beard etc.
The irony of the ‘unique’ hipster, is that there many hipsters… making them much less unique from one another. ( did you know you can do hipster quizzes?)
There are a lot of design industries in East London, and there a lot of hipsters in east London. Especially compared to the rest of the country. So it is no surprise to have designers that are hipsters. Design Hipsters.
Design hipsters may very well ‘deem themselves’ the lords and ladies of cool and all things trendy. They will never say it, they’ll just exude it.
We are young, cool and hip, wear lumberjack shirts, tattoos, beards, glasses with no lenses, we go to gimmicky places to eat, etc etc.
For you are a comic sans heathen! Hipsters are cool and there is a large chunk of the design industry that I may regard as cool and quite hipster.
But now… with design hipsters do you think that they are arrogant and cool because they are young and full of new ideas and you are the lords or beige and don’t like avocados?
Maybe! ( yeah… you’re jealous! ;-D )
7 ) Do people think Graphic Design is a “fluff” job!?
Over the years I have had various things said to me and behaviours that allude to some individuals that just don’t take design seriously for business. And you know, people are welcome to own their own opinions and I have come to accept it.
I will say my bit, but I will not try to burn myself out proving that design is both applicable and useful in business for many situations. I can think this, and say this with quiet confidence.
Clients will believe what they will believe. I have better things to do than converting their opinions.
But, still for those that think we are a waste of time. There is no changing some of their closed views. They will think of us arrogant for having some self-belief in our profession. They will most likely hold this view before they have even met us.
Some businesspeople outside of design believe what we do, to be unimportant – we just make things pretty. And if you are a designer, you and I both know that more often than not many fields such as website design, UI, product design, creative direction, etc.
There is much more to it.
Yes, the look of something is important with Graphic Design. But it isn’t the only part.
Just to quickly brainstorm a few key points with my profession:
Sell a product, make it look appealing to the target buyer user, branding, the user experience, is it easy to use, is it easy to read, does it make people feel a certain way, is it exciting, does it make you pick things up and want to buy it, does it illustrate, can it inform, does the design tie in with the bigger picture?
And then, how stylish is it.
Those are just a handful of thoughts and processes I use for projects. I do see the value in design for business and how it can actually help to make money, Not just from a design standpoint but from an entrepreneurial standpoint too.
Now, not every designer is the same, and perhaps some have inflated ego’s, and this how this question has come to be – why are graphics designers so arrogant.
But for some, you will never change the view and behaviour. Be it the ego of a designer or the contempt and ignorance of a client who lacks all respect for design. Just keep moving forward.
Graphic Design is by no means, the be-all and end-all to a business or a product’s success. And I am more than happy to stand by this both being involved in the creative design process and as part of product development for retail.
Sorry all, but Graphic Design alone is not the golden egg for business success and neither is many of roles as a singular.
The success often comes from multiple channels and talents and elbow grease from many parties, with the Graphic Design being one, not the only.
Design is important for many businesses as it provides a vessel for selling service, pushing a brand, and showing the user what the product is all about.
Design is important… but not the only important thing for business.
*One thing I would like to mention, and though Graphic Design is important for many businesses, you don’t want to put the cart before the horse.
Don’t use design negatively.
Don’t use design to sell a half-baked or weak product idea.
If you are using design be it for a website, social media, or print, make sure you have a real product that, if you were to take all of the gloss and excitement away from it (eg packaging) it would still be a great product in years to come.
Why are graphic designers so arrogant | final answer to a perhaps daft question
To answer why are graphic designers so arrogant in one attempt is difficult, as this predominantly a question based around somebody’s opinion and each situation is unique.
Initially, I would have put this question in the camp of coming from angry clients who were letting off some steam by doing a search in Google, but then I started to wonder whether this is an industry-wide opinion – judging by the fact it came up in auto-suggest – maybe!
Think that most of this opinion comes from differing points of view and general misunderstanding. A client may have some undeclared expectations of what and how they want a designer to behave and the Designer, depending on the level they are, maybe miss-aligned with their clients’ or employers’ expectations.
An eager Graphic Designer may also be caught between the narrow gap of offering a service and offering their experience at the same time –
“Consult me… but do as you are told.”
in other words rock and a hard place. There isn’t an easy way through this apart from early communications and trying to gauge how your clients and co-workers all gel as a team.
Which if you would like to see other opinions feel free to do so.
The following statements could also be potential factors for designers being perceived as having an ego.
– Many designers strive for perfect design, sometimes to the detriment of a deadline. Occasionally, ‘boshing’ it together is all that is needed for the brief when it is of lower value to the business objective. This may come off a strange stubbornness where ‘design’ takes total precedence and important above all else – thus the arrogance badge.
– Designers will more often than not try to treat their profession as an art. When more often than not it should be seen as they are offering a service to your / the business above all else. In other words, we can become very emotionally involved a good project.
– They can’t let it go. A proud and stubborn designer just can’t let a cool idea go and who could blame them! Designers should strive to make the next best thing for design! But this in turn can lead to a difference of opinion and project wrestling match.
– Some businesses/professions / individuals and fellow colleagues don’t ‘really’ believe in the value of design. They see you as the creator of fluff and as a low-skilled pretender. And when that lack of respect for you and the profession becomes evident, this can lead to a wrestling match again. Graphic Designers will probably defend their role and profession, perhaps in passive-aggressive ways – pomp, superiority, when a client makes them (us) feel of low worth. – insecure.
– Cool kids with glasses. As much as I find it a bit shallow, as a professional designer, I try to keep my fingers on the pulse with the latest looks in retail and business. In school, you’d been called a “trendy’ and this can also add to that images of being smug and egotistical.
– Push their design evangelism. If the designer is so passionate – so obsessed with the value of design, have read too much Steve jobs, they may be uncompromising in their vision and too new from college. They may be yet to learn when to compromise in areas of their design for the good of the business.
It a nutshell, there isn’t one easy and single answer to ‘arrogance’ in the field. As designers are people and people are different from each other. You will always come across pomp and superiority whether it is the business owner vs designer, designer vs developer and so on.
A question to consider is ‘why there isn’t more unity in trying to meet a common goal in business?’ Most of the reasons listed above cover this but wouldn’t it be ideal if we’re all truly on the same page.
There could be 100’s of other smaller reasons as to why you believe Graphic Designers are so arrogant or if you have been called an arrogant designer. It could be just a case of attitude, ignorance or even inexperience!
– “why graphic designers are so arrogant”
What do I feel about my Designers!?
Think us designers are alright if I don’t say so myself!
I only consider our arrogance and man-buns from time to time. In-between projects and perhaps brewing a tea! I’ve personally not come across too much of it with regards to arrogance. The only thing I might say is ‘Sales’ have regarded design as support (joking, I think) when the design was an integral part of the whole process. Otherwise, they would have been selling much less interesting products.
Us cool designers, flexing our design muscles, power curling avocados 😀
Thank you for reading! I hope this post has answered a few thoughts and queries with both humour and sincere attempt at answering a tricky question.
How to make a STEM product to sell: I wanted to share this knowledge on how myself and my past colleagues went about designing and creating STEM products that were sold in retail stores across the UK and Europe and other countries across the world.
When considering how to make a STEM product to sell there are many factors to consider before you open up a CAD or design program.
You need to consider your audience, the budget, how to keep the cost down, and whether the product is actually good enough.
Those are the basic steps.
In order to make a STEM product to sell, you will also need to observe the competition, look at similar products, identify a demand, and the manufacture a product. You will also at this stage look at how to make a product as cost-effective as possible.
This post covers how to design cost-effective models, develop a product, and then prepare it for sale “make it retail-ready” if you are looking at ways to potentially monetise your idea for the future. Or “How to develop a product for under a £1”
The items shared in this post are actual products that were designed by myself whilst working at gadget and gifting company that sold 10,000s of units across the globe.
Most of this post is written from a design perspective but the all-important money stages have not been skimmed over.
Many of the products listed on this page are geared towards, science, tech, and learning all of which will help you when you to want to design your product.
How to make a STEM product to sell | preparation
In short, we created products that would both satisfy demand and be affordable in a retail environment.
In order to keep things affordable, having production costs low was never far from our minds.
We took into account the materials needed to be cheap and time was very precious, and we also wanted to avoid too much trail an error where possible.
The example here is called the “3D hologram”. After many hours trawling the internet, watching gadget videos and looking for cool products for smartphones we arrived at this.
A packaged 3D Hologram for your smartphone.
So the first stage is to check and research to see what the competition is doing and whether there is a demand for the product.
After this step, what can you can do differently and how could we carve a product out in a busy retail environment.
How did we know if it would sell?
In a few of words … we didn’t.
But we tried to do as much early research as possible to increase the possibilities that this product would stand a good chance, but there was no guarantee.
As mentioned before. Do your homework to test the waters. Try to make it more than a hunch!
If your product falls flat, even the How to develop a product for under a £1 motto won’t count for anything if there isn’t a want or demand.
When I was brainstorming with the team and sharing ideas on how to make a STEM product, we arrived at the conclusion that creating the 3D hologram would be a great item to go with.
It was educational, it was tech and the network of ready retailers was there.
We put hours and hours into the research stage.
Don’t rush the research stage and do not cut corners or “trim the fat”
These are some of the factors we used to grill the idea and see if it was a viable STEM / or learning product we could sell:-
STEM and learning products was a growing market
Many customers were asking for “learning” and build your own type of products
Researching various websites gave us statistics and the assurance that the product was likely to sell.
We didn’t want to leave to much to chance. But, even with all the research and careful consideration…
There is no guarantee that the product ‘would’ sell.
But doing so on all products if you are wanting to make money from your idea should be thoroughly researched.
Do your homework!
( for the record, this product did sell! Phew..! )
Grill your product idea | next step
Get an idea, love it a little bit, season it with joy, and a healthy dose of optimism. Then start taking it into reality.
Research to see if it is an existing product on the market, or whether there is a demand for your idea. If there isn’t a demand, eg there is nothing similar to your idea that doesn’t have an audience – don’t make it. (sorry you are not Steve jobs) end of the first mean hurdle.
See if people may want it. Scour the internet, see if there are communities, websites, shops, and products to see if there is a modern audience on the lookout for your offering.
Listen to what the retailers are saying and try to meet their demands as they will have good insight into what is a popular product. If you ignore them, the failure of your product increases.
Does it fit in with the rest of the products that you are trying to sell? If you are an established brand there will be certain expectations of you.
I call this a ‘grilling stage’ for a product or an idea.
This logical and critical approach to your idea is important, don’t scrimp on it.
Research your product!
These scrutinising stages of your product are arguably one of the most important and shouldn’t be passed over. That lack of critical thinking for your product may backfire later in their form of the general public writing bad reviews or nobody buying your product.
In order to make your product a success, you will need to make sure it will stand up to the competition. Create a viable product that can be sold.
In other words.…
Really think about what you are going to create and whether people will buy it.
It is better to come to this conclusion sooner rather than later. Coming to the realisation you can’t sell your product 9 months after creating it will be bad for your business and you will most likely have to pay to store products you can’t sell.
That is the end of the big critical thinking stage of how to make a STEM product to sell. Leave nothing to chance, research the market, and always check cost prices of manufacture.
How to create your product for under a £1
Now that you have stress-tested your ideas, you need to consider ways to manufacture your product for as cheap as is necessary without forgoing the quality of your product, and I can’t stress this enough…
The quality of your product matters, be this high-end STEM or learning product or an entry-level gadget.
People care about what they are spending, even if it is only £5.
Make it the best it can be for however much you can afford, and if it falls short of being anywhere near the best it can be, wait. Or perhaps consider doing a Kickstarter.
In the past, and on current projects, I take practical steps in order to make a minimum viable product that I feel is worthy of being to be sold. I take pride in what I do, and so should you!
When creating a product, you should always be considerate of the consumer’s wallet, keep your product affordable if you want to move high volumes.
But in order to consider how much your customer can spend, you need to consider how you can keep the production costs lower.
More of this is mentioned below.
Product Development Opinion
This is a personal opinion but none the less one I would advise you should take heed of as a business of 2020+.
Don’t make rubbish! Don’t make a product that offers very little to consumers, makes the world a worse place, or is generally complete landfill!
A product that fails after a couple of uses is a product that is arguably a waste of resources, a bad experience for the customer, harmful to the brand, and terrible for the environment.
Be considerate of what you are making, both at the start, middle, and end of the product’s life.
No amount of clever packaging or marketing should disguise a bad product, even if it was developed for under £1!
I like to believe the products shown here were fun and beneficial and that the customers and their children may enjoy them – perhaps even learned something from them.
The next stage of this article offers the steps and details of creating your product to sell or “how to make a STEM product to sell”
Checklist on how to make a STEM product to sell
1) Identify whether your product has an active market. Check that you have channels or retail spaces where you can sell the product. Such as a high-street retailer or online store.
2) Develop your idea, rough-out drawings – try to come up with something that is different but also easy to understand to the lay person. This will make it easier to market and sell your product with packaging or online.
3) After you have established the core product and drafted up a few different concepts, look for ways in which ‘features’ can be reduced. In order to reduce the cost and make your product lower in production costs, you now need to trim the fat. (create a minimum viable product)
4 ) Reduce expensive materials and unnecessary parts. Consider what the product actually needs and what will be of benefit the user. Does it really need gold foiling and spot UV on the packaging? If not then you should consider removing it.
5) Consider your materials: you can reduce the cost of your product by considering what materials you are using. Can you use something cheaper to save costs but still offer a complete item? Different plastics, reduce the size. Look at the compounds that make your product. Or consider using a card?
6 ) Get a prototype built. I would highly recommend creating a mock-up of your product. DO not gamble £1000’s on a product just because you want to save a few £100. Going with the ‘just ship it’ to retailers can seriously backfire and I have seen it happen! Your brand, reputation, and business will be on the line if you do and you fail this gamble. I would advise strongly – to get a prototype.
7 ) Reduce costs on the packaging. There are a few ways to reduce costs for a product and one area is certainly packaging! In the vein of how to develop a product for under a £1 so you can get a bigger margin, you can still create ‘well designed’ but cost-effective packaging.
The list above gives you an answer and guide on how to develop a product for under a £1, and how to make a STEM product to sell for your product line.
Do your research and study the market. And look at ways or reducing material costs.
Reducing costs on product materials
In order to follow the guidelines and create a product for under a £1 or a dollar. You will need to look for ways to lower the production cost without harming the quality, one of the surest ways of doing this looking at the materials.
In other words, creating a product that is as awesome as it can be … and stripping it right back to what is needed.
And maintaining some of the ‘awesomeness’ of the product. ( Awesome is overused, but that is the level you should be aiming for!)
These are some real questions I have asked myself In the past when working on a product.
Questions to ask when reducing the cost of your product
Does it need foil and spot UV on the packaging? Maybe remove it.
Can I reduce the thickness of the cardboard on the box? A good idea if it doesn’t compromise the structure of the box or product.
Can you reduce the size?
If possible, can you take any surplus of fluff features of the product?
In the example shown of the VR cardboard, which was created as an introductory gadget into virtual reality and as a learning/exploring product was created with the mindset of keeping the production cost low.
Below is a breakdown of the contents list for the VR cardboard, outlining the core components.
STEM Product Example (reduce cost)
STEM product cutting list: items that were considered in order to lower the cost of the product.
1 Silk coated card sleeve. This needed to be good enough to show the punchy colour and sell the product! Nothing else! I took the opportunity to use the area on the cover and turned it into a space theme.
1 fluted VR Cardboard (the product). The body of the product is made from white-coated fluted cardboard. Cheap enough to make and structurally strong enough to support the product on its own.
Velcro adhesive – in order to close the front guard and to secure the smartphone in place ( and assemble the product) velcro was attached to various flaps and arms.
* The plastic poly wrap – This may not be compulsory but some retailers may require this to sell in their store. The poly wrap can be good for securing the product and showing that the product is factory new and untampered with.
The ‘real’ cost of developing a STEM product to sell – from scratch!
In order to create a product that you actually sell and make a profit from, you need to make sure that production and running costs are kept low.
But there is much more to creating a product just the cost of materials and production.
Other expenses need to be considered such are the time, creation, design, planning, human effort, storage, packaging the physical size of the product to name a few.
If you do not keep the production cost low in early stages, this may have a knock effect when it comes to selling your product in retail or online, if it sells at all if it is too expensive for it’s perceived value.
In order to help you keep track of the money, reference the illustration below.
What is often overlooked, is that actual creation cost for ‘entire process’ and the buying of a single unit.
In all of these products in this post, salaries were involved, logistics, where to store your product marketing for the sales team to promote the product.
The list below shows a more candid look at the entirety to creating a product, something you should consider when trying to create your product whether for £1, $1, or £5.
Process cost for entire product creation
How to develop a product for under a ‘£1’ the whole process to selling your STEM product.
Scenario 1 – Actual single unit cost and stages:
Research and analysis
Hours spent designing and developing the product
Paying for a prototype or developing a prototype in-house
Making mistakes, the design journey, getting a complete idea.
Revising and polishing the design
Testing the product
Getting the card artwork ready for print and manufacture
The packaging for the product
Writing any manuals and conformity if needed
Creating marketing collateral for the product to help it sell
Taking product photo’s to promote it
Designing a webpage/website
Creating an email marketing campaign ( you can read tips here on designing an e-mail campaign)
These are part of the reality of creating a product if this is your first attempt.
From a pure design perspective, (myself being a designer) many of the stages above would generally be missed out. But being in involved in the whole process from concept to completion, I feel this is something you should know now.
The number of hours it takes to create the product. The testing of the product, the development. Marketing – There is a lot of work with many hands involved.
It would vain of me to say that the sole monetary success of a product hinges around the design alone. Don’t get me wrong, and I bound to say this. But design is still important for many products.
If this has helped you to take stock and evaluate whether you want to make a STEM product to sell, I hope it has so far given you some positive advice.
Before going onto the next section and showing you some of the STEM and learning gadgets I have created, I wanted to share some pointers to summerise.
Do your homework and see if the market would like your product offering.
Create a mock-up (even a low tech one)
Keep the cost of the materials down to prevent this inflating the RRP too much or reducing your profit.
Consider all processes
And consider who will be involved.
Prepare to invest
This is especially applicable if you are a small team and not just an individual making a product. An individual going about setting up their own product or doing this as a hobby won’t need to worry about staff on logistics etc.
At least not for the immediate future.
Whether you are a team or one day you would like to be part of, or have your own team. These points are an important thing to consider when you wanting to know how to design a STEM product to sell and how to develop a product for under £1.
In other words, how to create a low-cost minimum viable STEM product.
You may find some of the following articles also useful for developing a product.
Below are STEM, Science, and general learning products that I have designed and co-designed using the steps, principles, and methods as mentioned throughout this post.
The mindset of “How to develop a product for under a £1” was used when creating these.
This product tapped into a growing tech trend. A simple concept that turns your smartphone into a budget VR headset for under £5 for RRP.
With this pack, you had to assemble your VR cardboard from scratch! It was added as a learning and tech product.
And you may be pleased to know that cardboard engineering wasn’t as complicated as you might think.
The die cut was sourced from a factory and the artwork was illustrated by myself. The great thing about this product was you didn’t need to spend time to create the product from scratch!
So saved on time.
Learning + tech. So time was saved on the trial and error of creating prototypes as the dieline was supplied.
The product is made only from cardboard too! As the name would give away.
VR Cardboard Frontier
Following on in the same vein, this product was another low-cost tech product. Only that this one was pre-assembled and it retailed for £5 RRP.
This budget VR headset is another entry into smartphone VR. The blank diecut and sleeve were supplied from by a Chinese factory on request and I created the vector artwork and space theme in Adobe Illustrator.
I played with the idea of “frontier” with VR being the next stage of exploration.
For children, it was created to inspire a sense of awe and fun whilst learning when using the headset. And if they chose to, simply play a game.
It was created to appeal to children and be sold in places such as the science museum. You can read more about my vector drawing service on the design.
Freelance vector illustration & design.
3D Hologram – Mostly made from Cardboard and PET
At one stage, this product went on to sell in museums, learning centres and general retailers across the globe and I was pleased to find out that this was a success. (Thanks all!)
With this product, I was involved in the design and research spending many hours on how to make holograms and numerous Youtube video’s on how to construct them.
Have you heard of Peppers Ghost? If you are curious to know about Pepper’s ghost I would advise have a read of it on Wikipedia.
As this topic is based around how to design a STEM product to sell and how to reduce the production costs of your product I wanted to mention a few key points about this product in particular.
Example of “How to develop a product for under a £1”
The actual product is made from clear PET which is folded flat inserted into the card sleeve packaging. The production cost for this was very low!
The packaging is simply a sleeve which contains 2 PET holograms and A4 information manual.
Retail packaging is small and flat so more units can be placed on a EURO hook
The main market for the product was STEM, learning, smartphone tech, and gadgets!
In terms of components, there were very few parts involved. The biggest challenge was developing the product to a standard that it could be sold in retail.
Build your own telescope
Now there are a few things you may notice with this product. It’s similar in nature to the hologram which is a STEM/learning product and that has a similar-sized box to the 3D hologram.
This project was a collaboration piece between myself, another designer and how could I miss… the far east team! (Thanks Ann) to bring the product to life.
The nature of the product is that you can create your own product (build your own) by following the instructions. By the end of the process, you should have a Miniature Telescope
The product is used the same process as mentioned before, basically, try to keep the material and production cost low as possible.
To keep the STEM product cost as low as possible some of the following techniques and shortcuts were used.
An existing packaging dieline, (Hologram)
The flat pack get as many units on packaging
Card packaging
An instruction manual
Build your own boxing robot
For any budding engineers in the family, this product is a must – all the more if they like boxing.
My involvement in this STEM product was to create retail packaging.
I strove to make the box as appealing as possible with the boxing ring added as an additional feature that would make this awesome product even more appealing.
The artwork was created in a mixture of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. The Photoshopping of the robot supplied by a colleague.
The factory-supplied the existing dielines so no extra time was required to figure out how to make the box work. If time is against you this can be a brilliant time and money-saving measure.
*Assuming that the box is actually any good.
Technically, this STEM product would have cost more than £1 to create.
but due to it being from the STEM selection and carrying many of the principles I wanted to convey in this post I wanted to include it.
These principles are listed below in helping you to lower the cost of making your product.
Cost saving measure example
The product was sourced, requiring significantly less time and money to develop a complete product. Fewer growing pains!
An existing dieline was used for the packaging, another way at looking at how to develop a product for under £1 and keep the cost low. as no time would have been needed on the cardboard engineering and working out the sizes etc. A blank box was supplied, the artwork was created by myself.
We had looked at the market to see if there was a potential demand. Due to the nature of similar products, of the build your own. We felt this STEM product may have done well also.
Although the actual single unit cost of this product would have exceeded the £1 or $1 dollar mark. The product was so quick and relevant to our market at the time we grabbed it with both hands and made it our own.
In terms of reducing cost, as so much was ready to use straight out of the pack so to speak, it would have saved weeks of time and money and reduced the burden on collective salaries.
This is the end of my samples for of STEM and learning products. These products are copyright Satzuma LTD.
If feel that this post has helped you on how to develop a product for under a £1 or if you are looking how to make a STEM product to sell ( or both) feel free to share on social media or on your blog!
Enjoy creating your STEM product!
If you would like help on creating your STEM product or creating the flat artwork to go onto the packaging, manual or box feel free to get in touch. Freelance product/packaging design.
how to create a product for under a £1 | quick summary answer
In order to create a product for under £1, you need to look at reducing the cost of production, materials and also just as every bit as important, time.
Time can very costly for a business and looking for cost-saving measures is always important such as looking for some existing solutions which can be tailored or ways you can reduce trial and error.
Looking at uses low-cost materials such as cardboard and paper instead of plastics that require tooling will also reduce of making a product and help to keep below the £1 line.
Other tips for creating a STEM or low-cost product
Designs Bytes | how to make a STEM product to sell and How to develop a product for under a £1. All products are Copyright Satzuma LTD ( Cheers all back at Satzuma HQ!)
Getting noticed can be difficult in the design field. Whether you are a freelancer, junior or somebody that is looking at changing their career. This post is a list of 30 portfolio ideas that will help you with your design journey. – tips graphic design portfolio
This will (hopefully) offer some ideas to create an interview ready graphic design portfolio.
“There are three responses to a piece of design – yes, no, and WOW! Wow is the one to aim for.”
– Milton Glaser
How to create a design portfolio that will get you noticed
I
will answer a very quick question that I was asked recently before
going into the detailed list of how to create your stand out
portfolio.
Take
note, you, the designer will need to put your best foot forward if
you want to win that job. You need to show that you can do what is
asked of you and that you can offer value to the next role.
What you did yesterday is nice – what you are going to do tomorrow will be what gets you the job.
1 ) Do you need a design portfolio?
In short, yes. This is the first tip. Without a design portfolio, there is no way of ‘showing’ what you can do. Without any examples of work, you are relying on an employer, agency or client to just take your word for it. I cannot emphasise this enough.
Yes, you need to show that you are a designer and you at least have some idea of what you can do. Don’t tell them – show them.
2) include your best, finished pieces
This is not as common as you might think. Graduates, in particular, tend to put too much process stages into their portfolio. Although this offers a good insight into how you work, too much can be counter-productive.
Many employers are in a hurry and want to see ‘results’.
And,
I may burst a bubble here and go as far as to say that you may be
working as a creative junior artwork / designer if this is your first
role – even if the position is sold differently on the jobsboard.
Hopefully, this won’t be forever. But be prepared to see a lot of this when applying for work – especially in the early stages.
Many artworking roles are dressed as creative design work when in fact a manager or client may be telling you what to do, and… you may be pushing pixels around to begin with as a junior designer.
3 ) Show your technical proficiency
If
you have managed to find a job that is more ‘art and design’ or
‘illustrative’ then great! But if you are looking for more mainstream
graphic design roles you will need to show that you can create the
artwork in current programs such as, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and
Indesign.
Believe
it or not, whether you are going to a meeting as freelancer, junior
or senior designer. People will read your notes and they will want to
understand more of what is going on in your project.
You may know what your project is about but others will not, it is often best to spell it out in short sentences. It doesn’t have to be an essay. Just a paragraph with some annotations saying what is going on in a few words.
5 ) Make it relevant and appealing
This is one of the most most important points in this list so make sure to pay attention. Make sure whatever is in your portfolio, it is as relevant to the job as possible if you want the position.
Employers
will want to see what you have done and also what you will do for
them should they hire you for the role.
For example, if you are going for a packaging role at gifting company, try to emulate that you can do packaging and that you have past experience in the relevant market.
6 ) Your portfolio says one thing, your CV says another
Saying that you have x y z is one thing. But if your portfolio tells a very different story to what comes out of your mouth or what is written on your CV it will be evident by the end of the meeting.
Don’t
bluff too much as you will just waste your time and hiring managers’
time. And managers and directors really don’t have a lot of time to
waste.
7 ) The portfolio is just woefully terrible
Subjective
but…
I recall reading a CV and thinking to myself how epic a candidate was. I jumped over to their portfolio and they had just 2 pieces of lacking work in their portfolio. Part of it was scrappy little advert tucked up into a corner of the page promoting a grave-digging business, the other I cannot recall.
It was pretty evident that this individual was not a trained graphic designer and that some people in the industry may have been outraged by what was trying to be passed off as a portfolio. In a word – they were bluffing it and portfolio showed it.
Perhaps
they wanted to change their career.
If
you are looking at changing career then study design, or at the very
least have a portfolio with work that shows you are capable.
Don’t
tell hiring managers how good you are, show them!
Also, don’t get me wrong, I don’t claim to be the best designer in the universe but you know… come on. I was hiring! My reputation is on the line.
So, make your portfolio as awesome as you can! Do your best, look at other designers and ask yourself some critical questions
8 ) Varied but relevant
The
closer you can keep your portfolio to the job match, the better. If
you have any relevant or applicable pieces that you believe can help
land you the desired position – include them.
You
what to show projects that are transferable to the position and
present you in a good light.
9 ) Not enough work
It
can be frustrating even as a senior designer to hear, “have you
worked for anyone else?” or when I was a graduate “is that all?”
from a recruiter. As a graduate, then chances are you may only have a
few good pieces of work and a final major project that takes up a
large portion of your portfolio.
Don’t be disheartened.
Create
more work that will draw attention. Sounds easy, but the fact is,
your portfolio shouldn’t stop once you leave university or college.
If you can try to keep your work up to date and keep adding new and
exciting pieces, this will carry you in good stead in the future.
tips graphic design portfolio
10 ) Personal projects
As long as they are good, polished and relevant, include a couple of these projects in your portfolio. It shows that you are continuously trying to develop and some of these projects are on occasions more interesting than your commercial projects.
11 ) ‘Discuss’ projects
With
your printed portfolio, be ready to discuss not just what you did in
the project, but for what purpose. For example, if your aim was to
sell a product, mention this in notes and be prepared to elaborate if
you are asked questions.
Keep
the notes small and too the point but, try to write it in a way that
will invite questions and open discussion.
12 ) Real-life examples
If
you have created any real-life examples of your work be it packaging,
stationery, retail displays take photos of these and add them to your
portfolio too.
Aside
from breaking up your portfolio and keeping it interesting, having
real-life examples adds an authenticity to the project that a render
of a flat image cannot replace.
If you don’t have photos or real-life examples them create your own renders and visual mocks ups to show your work in action! And if you don’t have the ability to create visualisations, you could always consider using a website such as Graphic Burger for freebie mockups.
Websites,
such as Graphic Burger have a ton of free mockup kits.
14 ) Have real products and samples for your meeting
Another
thing to accompany your graphic design portfolio is to have physical
samples of what you have made. So, for example, if you have created a
piece of packaging and you are in possession of the box – take it
with you to the meeting.
People
like to touch things – we are tactile creatures.
You
can always show some of the work in progress in your portfolio too
and then pull out a “here is one I made earlier”.
15 ) A ‘bit’ of the design process
Showing
some of how you work can offer a little extra insight into you as a
designer, as mentioned before. For me, I will often keep completed
visuals alongside some of the bare UI and snippets of code to show my
roles, methods, and stages of a project.
This is a small break in the list! 30 tips graphic design portfolio
Hopefully,
this has given you some ideas on how to create an interview-ready
portfolio. As a designer, your portfolio is important at any stage of
your career, whether you are a graduate or a senior designer.
It should be noted right here and now, that a nice display book for your portfolio is never a replacement for good work and eye-catching design. It is just tidy a professional vessel to show your best pieces.
Since University, I
have used a tidy A3 mapac portfolio to display my work.
Your portfolio needs to
look professional. Not stickers, No A level ring binders with cloudy
sleeves… slick and professional.
A3 Mapac
My personal favourite
that is affordable is the A3 design book or if you have some cash for
the sleeves too, archival cases.
Don’t use the cheaper looking A2 ring binder portfolio that you probably went to a college interview with. You are design professional now and you need to look the part, I would also like to remind you that you are in competition with other designers – with slick portfolios.
17 ) Art vs Design
I’m going to say something controversial to some – art & design, in most commercial settings, are not the same…
So, by all means, feel free to include some of your ‘artwork’ if it is relevant to the job.
But most agencies, unless you are an illustrator, are looking for a Graphic Designer – not an artist, and there is a difference.
If you look too much
like an artist as opposed to a design professional when you are going
for a design business role this can work against you in a couple of
ways:
Secretly, you want to be an artist and your portfolio shows this. Therefore do you have intentions to make this dream a reality? (leave the role in 5 minutes)
They are not hiring an artist (unless they are) they are looking for a graphic design professional for the position.
You will be frustrated as you probably won’t get to paint. (Who doesn’t love to paint!)
Make sure your skills and portfolio are in line with the job requirements. What you have in your portfolio will reveal more than you you realise.
18 ) ‘Artwork’ in your graphic design portfolio
As lovely as some
artwork can be, these more often than not offer an irrelevant
distraction sadly. They may look beautiful, but unless relevant to a
job or project it is best left out.
Or added to an alternative dedicated artwork portfolio.
If you have provided artwork for ad campaigns, an app or something similar, include it if you feel it offers something to the job. But only if, it offers something to role. Make your portfolio about the job and what you can offer to the job that will be applicable.
19 ) How much work should I include in my design portfolio?
This question has been
around for years and for as long as I have been designing – and in
truth. I would struggle to say how much is too little for your
printed design portfolio.
– For my printed portfolio, I try to hover around 14 pieces without it getting boring.
– I would say no more than 20 pieces in your portfolio.
Too much ‘okay’ work can dilute the great work. Be ruthless with what you include. it is a delicate balance of best foot forward and not selling yourself short.
20 ) Stand out with your portfolio
The tips and ideas listed in this post are elements of a much bigger goal – what can you do to make your portfolio stand out and get you a job?
Recruiters, HR,
businesses are busy and the chances are if you applied for a position
at a company in a big city they will have received literally hundreds
of applications. This is especially more likely if you are applying
for work in the summer holidays.
How do I know this?
Because I have been in the position of hiring for junior design
roles.
So, this brings it back
round to this point. What can you do to stand out in a roaring sea of
busy inboxes?
Create real-world examples of how the project came out, If it is a piece packaging then try to mock up the packaging. There are websites online that allow you to put together mock-ups if you can’t do this yourself.
If you have designed a
kiosk, stand signage – take ‘in situ’ pictures that makes a
recruiter say “you actually made this”.
If it is digital design
also, use web links to live websites.
If the website has
changed and you only have a UI, create mock-ups of the design inside
a computer screen or a Smartphone.
Assume that people will
only spend around 60 seconds glancing at your portfolio. What can you
do to hold their attention for longer? Also ‘show’ what something is
as much as possible.
21 ) Make your design portfolio snappy
Did I mention that
business owners are busy (or impatient)? Or both. I’m (and have been)
guilty of this. I would advise making it so that your portfolio can
be read easily and skimmed.
There may only be a couple of projects that actually catch the employers’ attention so make it easy for them to spot what they are looking for.
22 ) Compartmentalise and structure
Keep your portfolio in
some sort of sensible order. Whether this is by project or by a
medium such as print and then digital is down to you. Don’t jump
between projects.
It will help any
recruiter stay on track with what they are reading and makes it look
like you can apply some order to your projects. Being an organized
designer is a huge plus too.
Do I need a ‘digital’ portfolio?
Yes, in a very short answer.
I have been asked “do
I need a digital portfolio?” or specifically a PDF portfolio. 100%
yes. You do need a digital portfolio saved as PDF. Get this sorted
first as with the digital age, this will be your first port of call.
When I was recruiting for internships ( you can read tips here on getting a design internship) and hiring for a junior role, I would also need to see a PDF of work along with a CV. And shall offer a little inside sub-tip right here, right now.
After a time I stopped
reading a design CV’s first?
Think that is an odd
thing to add?
It would not be uncommon for me to read a great CV from top to bottom and say – “Wow this person sounds great! Let us hire them now.“
Then I would look a the
portfolio… it ends there.
I can recall looking at some of these portfolios and asking myself whether they were even Graphic Designers, it made me feel genuine pity for Graphic designers trying to struggle through and find work in the industry when these ‘have a goes’ were trying their luck.
Secondly. I had wasted 5 minutes of my time reading a CV of somebody that clearly wasn’t a designer. From then on I took a portfolio first approach.
Make both your CV and
portfolio as good as it can be. It will help you secure the
opportunity you want.
And to answer again –
yes you will need a graphic design portfolio / PDF version. It is
very important. Which leads to the next point.
23 ) Create PDF version of your portfolio
Moving on from physical
hard copy of your print portfolio. I will now offer some ideas and
insights on creating digital versions of your portfolio with this
being the first digital tip.
Create a digital PDF version of your portfolio so that it can fit inside a recruiter’s inbox.
Make it eye-catching
and don’t make the recruiter or the person having to hire need to
work for it.
Make it as easy for
them as humanly possible.
If you are struggling
to know which program to use to create a digital PDF portfolio you
can use Indesign and Adobe Acrobat and save as or export from there
24 ) Keep the PDF small
Don’t send a MASSIVE portfolio to the recruiter’s inbox. This will either take too long to download or may even get caught in a firewall.
So with this I mind,
and knowing that you should send a concise version of your PDF
portfolio this will probably mean that you may have to trim the fat.
Cull the stuff that
won’t help land you the job – next point!
25 ) Create A light version of your PDF portfolio
One of the obvious ways
of shrinking your portfolio is by losing some of the pages which make
it so bloated and heavy.
Lose projects and be
brutal with what you want to include.
If needs be, strip it
back to the bare essentials. And then decide what matters to you and
what you should include. I can be worth doing this every year. We can
call this maintenance.
26 ) Don’t bother sending links to download your WHOPPING great PDF
Please don’t.
Remember when I said ‘make it easy for them’ sending a link or a Wetransfer isn’t making it easier for the recruiter to see your work. Don’t make ‘them’ (people hiring) have to wait to download your 2 GB portfolio as this takes time and invites more problems for you.
I tend to strive to try
and keep my PDF portfolio under 3 / 4 MB tops so that I can attach it
and get it inside an inbox.
From a recruitment
stand-point making me have to download a PDF from 100 plus
applications makes it time-consuming and more difficult than it needs
to be.
So, don’t make a hiring manager download anything. Don’t waste their time.
It will be met with an
inner groan. You don’t want to make the person hiring burst a blood
vessel!
Don’t cause this | tips graphic design portfolio
27 ) Make it easy for the hiring manager
Make is simple. Don’t
send dozens of links to various locations. Have all of the big
content a single PDF or keep it all together as much as possible.
The more actions you
ask the recruiter to make, the more likely they are to get bored or
move on.
And you don’t want
that. They are people behind the jobs, after all.
28 ) Links to online presence
In addition to your PDF
portfolio, you should have some of your artwork online. And when I
say online, I mean on platforms such as Behance, Creativepool, etc.
Putting additional work on websites such as Behance can be a great way of showing off additional work and sending follow-up links. The bits of the process you can’t fit into a portfolio, or the bit of a project that didn’t quite make the final cut.
As a freelancer, it is especially important for you to have your work visible online but that is another topic for another day.
29 ) Deciding on ‘not’ having an online graphic design presence
Mixed opinions on this.
If this was for a job
for a classic print house then I could let it go – maybe. But in
this day and age with so much information, projects and work being
online I would have found it strange not to see any of your work
online.
Even as a pure print
designer. I would advise that you have your print work online also.
Here are a few reasons:
It will most likely be the first thing people will look at when they
want to see samples of your work – in particular as a freelancer.
Not having work online will age you – in a negative way (too much of a senior designer?). It may also be perceived that you may not have an interest in design trends etc.
I’m not mentioning that
to be mean. Even a senior designer myself. I have found this to be an
issue in the past.
30 ) Website Portfolio
You may not ‘need’ a dedicated online portfolio if you are just going to focus on print design. But, if you are gearing towards working in the digital fields then I would say yes – you should have some form of a website or at the very least an online presence as a bare minimum.
If you are thinking of creating a website I have written some tips here on how to start with some very affordable web creation options – keeping in mind, that the post mentioned is geared toward small business owners as opposed to how to create a killer graphic design portfolio.
A website allows you to
sell yourself and sell yourself the way you want to.
Having online a Behance profile means that you are in a sea of designers and you have to structure portfolio according to their rules and format.
Don’t get me wrong,
Behance is great. And I believe you should set up a profile today but
not at the expense of a website – more true if you are a
freelancer.
So… do you need a
Website? Is it compulsory to have one?
No and no.
But having one may help you to stand out and possibly look more professional. You need to give yourself an edge.
Summary | 30 tips for creating a graphic design portfolio
I hope these
suggestions will help you in creating a graphic design portfolio that
turns heads. If you also have tips for a graphic design portfolio
feel free to share.
I have over 10 years of
commercial experience in design – both digital design and print. I
have also recruited quite a few graduate designers that I see falling
at similar hurdles and I wanted to help you – as a graduate graphic
designer (and maybe another professional designer) get to the design
job you want.
For me, my issues were very different. My problem was lack of ideal clients and not really knowing what to do with my portfolio to get the right people to look – it was a long a painful journey and I imagine the road will always change, but if I can show a few worthwhile short cuts you might arrive at your career destinations a bit sooner. This is the end of the list | tips graphic design portfolio
Here are a couple of
inspiring quotes:
“There are three responses to a piece of design – yes, no, and WOW! Wow is the one to aim for.” – Milton Glaser
“No masterpiece was ever created by a lazy artist.” – Salvador Dalí
Graduate design tips
If you are graduate looking for some design tips read this.
Additional Resources | tips for a graphic design portfolio
Thank you for reading, if you felt that this article was helpful please share. All the best with your portfolio. tips graphic design portfolio
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