Becoming a Graphic and Digital Designer: A Guide to Careers in Design, 5th Edition

Chapter 2Starting a Studio or Working for Someone Else

There are at least two options when building a design career: working for someone or working for oneself. The former requires getting hired by an existing studio or firm; the latter, and more complicated option, is to start your own business. Some designers take this leap immediately out of school; others acquire more experience through employment with businesses on which they might model their own.

Hipster Studio Names

Old school names are not always as effective as hip names. With the current rage in digital business names like Google, Twitter, Pintrest, Spotify, and the like, design firms are taking on names that sound like music groups. Among the quirkiest are Psy Op, Heads of State, Change Is Good, Razorfish, Original Champions of Design (see page 58), Lust (see page 234), and Simple Is Beautiful (see page 260). If you are appealing to a youth cultural or artistic clientele, a name like my favorite, World Domination Studio, may work. However, think carefully about how far out on a limb you want to go. But speaking of music groups, try to avoid The Beatles, as we believe it is a registered trademark.

Increasingly, the trend is for young designers to acquire a minimum of two to four years of experience working in an established studio or firm to learn the ropes and the nuances of running a studio. Depending on the quality of the job, that should be enough time to then branch out into a studio or partnership. Yet there ...