how to be a graphic designer without losing your soul

Graphic designers constantly complain that there is no career manual to guide them through the profession. Now, design consultant and writer Adrian Shaughnessy draws on the wealth of his experience to provide just such a handbook.
Aimed at the independent-minded, it addresses the concerns of young designers who want to earn a living by doing expressive and meaningful work but want to avoid becoming a hired drone working on soulless projects. It offers straight-talking advice on how to establish your design career and practical suggestions - that you won't have been taught at college - for running a successfulbusiness. Within each chapter there is inspirational guidance from a range of international designers who cite their personal mistakes and experiences as well as a chapter of one-on-one interviews with 10 leading designers including Neville Brody and John Warwicker.
Read more at http://ebookee.org/How-to-Be-a-Graphic-Designer-Without-Losing-Your-Soul_111347.html#fC8LKbfUsSLBZEle.99

"Reading Response “How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul”: Ch. 5-7

This first chapter stresses the importance of selling your work - no matter how strong your portfolio or client list might be - you still need to sell your work. I agree, if you can’t stand behind your work, you wont find success. Shaughnessy goes on to explain that designers need to “jump high and jump fast” for their clients. Do we really need to bend over backwards for our clients? I feel that it should be a mutual relationship. Designers provide a service with respect, and clients should solicit the service with that same respect. Shaughnessy later goes on to contradict his earlier statement by describing the importance of doing ethical work and not giving into unreasonable demands.

It was interesting to read the section that covered portfolios and their transformation in the digital age. I have been thinking more and more about using a digital portfolio so I can have my most recent work at hand and be able to be selective in what I show for each job. Reading this gave me further secruity that this is a viable option. This also gave me a reminder that updating my website regularly should also be at the top of my to-do list.

Another section that really stuck with was, “There are no bad clients, only clients turned into bad clients by bad designers”. It’s easy to complain about clients and their unreasonable requests or inability to see how strong your work is - but reading this helped me to realize that its not just about their inadequacies. As designers we need to learn to work with our clients. We need to really understand their needs opposed to making them understand us. This doesn’t mean that we always say yes to a client, we still guide them in the correct direction, but always with their best interest at mind."

- (source http://katiesoule.tumblr.com/#5705758655)

This is a book that will be helpful in my work based learning module as it covers every aspect of being a graphic designer which will help me to write about the industry.