How to make money as a beginner graphic designer

What is Graphic Design?

Before we start answering how to make money as a beginner graphic designer, it is important to understand what graphic design is.

From billboards and logos to the packaging of your food products. This is all graphic design.

Basically, graphic design is finding a visual solution for a specific purpose, whether it’s buying a product, watching a television show, or attending a major event. Graphic design really covers almost every visual aspect of your life.

Within graphic design, there are a few different buckets you can choose to specialize in, including package design, layout design, branding and logo design, or even typography if you like creating fonts and playing with type. are interested

Each bucket is equally important, although some niches may pay slightly more depending on your skill level.

Essential Graphic Designer Tools

If you’re wondering how to become a graphic designer, you first need to make sure you have all the right tools. Many of these can be easily purchased online, but remember that starting a graphic design business is an expensive business.

The first thing you will need is a computer, which can be either a laptop or a desktop of any brand. Most professional graphic designers will tell you that it’s better to use Apple products and have a desktop than a laptop.

I started out using an Apple MacBook Pro, and I had no problems with it, but I recently bought a Mac desktop with a much larger screen, and it’s much easier when designing small details. Check out this post on the best laptops for remote workers.

You must also purchase a subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud. Pricing for this depends on which package level you choose. I recommend buying access to all Adobe apps because you never know what you’ll need for a client.

If you’d rather buy a monthly subscription, then consider purchasing a package that includes access to Photoshop (great for creating web images) and InDesign (more geared toward print design).

Students can purchase access for only $19.99 a month, while I spend close to $50 a month to access everything.

The last graphic design tool I recommend may sound a little silly, but it’s always great to have a ruler handy, especially for print design. That way, you can get a feel for how large the printed item you’re designing is—if you don’t have access to a printer for practice prints.

9 ways to make money as a beginner graphic designer

There are nine ways to make money online as a beginner graphic designer, no matter what niche you’re interested in! If you’re wondering how to become a graphic designer, take a look at this list and start selling or creating some of these items.

1. Create and Sell Templates

This is one of the most profitable ways for graphic designers to earn passive income. With this approach, all you have to do is create any type of template, be it for ebooks, posters, invitations, or Pinterest graphics. Then, sell the templates online.

Many small business owners and bloggers who are always on a time crunch or don’t have the skills to create their own designs from scratch like to buy these products because of how easy they are to customize.

Once you have your own template shop up and running, you can earn income without doing anything other than marketing your products.

2. Share Knowledge Through Workshops or Webinars

Online learning is at an all-time high, and I’m sure many of you reading this will even attend an online workshop on how to make money as a graphic designer.

If you’ve studied graphic design or feel you know enough about it, sell access to online courses, workshops, training, or webinars where you introduce others to the subject who might Don’t know much about it.

3. Sell Stickers

Small sticker shops are on the rise due to the recent popularity of TikTok. To create stickers, you need access to Photoshop or Canva to create text-based stickers or an iPad for illustrative stickers.

The great thing about making stickers is that you can use drop shipping, which basically means you don’t have to be responsible for packing and shipping them if you don’t want to.

You can hire a third-party vendor to handle all of your sales, and you’ll still have more money in your pocket at the end of the day.

Great places to sell stickers include Etsy, RedBubble, and Society6. You can also consider hosting your website with your own design on Shopify.

4. Be A Design Consultant

If you want to make money as a graphic designer with high-ticket items, becoming a design consultant may be the job for you.

With this, you are basically selling an hour or two of your time to someone who wants your opinions and ideas on graphic design for their business. You set your hourly rate and coach and advise potential designers – giving them advice and pointing them in the right direction.

You can find jobs as a design consultant on FlexJobs, Upwork, or Fiverr.

5. Design Fonts for Creative Market or Etsy

Fonts are a great way for graphic designers to earn passive income if you’re interested in typography. There are many ways to easily create fonts, even with just your own handwriting, that you can sell for up to $100 on Creative Market or websites like Etsy.

6. Make Pre-Made Logo Packages

Similar to creating and selling templates, you can create and sell a variety of logos that are already set up as vectors.

This is a popular way that many small businesses that cannot afford personal branding packages to create their own logos. All they have to do is open the design file and change the words and colors, and voila, they have their new logo.

7. Sell Customized Branding Packages

Branding is one of the other high-ticket services you can offer as a graphic designer, as they can cost up to $4000 if you’re in high demand.

These packages include personalized logos, color schemes, fonts, patterns, and other similar items that help brands define themselves.

8. Work With Clients As A Freelancer

If you want to work on a variety of tasks, working with clients is a great way to go.

Working with clients, you can design a logo one day and then help design a printed magazine layout the next. More information on how to find these jobs can be found further down in this article.

9. Design Social Media Graphics and Highlight Covers

Social media graphics are another popular way to make money as a graphic designer. Everyone needs help with social media, and you can sell packs of social media templates or pre-made Instagram highlight covers for a small price that can add up over time.