At the beginning of my career I felt like I had so much to learn yet knew what I ultimately wanted to be doing. It was like being at the bottom of the mountain — I could see the summit but had too many different routes from which to choose to get there. I knew I wanted to get into graphic design and art direction for the fashion industry, but wasn’t sure whether branding was the right route. At times I thought I should be in editorial design or working at a small graphic design studio but in the end, working for a big branding firm was a blessing in disguise. It taught me to look at the bigger picture and gave me the confidence to apply what I had learned to smaller brands once I went out on my own.

I think young designers should try their best to get hired. I know a handful of designers who want to go freelance straight out of school, but I think that more often than not, it’s a mistake. Personally, I wouldn’t have been ready to go out on my own without seeing what it was like to work at a graphic design studio first. It was important for me to understand the structure of a studio, from design to client management, as well as internal roles and operations, such as business best practices. With that knowledge you will be in a good position to NOT get hired, and essentially hire yourself.

Yes, I wish I knew how to code websites! I’m kidding, I don’t regret not knowing things at the time. Not knowing is the best way to learn. I only wish I asked more questions to the people I admired the most.

Our studio has a pretty well oiled process at this point. We have status lists, internal check-ins and checklists to ensure our projects are running efficiently. We aren’t super rigid about process but we are process oriented — we leave room for detours, spontaneity and creativity — but it’s important to have structure. Without project scoping and a model go-to process, things could get a bit out of control. Creativity, especially in a commercial setting, needs structure. In terms of practical online tools, we use Google Docs for shared documents, Wunderlist for keeping track of our list of to-do’s and Harvest for tracking our time spent on projects. Tracking our time is essential for billing and for understanding how to scope future projects.

I personally loved looking at art and photography books as a young designer. If you are into design for fashion and art direction I would suggest Graphic Design for Fashion  by Jay Hess & Simone Pasztorek and Fashion & Graphics  by Tamsin Blanchard.