How to be a graphic designer, without losing your soul
by Adrian Shaughnessy

Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press (September 22, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1568985592

There are a few typical routes into the world of professional graphic design. A hopeful designer may attend design school and learn all about color theory, typography and semiotics; she may attend a trade school and learn about the technical aspects of producing design projects; if she is really wild, she may come to design from marketing, and have a good grasp of the business goals behind her work. But rarely do designers, no matter their route, have any sort of understanding of how to develop their careers and land the kind of clients that they want. In How to be a graphic designer, without losing your soul, UK designer and design writer Adrian Shaughnessy attempts to address the shear absence of education on this subject.

To be clear, Shaughnessy’s book is not meant to be a guide for filing taxes or writing contracts. Instead, it takes a bigger picture of what a modern graphic designer needs to know and do to be successful in this industry. This includes advice on how to find a job, how to work freelance, and how to set up a studio. It is this latter option that seems to really grab Shaughnessy’s attention, and he devotes five full chapters to it. However, this proves to be too narrow a perspective, and it keeps the book from being all that it could be. While Shaughnessy makes many good observations, the book feels more like a conversation with a guy who has been pretty successful than a truly comprehensive guide to the life of the modern designer.

In his perspective on the world of design, Shaughnessy effectively outlines the schizophrenia that is so rampant in our industry. On the one hand he says that design should have “a cultural and aesthetic value beyond the mere trumpeting of commercial messages.” Designers, Shaughnessy argues, should speak with individual voices; their points of view should come across in their work. And yet, in practically the next breath, he talks about the “familiar problem” of designers who are “pleasing themselves at their client’s expense.” While there is no absolute contradiction here, Shaughnessy never even addresses the fact that it is this very desire to speak in one’s own voice that directly leads to designers who design for awards rather than for their clients.

Likewise, Shaughnessy takes the view that design is an exceptional practice, one “having something to do with the soul.” To that end, he argues that you cannot use traditional marketing tools such as cold-calling, direct mail or “ubiquitous e-mail spam” to sell design. Aside from the pure arrogance of the position (c’mon, “something to do with the soul”?) this is terrible advice in a book meant to help people learn how to sell design. As much as all of us love design, we must never forget that design is simply another B2B professional service. And like any other professional service, the secret to selling it is to address the practical and emotional needs of your target audience.

For all of my criticism, I do recommend the book. Shaughnessy’s style is approachable and easy to read. Moreover, his recommendations for designers to act professionally are invaluable, and his insights into the creative process of successful designers are not to be missed. If anything, the chapter on the creative process was too short and needed to be even more fleshed out. I especially recommend this book to students just beginning their career in design or designers who have been recently laid off and are looking for advice on the next stage of their careers. Mr. Shaughnessy is a proven, successful designer, and his ideas deserve to a good hearing. Just remember to take them with a grain of salt.