How to Make the Most of Your Design Skills
You should feel lucky if you’ve got an eye for design; it is a rare talent, one that many people wish they had, like me! (That's why I hire Linden Eller to do my illustrations!) There’s something powerful in not only knowing what looks good but having the vision and foresight to put it together in the first place.
If you have this skill, congratulations (so jealous!) then it’s in your best interest to get as much use out of it as possible.
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There are, after all, various ways to make the most of design skills, in both a personal sense and in the wider marketplace. Let's take a look at a few ways below.
In Your Home
First things first: if you’ve got an excellent eye for what works, then show it off in your home. This makes your maison feel more like “yours,” since it’ll have touches of your personality splashed all over it, and it can also help to get your portfolio underway.
Once people have seen how well you’ve designed your property, they might just ask you to work on their home or business premises. Plus, your home gives you a chance to work on your skills in a relatively risk-free environment.
I am currently dying over lifestyle blogger, A Side of Sweet's most recent studio makeover – what she did in her new home is truly an inspiration! She lives in a design-forward area of San Francisco and I interviewed her a few years back – she is amazing! Follow her Instagram for colorful design ideas – or heck, to just add color into your life!
Put Together a Course
You may have been born with an eye for good design, but it’ll be your education and experience that sets you apart from the crowd. If you’ve become something of an expert in the world of design, then why not look at sharing all that you’ve learned with other people? These days it’s easy to do and can be a great way to build a passive income.
Once you’ve put together the course, take a look at a Learning Management System (LMS) Marketing, to build the course and an audience. The good thing about this approach is that once the course is ready, you’ll only need to slightly tweak and amend things in the future.
Become a Consultant
Good design has never been more important. If anyone doubts it, just think about what makes you buy one bottle of water over enough: it’ll be the design of the bottle that makes the difference. The product is the same! As such, there is plenty of work to be had for people with design skills. This can involve designing offices, products, logos and other areas of branding (such as blogs!), and so on.
Look at offering your skills, and see who’s interested. The good thing about becoming a consultant is that you can charge much more than you would normally make per hour as an employee. Alternatively, you can also put your skills to good use without getting paid by helping your friends and family design their home!
No matter which area of design you have in interest, there’s little value in leaving your design skills sitting on the shelf. Whether it’s through showcasing your talents in your home or working with others, it’s a skill that deserves as wide an audience as possible, and one that can bring in cash while making the most of your passion.
How about you? Do you have an eye for design or do you have to admire it in others like me? Do tell!