We live in an era where we depend on the Internet more and more every day. We constantly check our email, communicate with our loved ones on the Internet, share videos and funny cat pictures, make our shopping online and pay our bills. Naturally, the need for graphic designers has also increased in the last years and these kind of jobs don’t remain available for a long time.

So how do you stand out of the crowd in the sea of graphic designers out there? A genuine desire to get better at what you’re doing and the passion to always set bigger goals are two things you should always keep in mind as a graphic designer. In the following lines we’ll explore what else will help you step up your game.

You should be able to objectively assess how talented you are, know your strengths and limitations and find out how you can improve yourself. Focusing on your problem areas can work wonders once you’ve identified exactly what they are. And of course developing what you’re already skilled at won’t harm you either. If you find it difficult to look at yourself objectively and assess your traits, you could get a better grasp of where you’re standing by asking your peers for an honest opinion about the work you do.

By finding the hidden talents you may possess, you’ll be taking another step towards becoming a better graphic designer. Self-assessment is essential because it will help you grow and develop not only in your career but also in your personal life. So you can start by finding out if you can take cool photos or even if you’re talented at writing. Further developing other skills will be worthwhile in the long run.

Even if you’re talented at something that is seemingly unrelated to being a graphic designer, you can turn that in your advantage. Whether you’re a massive George R. R. Martin fan, or you need to run 5k every day to feel like yourself, or you love to experiment with cooking (although afterwards the kitchen looks like the aftermath of a war), all your hobbies will work with on setting yourself apart from the other graphic designers.

The way you choose to spend your leisure time also shapes your perspective on the world. It’s always good to experience as many new things as possible and strive to broaden your horizon.

It’s not worth worrying over things or never trying to overcome your limitations. Fun begins at the end of your comfort zone, and you’ll find you’re proud of yourself after trying out new things or doing stuff that scare you.

Setting yourself apart may not be as easy as it seems. As a freelancer, you should remember to be honest, friendly and positive. Having a sense of humor will help you keep your optimism up and overcome possible failures more lightly. You should try to listen more than you speak and have an engaging conversational tone when you talk to your clients. You should stay away from stating your political or religious views as well as from slang and profanity.

Investing precious time and sustained effort in your clients is always a good idea, especially if you are an independent designer. However, you should keep in mind that going the extra mile for keeping your customers satisfied and feeling cared after will often imply meeting with almost impossible deadlines, working over hours and at unreasonable hours, holding more than one meeting to get your point across.

In order for everything to go on as smoothly as possible always focus on drafting crystal clear contracts, on justifying any potential additional charges before hand and on providing your customers top notch services.

By possessing distinct talents and business skills you’ll always get noticed and remembered by your customers who’ll come back to you and recommend you to their friends if they received impeccable services. If you’re focused and have an intelligent approach to your work, if you’re not scared to take risks and experiment with new things and new techniques, your shining results will speak for themselves and will bring new clients to your doorstep.