the design ducky

Recently I have been thinking very much about the topic of self-promotion; in fact I had a draft post dated September 2007  on the said topic. As practising designers this is one thing that never escapes your mind. It is important to be able to promote yourself effectively not only because you can land the ‘dream job’ but it is also good for your confidence as well.

We all know that designers has some form of ’self-doubt’ gene embedded in their DNA that makes us go ‘I don’t think I’m good enough’, ‘my work is so-so’ etc. I understand because I do have the same thoughts as well. So whilst surfing the Internet (and clicking through Twitter) I found this really funny yet motivating presentation by Whitney Hess on ‘Evangelizing Yourself’.

Whitney sets out a series of three major points on how you can promote yourself which I think can apply to anyone in the world and not necessary people in the creative line:

1. Share your message
2. Build a network
3. Exude confidence

I like how simple it is and how motivating it can be. In fact after I saw this slideshow, it inspired me to write this post so that I can share the same message with you. By the way, I love the chart showing the relationship between where you would want to be vs where you are at the moment and the resulting difference is the reason why you drink.

So to help you along, here’s a selection of inspirational and useful sites to start thinking of how you can promote brand “YOU”!

Five articles to get reading on self-promotion:

1. How to be a Design Superstar – Great article from Design Sojourn
2. Promote yourself without looking self-promotional – by Michael Martine
3. How to Land Your Dream Design Job -  A series of posts from Design Droplets
4. Five Steps to a Better Design Portfolio – by Jeffrey Veen
5. Five Ways to be Better at Self-Promotion – from Penelope Trunk’s

Five amazing self-promotion portfolios

• 19 Self-Promotion Portfolios in the Digital Age (PDF)
• 33 Viciously Cool Graphic Designer Portfolios – Yes they are viciously and immensely cool and inspirational (via @mayhemstudios)
• Steve Leggat
• Sebdesign.eu
• Koivo.com

Have fun!

Other reads from the design ducky

• design blogs – singapore
• faveup
• Periodic table of Adobe shortcuts!
• creative caffeine
• the design ducky surfed onto…