Graphic Designer David Carson’s Tips for Working With Clients

David Carson is an influential graphic designer known for breaking the rules of design and taking artistic risks. Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, David didn’t start his graphic design career until he was 26. Before that, he worked as a professional surfer and a sociology teacher.

David’s inspiration for design rule-breaking came after attending a three-week workshop in Switzerland. There, David learned about European avant-garde theories from instructor Hans-Rudolf Lutz. These lessons inspired him as he worked at different publications, including Beach Culture Magazine and alternative music magazine Ray Gun.

Carson’s work includes campaigns with global brands, album artwork for Prince and Nine Inch Nails, and collaborations with the Smithsonian Institute.

In an increasingly visual society, there are plenty of opportunities for graphic designers to land new clients. Here are a few ways to get graphic design clients as a freelance designer:

• Network: Face-to-face meetings leave a lasting impression. Joining design organizations where you can meet new colleagues may lead to referrals and opportunities for new business.
• Conduct outreach: Send emails and mailers and offer your services as a graphic designer. Small businesses and startups often need logo design, templates, and marketing help.
• Word of mouth: When you exceed client expectations, they may refer you to other clients.
• Blog: Blogging can increase your digital footprint, making it easier for clients to find you.

With decades of high-level experience as a graphic designer and art director, David Carson has worked with a variety of clients. Here are five tips that can help you improve your working relationship with clients:

• Interrogate the brief. When you land a design project, the first step is to read the brief to understand what your client needs. “Read it well. And what do you get from that? What are you seeing? What are you feeling” David says. “Something in there is gonna trigger something in you. That’s the direction you start exploring with your design work.” But you shouldn’t stop there. You should research how the client has presented themselves visually in the past.
• Give them options. While too many options may confuse potential clients, giving them choices is beneficial. As David suggests, “show the ones you really feel passionate about, and ones that you feel good about but are a little safer, and go from there.”
• Make it personal. Bringing in a personal element can go a long way. “People are wanting that more than ever—this whole movement to kind of feel there’s a human behind the work,” David says.
• Be able to justify every element. You need to have a reason for every design decision. “You have to be able to tell a client why you did something and [it can’t be just] because it looked cool,” David says. “If I said, ‘Well, it’s just a cool shape. I like it,’ you’re not gonna sell those.”

Get a MasterClass Annual Membership and let David Carson be your personal tutor. The prolific and decorated designer—who’s been lauded as the “art director of the era”—reveals his processes for going off the (design) grid, implementing typography in new and interesting ways, innovative uses of photography and collage, and so much more.