{"id":22055,"date":"2014-09-15T18:01:05","date_gmt":"2014-09-15T10:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/?p=22055"},"modified":"2018-04-09T20:51:35","modified_gmt":"2018-04-09T12:51:35","slug":"get-rich-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/get-rich-design\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Rich as a Designer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many people dream of becoming wealthy by doing the thing that they love<\/strong>. Designers, by and large, get into design because they simply love it. But eventually, the realities of making a living, paying the bills, feeding your family, etc. take precedence over your creative dreams, and you may find yourself taking on clients and projects you never thought you would<\/a> just for the money.<\/p>\n

Most designers are under no illusions that their profession will lead to riches \u2013 that\u2019s reserved for others who have more finance-oriented ambitions, after all. Or is it? How exactly would a designer make tons of money from design? Is that even a worthwhile or realistic goal? Let\u2019s explore the idea of a designer making an outrageously comfortable living from design<\/strong>, and what that actually means.<\/p>\n

Recommended Reading:<\/strong> 5 Ways To Make Passive Income For Freelance Designers<\/a><\/p>\n

Create A Runaway Hit<\/h2>\n

The majority of single designers who build empires of massive wealth and prestige have done so the hard way: they worked their way up and slowly mastered their craft<\/strong>, then they created a design solution that was so beautiful, elegant, and perfect that it garnered them praise from the entire design community and beyond. Consider the case of Massimo Vignelli and his famous New York City subway maps, or, more recently, Jonathan Ive and his revolutionary designs for Apple. When the whole world is clamoring for more of your work, they are inevitably going to start throwing lots and lots of money at you.<\/p>\n

Read Also:<\/strong> Tastemakers: A Look At 10 Influential Living Designers<\/a><\/p>\n

If you have a particular project \u2013 either a client project or a side project \u2013 that you become well known for, this is the first step towards building your own lucrative empire<\/strong>. Right now, you can challenge yourself to come up with the best ideas that you can, and implement them in ways that will not only please your client, but dazzle them and anyone who lays eyes on your work<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Scale Your Design Firm<\/h2>\n

Everyone knows that real money lies not in design, but in entrepreneurship. The designer is just part of a team<\/a> that helps to create a winning product. If you enjoy design, but don\u2019t mind assuming more of a creative director or CEO role, becoming a firm will help you earn much more money<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If your ambition is driving you to make a larger paycheck, then scaling your design services beyond just yourself is essential. There are several options here. Firstly, you could get a partner<\/strong>. A fellow designer to share the workload, or a more \u201cbusiness-type\u201d person to do your bookkeeping, client negotiations, or anything else you might need a hand with, while you focus more of your time on design.<\/p>\n

The other thing you could do is create your own brand<\/strong>, under which you manage several employees who handle all of the day to day aspects of providing design services to your clients. Again, it\u2019s more about being an entrepreneur rather than simply a designer. This comes with its own challenges and risks, and, frankly, is a lot more work up front, but the benefits of being your own boss<\/strong> and having no cap on how much you can earn far outweigh any downsides, in my opinion.<\/p>\n

Read Also:<\/strong> Is Personal Branding Unnatural?<\/a><\/p>\n

Become A Founder At A Startup<\/h2>\n

This is another popular way to get rich as a designer, especially since the start of the new era of online and technology startups. Here\u2019s how you do it: simply sign on at the ground floor of a startup<\/strong>, have a hand in creating the look and feel of the company\u2019s website, brand, or merchandise, and wait for it to become a million dollar company. Easy, right?<\/p>\n

Well, not exactly. Of course this method requires a lot of hard work, and also luck<\/strong>. If you\u2019re serious about working in a founding capacity at a company, you\u2019ll need to hone your Good Startup Detection skills to a fine edge. Look for warning signs and red flags when evaluating a startup. Particularly, pay attention to whether they are genuinely selling a product or service, or whether it\u2019s all smoke and mirrors.<\/p>\n

Read Also:<\/strong> The Essentials In Pulling Off Your Own Startup<\/a><\/p>\n

A lot of startup founders like to talk up their big plans, and if you\u2019re not careful, they can bring you along for a ride that goes nowhere<\/strong>. You\u2019ll invest months or even years of your time and effort into something that was only a pipe dream all along. Not exactly the best path to getting rich.<\/p>\n

Create And License Your Work<\/h2>\n

This is an excellent way to become wealthy, and also one of the most lucrative once you learn the ropes. The way to license your designs is fairly straightforward<\/strong>: you approach a company that makes things, and offer them the rights to reproduce your work on whatever they make, in exchange for a royalty (usually around 7-10%). Then, you sit back, put your feet up, and wait for the checks to start rolling in while you work on a new design. There are no other clients or middlemen to deal with, and you don\u2019t have to concern yourself with how the products will get made or distributed \u2013 that\u2019s the licensee\u2019s job.<\/p>\n

Read Also:<\/strong> 5 Ways To Monetize Your Old Designs<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course, licensing comes with its own set of challenges as well<\/strong>. For one thing, it\u2019s exceedingly difficult to find a company who will:<\/p>\n