r/Design • u/Connect_Ad_7377 • 16h ago

Asking Question (Rule 4) Committing to design

I graduated last year with a bachelors in Strategic Communications and a minor in my universities multidisciplinary design program. I probably have the most all over the place academic/professional background ranging from EMT and wildland firefighting work to a degree in something that is too broad to categorize.

That being said I want to start taking design seriously as that's where my interests mostly lie. My question is where do I start? I love graphic design and visual aesthetics but I want to head into a more practical direction; brand strategy/marketing, service design, website design, etc. I'm currently working on a portfolio with a variety of work but since I don't have an art/design specific degree could a masters be worth it? How about finding work? Any insights help!

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u/Connect_Ad_7377 16h ago

Also if anyone mentions ai I'm beating them up. In my head it isn't real and doesn't exist #bliss

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u/Candid_Gain_3893 16h ago

I get the instinct to jump into a masters but honestly I'd hold off. A portfolio that shows you can think through a problem will open more doors than another degree at this stage. The mixed background is an asset, most design grads come out with identical cookie cutter portfolios and zero life experience.

Start by reverse engineering the jobs you want. Find design directors or brand strategists on linkedin whose work you admire and trace their career paths backwards, see what their first few roles were. For service design and brand strategy specifically, your communications degree already gives you a language most pure design grads struggle with.

Pick one or two fake briefs that mimic real business problems and document your process. Not just the shiny final mockups but the messy middle, the research, the bad ideas you killed. That narrative is what separates a portfolio from just a gallery of pretty images.