A bit of creativity, some talent and a vision for creatingsomething with those skills are great attributes to have if you’reinterested in becoming a design professional.

It takes a bit of education to become successful, not only indeveloping and creating professional designs, but also in marketingyour designs to clients and selling them for a profit. You can getthat education at art and designschools.

Designers are important for all sorts of careers ranging fromfashion to media arts, and film and video to graphic and Weblayout. Not only will an art or design degree help you develop andenhance your designing skills, it will also bring you up to speedon the latest technology and design standards in the industry.

But as you get your degree – either through a traditional schoollike the International Academy of Design and Technology (IADT) orthrough an online designdegree, know that there are other skills you’ll need to enhancein addition to your design talents. They are:

* Social media – Social media is growing and changing almost ona daily basis, but this is an area where you can follow the latestdesigning trends in your career field, promote your products andefforts, and connect with people who will influence your artthrough the rest of your life. Start developing your social mediaskills on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and through a blog before youget your degree so you’ll have a head start on marketing yourskills.

* Communication – If you plan to work with clients, you willneed to practice your communication and listening skills. You’llneed these for discussing with your clients your ideas for theprojects you’ve been commissioned to create. Consider practicingwith your fellow students by “selling” your project ideas andconcepts, or take a speech class to help you perfect yourcommunication skills.

* Organization – Time management, financial management and evenordering and maintaining supplies all require one thing -organizational skills. You will need to promise – and deliver bypromised deadline – projects to your clients. And you if you end upworking as an entrepreneur, you will have to keep track ofreceipts, sending out and receiving statements and if you haveanyone working under you, payroll. Even if you join a designcompany, staying organized will help you accomplish the workassigned to you in an expedited fashion, helping you to become apositive employee in the company.

These skills may or may not be included in the design programsavailable to you, so make sure you enhance these skills as youenhance your design talents on your way to earning a degree.

Information in this article was provided by the InternationalAcademy of Design and Technology. Contact IADT today if you’reinterested in developing marketable knowledge and career-relevantskills with an industry-current degree program. (IADT cannotguarantee employment or salary.)