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While looking at the Article relating to to Contractor Traits, I also come across and read the following relating to Designers. Is this also true, are there any other traits/personality types that help or cause Designers to succeed or fail ? Does the order below reflect the importance of the points ?

Top 7 Traits of a Successful Designer

In order for a person to earn a career as a well-respected and recognized designer, there are several different factors that they must consider and several more that must be mastered. As with any career, education is of utmost importance, but it all comes down to hard work. Most designers realize that a person may in fact be able to secure a few clients without an added level of education. However, they also understand that in order to succeed in this career field and create a business that rests on a strong foundation, attending design school can be a huge boost.

More important than having the latest gear or certifications is having a quality work ethic, and having a good system for accomplishing work and learning new things. These traits are what help make a designer successful not just now, but also in the future.

 1. Have a plan of action in place : In order to be successful as a designer, you must have a system in place for every aspect of the business. This includes such things as selling, promotions, marketing, consultations and all other elements of this popular career field. The reason it is essential to set up a system is because it leads to organization, consistency and effectiveness. If you want to make sure that you build on a solid foundation and understand the importance of investing in yourself, design schools definitely deserve your attention.

2. Pay attention to detail : It doesn’t matter if it is the accounting for the business,  preparation, office work or elements involved in a specific design project, paying attention to detail is vital.

3. Be current with marketing skills : There is an endless amount of marketing techniques that can be very effective. Not only are the designing skills of a designer extremely important but if they want to succeed, they must also sharpen their marketing skills as well.

4. Be creative : As a designer, it is imperative to be creative. This is true even under the most stressful of situations. The creativity of a designer must not ever falter when the stress level gets turned to high.

5. Have the ability to solve problems :  Whether a designer works alone or they have a team of professionals that will be working beneath them, problem solving skills will be used continuously. As a matter of fact, in this day and age, most experts find this is a skill that is tested every single day.

6. Be versatile : We would all like to think that problems never occur and changes will never need to made when an order has been taken for a high profile project. The reality however is a lot of clients will typically ask for changes to be made when you least expect it to happen. Part of being successful in the design world is having the ability to be versatile.

7. Be unique and stand out : When you complete a project, you do not want it to be mediocre or average. This type of work has put countless designers out of business. Successful designers find a comfort zone that allows them to use their artistic abilities to the fullest extent. To benefit from a great reputation, your work must stand out in the minds of each project you complete.