In order to be taken seriously as a graphic designer, you have to make sure that your skills are up to par before you go out in obtaining clients. Of course you have to learn how to draw and learn how to design with certain programs, but there are other skill sets that many people need to work on in order to become successful. Charisma is definitely an important skill for anything, but there are other skills that one should know about when it comes to graphic designing.
Communication
Believe it or not, communication is vital no matter what you do. You have to learn how to talk to people professionally and give yourself a good reputation with clients. Those clients could end up telling someone else about your business and that could help get your name or brand name out within the industry. Make sure you brush up on your charismatic skills before you talk or even send an email out to someone. You definitely want to make that first impression count. Even if you feel they don't pick you for a specific project, it's okay to ask them if they can keep you on their list just incase something else does tend to come up. You never know when the may need you to design something for them.
Software
Most graphic designers tend to use Adobe products when it comes to their creations. Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign are the three main programs that you want to get yourself familiar with. It's great if you have to use them everyday or with different projects. If you're a freelancer and don't use the programs that much on projects, at least make sure that you keep practicing at your skills every once and awhile so they won't fade off quickly. Even with the new software that come out almost every year, you still want to get yourself familiarized with it as you are pretty much the expert within designing. Most of the Adobe programs tend to be quite expensive, which in that case you can always go online and find alternatives such as NotePad++ for example.
Coding Language
One thing that sets logo designing and graphic designing apart is the fact that with graphic designing you need to have some knowledge of HTML, CSS, and PHP. Most website owners tend to use WordPress which is a content management system that's been coded with PHP. You want to know CSS because of the fact that with designing, you need to create backgrounds and even some type of customized tables to be incorporated within your designs. Adobe Dreamweaver is a popular program in which many designers use to help them out with coding certain parts of a table within their designs. With the languages, you have to make sure that you stay on top with the newest ones that tend to come out, such as the recently HTML5 and the CSS3. This helps you get more jobs to people who are trying to upgrade their sites within the newest language.
