Two years ago Canadian graphic designer Janine Heinrichs sparked upon a journey that has led her into a successful career as a designer, with a passion for sharing and building a platform for aspiring creatives in need of inspiration and guidance. Let’s go back to May 2020 when Heinrichs found herself searching for a job in the coveted field of graphic design, which in the mids of a global pandemic turned out to be harder than anyone thought. But not one to give up, she came up with an impulsive idea on how to build momentum for herself with an ambitious goal of designing one poster each day for 365 days straight – and most importantly, to openly share her journey on social media.
Discovering the importance of overcoming perfectionism and putting yourself out there, Heinrichs not only built herself a career – but an impressive following
Heinrichs is open about how difficult it was to overcome the fear of failing, and how she pushed on and soon realized not every single design needs to (or can!) be a masterpiece but how the most important thing was to learn how to trust the process. “The main thing was that I was trying, learning from my mistakes, and putting myself out into the world. Over time, I saw myself getting better and producing work faster.”
The main thing was that I was trying, learning from my mistakes, and putting myself out into the world. Over time, I saw myself getting better and producing work faster.
Over the 365 days, not only did Heinrichs’ own skill set, aesthetic range, and experience grow exponentially, she garnered two hundred thousand interested followers across her Instagram and TikTok channels – and among them, a sleuth of potential customers. Within a year, she was getting opportunities that she was genuinely interested in and learned “that when you invest in yourself and you are bold, better-suited opportunities will come to you.” You can see some of our favorite designs from Heinrichs’ 365 Poster Challenge, but make sure to follow her on social media to see enjoy the full scape of her past and upcoming work.
Now, additionally, to working on her personal and commercial client projects, Heinrichs has devoted her time and energy to showcasing to aspiring graphic designers that the fast track to doing work you love is not necessary by getting a degree – but by being bold and putting yourself out there. “I learned a lot from that experience: The importance of overcoming perfectionism and putting myself out there, figuring out how to market myself on social media, etc. Oftentimes, so many designers get down on themselves thinking the competition is too fierce and/or they aren’t good enough. But what they don’t realize is that, more often than not, that isn’t the case at all. They just need to push past perfectionism and share their work more effectively”. You can read more about Janine’s journey on her Designs Daily blog where she’s cultivating a community of designers who are bold and put themselves out there to get noticed.
