Ready to kick off your most creative year yet? Even if you’re not into New Year’s Resolutions, January has always been a great time to reflect and plan for the year ahead.
Use the early weeks of January to reflect on your achievements from the past year, set goals, and plan your upcoming projects. Take time to consider what creative heights you will reach this year: How do you hope to evolve in your career? What skills do you want to improve on?
Kick-off the new year with our top tips to help you succeed both creatively and professionally in 2022. Let’s go!
✏️ A big thanks to our friends at Acer’s ConceptD for sponsoring this blog post!
1. Refresh your portfolio
After the holidays, many people clean their houses, remove decorations and trees (if applicable), and organize for the year ahead. There’s no reason this yearly ritual shouldn’t include your digital presence.
If it’s been a while since you’ve updated your creative portfolio, take some time to refresh your online presence so it includes recent projects and current performance results to show new potential clients and employers that you’re active and thriving!
Before starting your portfolio updates, think about where you want to see your career going this year. How can you strategically curate your portfolio to reflect these goals?
Whether it’s a complete portfolio redesign, new branding, or new achievements and testimonials, spend time sprucing up your portfolio to attract the kinds of opportunities you want this year.
2. Upgrade your workspace
To be both creative and productive, the design of your workspace is crucial whether you work at home, in an office, or in a design studio. You should have a workspace that is both a source of inspiration and a sanctuary; it has to be a place you love to work in.
At their core, every great digital creative project begins with great hardware. Setting up your workspace is one of the most critical investments you can make for your creative career. In an age where distributed working is king, making sure that your tools support your creative endeavors and inspire you and enable you to make the very best work possible is crucial.
The ConceptD line of hardware products from Acer has beautiful industrial designs that will keep you inspired throughout the year. The brand exists to empower creatives and help them succeed by creating products with the highest levels of performance and durability, so you can be sure that your workspace in 2022 is reliable.
3. Choose an area to upskill
In a recent report by LinkedIn, 59% of Learning and Development professionals rated upskilling and reskilling as a top priority for the coming year. Keeping your skills sharp can keep you ahead of the competition and help make yourself more valuable as a creative professional.
You might want to learn how to animate your work if you are an illustrator. You can also learn how to code your website if you are a web designer. Make it your goal to remain a lifelong student of your field, and your career will never slow down.
4. Try out new innovative tools
As a creative professional, it’s extremely important to stay up to date on what’s new in your industry and adapt your skills sets to stay relevant.
Many companies release new features or products around the New Year, so they don’t get lost in the holiday hustle-bustle. Keeping up with these advancements ensures that your career evolves with the changing creative landscape.
Are you looking to add another dimension to your creations this year? Acer’s ConceptD’s SpatialLabs technology gives you the ability to present your designs in stereoscopic 3D without the need for additional eyewear. If you aren’t yet working in 3D/AR; the ConceptD Palette gives you instant access to a wide range of customization options.
You can easily change your settings, monitor your system, and adjust your color profile through this innovative technology. These two innovations are revolutionizing the way creative professionals work this year.
5. Start a side-project
Whether you’re a freelancer or a busy full-time creative, you often lose track of your hobbies and other interests due to staying focused on your day-to-day responsibilities. This often leads to burnout, or not feeling creatively fulfilled in your career.
You can develop your strengths and nurture your creativity by investing time in projects outside of your job, even if they don’t turn a profit.
Starting a side project that is relevant to your current career trajectory can help you hone skills you need to practice and can even lead you to the job of your dreams.
“One of the best pieces of advice that I’ve received is to create the work you want to get paid to make.” — Patrick Moriarty, Graphic Designer
What will you create in 2022?
The first few weeks of January are good to reflect on 2021 and determine what you will do to make 2022 an even greater success.
Regardless of your goals for the year, brands like Acer are committed to helping creatives reach their potential. Explore the ConceptD line of game-changing products for creative professionals if you are interested in innovation in the design industry, upgrading your career, or upgrading your workspace this year. ■
Illustration by Irina Molchanova from Ouch!
Find more Community stories on our blog Courtside. Have a suggestion? Contact stories@dribbble.com.
