[1] Media Concept
Initial Revisions
Media on Starting a Design Career
Project Idea
Learning to do design and actually starting a career as a designer are not the same thing. You can finish a course, complete several school projects, be highly proficient in Figma, and still have no idea what to do next.What should I put in my portfolio? Can I start applying for job vacancies now? How much should I charge for my first commission? Should I agree to unpaid test projects? What do I do when a client asks for revisions for the tenth time?«First Revisions» is a resource for those who have begun studying design but are still learning how to work as designers in the real world.This project doesn’t focus on trends or beautiful references; instead, it explores what happens in the first few years of working. It covers how to find your first project, build a professional portfolio, communicate with clients, discuss finances, navigate interviews, and understand how to grow professionally.Media Goal
To make starting a design career more understandable. There is a lot of useful information available, but it is scattered across different places. One channel posts job openings, another discusses portfolios, and a third features experienced designers sharing their career journeys. However, a newcomer still has to gather this information independently and try to figure out what applies specifically to their situation. Therefore, «First Edits» will address concrete questions that arise at the beginning of a career.The main goal of the project is for a person to know exactly what to do next after consuming each piece of content.
Topics and Audience
Segment: Design, Career, Education.Core Topic: The first 1–3 years of a designer’s career in Russia.The media is aimed at students and graduates of design programs—aspiring graphic, communication, digital, web, and product designers. The project will also be useful for those who recently changed careers and are seeking their first job in design.Key Topics:Portfolio. Which projects to showcase, how to present academic work, and how to articulate design decisions.Job Search. Internships, junior vacancies, resumes, applications, interviews, and test assignments.Compensation. How to assess your own work, negotiate salary, and finalize payment for initial projects.Client Relations. Briefs, deadlines, revisions, and navigating complex work situations.Professional Growth. Which skills to develop, how to receive constructive feedback, and when you can stop considering yourself a junior.The Market. Employer expectations, job openings, and trends in the Russian design market.
Platform and Formats
Telegram will serve as the primary media platform.
This space is ideal for publishing short pieces that can be read in minutes, saved, or shared with a friend. Telegram also allows for conducting polls, collecting reader questions, and discussing various professional situations.
[2] Half-Year Thematic Plan
Month 1. Where to Begin
The first month focuses on issues that arise immediately after graduating. We introduce students to the professional landscape, discuss the first steps in a career, and determine when it’s time to stop preparing and start job searching.
Publication Topics:«Hi! This is ‘First Revisions’.» Getting acquainted with the channel and its topics.«I finished my studies. Should I look for a job or take another course?»«What counts as experience if I haven’t worked officially anywhere yet?»«The job posting says ‘one year of experience.’ Am I eligible to apply yet?»«What must a beginner designer truly know to get their first job?»«Internship or junior position: where is the better starting point?»At the end of the month, we can conduct a poll to find out what stage of their career subscribers are at and which questions concern them the most.
Month 2. Building Your Portfolio
In the second month, we will cover how to build a portfolio, even if you don’t have commercial projects yet. We will learn how to select your best work, properly structure your case studies, and demonstrate to potential employers not just beautiful visuals, but also your own critical thinking and problem-solving skills.Publication Topics:«I only have three school projects. Is that enough for a portfolio?»«How to transform an academic assignment into a full-fledged case study?»«Seven things to check before submitting your portfolio.»«PDF, Behance, or Dprofile: where is the best place to showcase your work?»«How to describe your role when you worked on a team project?»«I have great visuals, but no case study. Why isn’t that enough?»We can also invite readers to send in their portfolio questions and address several common scenarios in separate articles.
Month 3. Seeking First Job
The third month is dedicated to job searching. We cover how to read job postings, build resumes and cover letters, navigate interviews, and evaluate take-home assignments.
Publication Topics:
«How to read a junior job posting without being intimidated by the requirements list?»
«What to write to an employer if you have almost no experience?»
«What must be in a beginner designer’s resume?»
«A three-day test for free. Is this normal?»
«Five questions a designer might be asked in an interview.»
«I sent an application and haven’t heard back. Should I write again?»
This month, we can also include analyses of current job openings and short surveys about the experience of seeking a first job.
Month 4. Learning to Talk About Money
The fourth month is dedicated to first earnings. We learn to assess the value of our work, discuss payment with clients, and understand what conditions are worth agreeing to.Publication Topics:«How much to charge for a first design project?»«The client asks: ‘And how much will a landing page cost? ’»«What do I need to know before quoting the price for a job?»«A friend asks me to do design work for free. How do I say no without causing an argument?»«Fixed price or hourly rate?»«How to negotiate a down payment for the first project?»Additionally, we can collect questions from subscribers about their initial commissions and prepare a publication analyzing the most common scenarios.
Month 5. Working with clients
In the fifth month, we dissect real-world scenarios that emerging designers face. We discuss creative briefs, deadlines, feedback, revisions, and how to build healthy relationships with clients.
Publication Topics:
«Why is a brief necessary, and what should you ask the client before starting work?»
«The client is asking for the tenth round of revisions. Should you agree?»
«How to explain to a client why a slight adjustment to their idea would be better?»
«What to do when a client constantly changes the project scope?»
«I’m falling behind the deadline. How to communicate that professionally?»
«I started a project without a brief and regretted it.» A story of a major screw-up.
Subscribers can also anonymously share awkward professional situations, which we will later analyze in the «Story of a Major Screw-up» segment.
Month 6. Growing further
The final month of the first thematic cycle is dedicated to professional growth. We will explore how to evaluate your skills, recognize progress, and understand when it’s time to take on more complex tasks or advance to the next career level.
Article Topics:
«How to know when you’ve outgrown the junior level?»«What is the practical difference between a junior and a mid-level designer?»«I’ve been working for a year, but I feel like I don’t know anything. What should I do?»«How to ask your manager for feedback?»«What skills are employers currently looking for in designers?»«How to create a professional development plan for the next three months?»At the end of the month, we can conduct a survey to find out which materials were most useful and what topics the community would like to see covered next.
[3] 10 content samples
1. Hello! This is «First Edits» 👋
Format: Text + Cover + Poll
Cover Text:
FIRST REVISIONS Media on starting a design career
First projects. First money. First mistakes.
Post Text:
You think you already know how to design.
You can work in Figma, have compiled several academic projects, and maybe even landed your first paid gig.
But what’s next?
How do you build a portfolio when it’s mostly practice work? Where do you apply when everyone demands experience? How much should you charge for your first project? And what do you do when the client asks you to redo everything for the fifth time?
Hi! This is «First Revisions» 👋
This is a channel about how to start working as a designer, not just how to learn to be one.
Here, we’ll break down real-world work scenarios, look at job postings, discuss payment, build portfolios, and learn how to communicate with clients.
No promises of landing a job at a cool studio in two weeks, and no «just believe in yourself» advice.
We want you to feel like you can take action immediately after every post.
So, let’s get acquainted!
What stage are you at right now?
Telegram Poll:
— I’m still learning design 🎓
— I’m building my portfolio and looking for work
— I’m already taking paid gigs or working as a junior
— I’ve been working for a while, but I want to advance further
2. I have completed my studies. Should I look for a job or take another course?
Category: What to Do When…Format: Text + Graphic CardCard Text:I finished my studies.Should I look for a job or take another course?Spoiler: you don’t have to know everything to start.Post Text:It feels like you need to be perfectly prepared before your first job.Learn another program, take a typography course, brush up on animation, get familiar with neural networks. And then, probably something else.Eventually, months pass, and you haven’t sent a single application.The problem is that you can study endlessly. The moment you know absolutely everything is unlikely to ever arrive.What can you do instead of another course?1. Open five job postings that interest you.Not necessarily the most difficult or your dream job. Just roles you would generally like to pursue.2. List the recurring requirements.See which skills actually appear in multiple job descriptions.3. Compare them with your skills.Note what you can already do on your own, what you’ve tried in academic projects, and what you are completely unfamiliar with.4. Try to apply.If you understand the main tasks and the gaps aren’t critical, you can start looking for work and continue studying in parallel.Sometimes one interview helps you understand your weak points better than another month of watching lectures.And yes, rejection can also be a valuable experience. The main thing is not to turn job search preparation into an infinite process.Have you ever felt like you needed to learn a little more before starting work?
3. I only have three academic projects. Is that enough for a portfolio?
Topic: AnalysisFormat: Five-card carousel + textCard 1I only have three academic projects.
Is that enough for a portfolio?Card 2Short answer: Yes, that might be enough for initial applications.Three well-developed projects can say more about you than ten random pieces.Card 3What to include in each project?-What was the objective?-Who was the design for?-What solutions did you propose?-Why did you choose those specific solutions?-What was the final outcome?Card 4What if the project was for school?
Don’t present it as commercial work.
It’s better to honestly state that it is an academic piece and demonstrate how you approached the task.Card 5The main question before sending your portfolio:
-Will a stranger be able to understand what I am capable of?If the answer is yes, that is a great start.Post Text:«I have too few projects, so it’s too early to look for a job.»Familiar thought?Many beginning designers delay their first applications because they feel their portfolio isn’t substantial enough. However, the quantity of projects isn’t always the most important factor. Employers want to see how you think, how you approach a challenge, and how you articulate your decisions.Therefore, if you already have several strong academic works, try polishing them up first. Include a description of the task, showcase the process, and explain why you chose a particular solution. You don’t necessarily need to invent five more projects just to hit a number.Maybe you don’t need a new case study. Maybe it’s time to refine the ones you already have.📁 Save this post if you are currently building your portfolio.
4. Seven Things to Check Before Submitting Your Portfolio
