{"id":40679,"date":"2016-12-12T06:00:23","date_gmt":"2016-12-12T14:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/?p=40679"},"modified":"2024-04-12T05:58:21","modified_gmt":"2024-04-12T12:58:21","slug":"how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree","title":{"rendered":"How to Make it Big Without a Design Degree"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Jen Wagner is a Denver-based creator who has worked in branding, photography, hand lettering, interior design, and now typeface design. She opened <a href=\"http:\/\/crt.mk\/o90W306BUq8\">her Creative Market shop<\/a> in July 2016 and has had loads of success with her beautiful products.<br>\nNow comes the twist in the story: Jen doesn&#8217;t hold a design degree. She started her career in marketing (and holds a degree in that subject), and then decided to take a big jump into design. Today, she shares her story and offers several tips on how to make it big in the design world <a href=\"https:\/\/crmrkt.com\/bGvEz\">without a degree<\/a>.<br>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jen will touch on:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to learn design essentials outside of the classroom<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Her must read book list<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why and when content trumps perfection<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to promote and position your products<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Staying true to yourself in a world full of trends<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-41518\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Jen-Wagner-\u2013-About-560x840.jpg\" alt=\"jen-wagner-about\" width=\"560\" height=\"840\"><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Get_Help_from_People_Who_Have_More_Experience\"><\/span>Get Help from People Who Have More Experience<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Pursuing a career in a field where you don&#8217;t hold a degree isn&#8217;t for everyone. School is a huge asset; if it works for you, and it&#8217;s an opportunity you can take advantage of, go for it. However, Jen reminds us, &#8220;For those who can not only learn on their own but have the skill level to be seen by companies without a degree (the second half is important in today\u2019s market), do that!&#8221;<br>\nJen is in the latter group, and she&#8217;s quite the self starter. When she decided she wanted to pursue design, she jumped on just about every design tutorial she could find online. While all of those tutorials were helpful, even more essential was surrounding herself with pros.<br>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-41809 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2016\/12\/quote1-560x560.jpg\" alt=\"quote1\" width=\"560\" height=\"560\"><br>\nJen explains, &#8220;Despite all the tutorials I did, I think the most important resource I had was my boss at my first job. Many of us need to learn under someone who can tell us not only that something looks bad, but <em>why<\/em> it does and how it can be improved.&#8221;<br>\nThe big take away according to Jen? &#8220;So if you\u2019re starting to learn or have been doing this for a while, find someone better than you! You shouldn\u2019t always be the smartest person in the room.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n    <figure id=\"card-1118780-453146752\" class=\"product-card full 1\" data-product-id=\"1118780\" data-index=\"0\" data-width=\"full\" data-pin_it=\"1\" data-module=\"Product Embed\" data-block-id=\"453146752\"><\/figure>\n    \n\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Become_a_Reader\"><\/span>Become a&nbsp;Reader<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As is true in any industry, knowledge is key for designers. You can&#8217;t find success in your ambitious endeavors if you don&#8217;t have a clue what you&#8217;re doing. Although Jen learned a lot from online tutorials, she&#8217;s also a fan of good old fashioned books.<br>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-41810 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2016\/12\/quote2-560x560.jpg\" alt=\"quote2\" width=\"560\" height=\"560\"><br>\nShe lists two books that have shaped her career:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.logodesignlove.com\/\">\u201cLogo Design Love\u201d by David Airey<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Rework-Jason-Fried\/dp\/0307463745\">\u201cRework\u201d by Jason Fried &amp; David Heinemeier Hansson.<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Reading books may not sound exciting, but Jen explains the key is application, &#8220;If you can take what you read in a business or design book and apply as many parts of it as possible, you\u2019ll learn a ton in a very short amount of time.&#8221;<br>\nJen&#8217;s got one more bookworm tip, &#8220;go to your ideal school\u2019s bookstore website, find the courses you want to take (get the course numbers from the course catalog), and rent the required textbooks. You don\u2019t get the peer feedback or instructor help, but you wouldn\u2019t believe how frustrated I was in college sitting through four-hour lectures on stuff I already read that week. Just read it yourself!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n    <figure id=\"card-915178-1231586252\" class=\"product-card full 1\" data-product-id=\"915178\" data-index=\"0\" data-width=\"full\" data-pin_it=\"1\" data-module=\"Product Embed\" data-block-id=\"1231586252\"><\/figure>\n    \n\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Content_is_King\"><\/span>Content is King<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>For most designers, content is what gets your foot through the door. What are Jen&#8217;s tips for approaching content?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Read <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Content-Inc-Entrepreneurs-Successful-Businesses\/dp\/125958965X\">&#8220;Content, Inc.&#8221; by Joe Pulizzi<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adopt a lean startup approach<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Get things started with minimum viable products (MVPs)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>How does that all play out for Jen? It starts with a goal she set for herself to put out 2-3 finished fonts a week. That&#8217;s a pretty rapid pace for produce work, but remember, it&#8217;s okay to start with an MVP, and this pace helps Jen build a good content base to showcase her skills.<br>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-41811\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2016\/12\/quote3-560x560.jpg\" alt=\"quote3\" width=\"560\" height=\"560\"><br>\nJen reminds perfectionists, &#8220;Just get good stuff out there\u2014you can always work your way back and make improvements as you learn.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n    <figure id=\"card-904427-1510237905\" class=\"product-card full 1\" data-product-id=\"904427\" data-index=\"0\" data-width=\"full\" data-pin_it=\"1\" data-module=\"Product Embed\" data-block-id=\"1510237905\"><\/figure>\n    \n\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Promotion_Is_an_Important_Thing_but_Not_Everything\"><\/span>Promotion Is an Important Thing but Not Everything<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Free, authentic promotion is a gift that keeps on giving. On Creative Market, this comes in the form of getting <a href=\"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/products\/handpicked\">handpicked<\/a>, having a product in our <a href=\"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/free-goods\">weekly free goods<\/a>, and\/or being added to the &#8220;Latest Handcrafted Goods\u201d newsletter. Jen has some experierience in these areas and knows the positive impact they can have for a shop owner like herself.<br>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-41812\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2016\/12\/quote4-560x560.jpg\" alt=\"quote4\" width=\"560\" height=\"560\"><br>\nHowever, there are some instances in which a good&nbsp;product may not get featured for a variety of reasons. If that happens, don&#8217;t let it discourage you. As an example, Jen&#8217;s best-selling font, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/jenwagnerco\/807993-Denver-A-Romantic-Sans-Serif\">Denver<\/a> (more on this product in the next section), became popular by itself because as Jen says, &#8220;beautiful products will speak for themselves and people will eventually take notice!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n    <figure id=\"card-801803-1705125889\" class=\"product-card full 1\" data-product-id=\"801803\" data-index=\"0\" data-width=\"full\" data-pin_it=\"1\" data-module=\"Product Embed\" data-block-id=\"1705125889\"><\/figure>\n    \n\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Invest_Time_in_Product_Shots\"><\/span>Invest Time in Product Shots<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>We&#8217;re taught not to judge a book by its cover, but in the design world, that doesn&#8217;t always apply. The truth is, first impressions can determine whether or not buyers will purchase your goods or clients will want to work with you.<br>\nBecause of this, Jen advises investing time and effort into making your product images excellent. It&#8217;s more work up front, but it will pay off in the long-run.<br>\nAlong these lines, let&#8217;s take another quick look at Jen&#8217;s most popular font, Denver. She told us that when she first released Denver, this was the cover image:<br>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-40689\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Denver-Cover1-560x373.jpg\" alt=\"denver-cover1\" width=\"560\" height=\"373\"><br>\nAccording to her, &#8220;It performed terribly. I made hardly any sales within the first couple weeks of it being released and thought it was a dud.&#8221;<br>\nBefore giving up on the font, Jen started considering repositioning it (see section below on positioning) and decided to rethink the cover shot. This is the new cover image she ended up with:<br>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-40690\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Denver-Cover2-560x373.jpg\" alt=\"denver-cover2\" width=\"560\" height=\"373\"><br>\nAfter she uploaded the new image, Jen says, &#8220;sales went off the charts almost immediately.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Position_Your_Product_Appropriately\"><\/span>Position Your Product Appropriately<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Jen decided to update that cover image based on her thoughts regarding how she had positioned the font. What exactly does that mean?<br>\nIn Jen&#8217;s own words:<br>\n&#8220;Positioning is a marketing strategy that basically takes a product and strategically presents it in the way you want your consumer to receive it. It\u2019s the reason Denver went from mountains to roses, and it worked.&#8221;<br>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-41852\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2016\/12\/image-560x747.jpg\" alt=\"Processed with VSCO with a6 preset\" width=\"560\" height=\"747\"><br>\n&#8220;If I were my \u201ctarget market\u201d \u2013 a 20-something freelance designer whose clientele is mostly women \u2013 I would probably use Denver for wedding invitations, special event graphics, and more feminine artwork. When I looked at my presentation of Denver, I saw a beautiful and delicate font surrounded by beefy mountains and saturated colors, which didn&#8217;t make sense! It prompted me to change all of the graphics to fit the feel of the font.&#8221;<br>\nAlthough it may take some trial and error to get your product positioning just right, the results are worth it.<\/p>\n\n    <figure id=\"card-780711-1285875859\" class=\"product-card full 1\" data-product-id=\"780711\" data-index=\"0\" data-width=\"full\" data-pin_it=\"1\" data-module=\"Product Embed\" data-block-id=\"1285875859\"><\/figure>\n    \n\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Be_Yourself\"><\/span>Be Yourself<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In the famous words of Dr. Seuss, &#8220;There is no one alive who is Youer than You.&#8221; By remaining true to who she is as a designer and not flippantly jumping onto fads, Jen trusts her instincts and when it comes to design, she leans towards minimalism.<br>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-41813\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2016\/12\/quote5-560x560.jpg\" alt=\"quote5\" width=\"560\" height=\"560\"><br>\nWhen Jen opened a Creative Market shop, she saw that script fonts were pretty popular on the site. It was tempting for Jen to jump on that trend because she has a background in calligraphy and hand lettering, and she&#8217;s even in the middle of writing a book on the subject. But, when it comes to the designs for her shop, Jen wanted to stick with her minimalistic style.<\/p>\n\n    <figure id=\"card-783024-580575536\" class=\"product-card full 1\" data-product-id=\"783024\" data-index=\"0\" data-width=\"full\" data-pin_it=\"1\" data-module=\"Product Embed\" data-block-id=\"580575536\"><\/figure>\n    \n\n<p>It&#8217;s a decision she&#8217;s happy that she has stuck with, &#8220;I took what I knew about myself as a designer, not a calligrapher \u2013 that I obsess over and hunt for beautiful serif and sans serif fonts \u2013 and began creating that content myself. Faroe Thin actually came to be because I had been looking for a font like that and couldn\u2019t find it. Jackson was created when I needed a scribbly calligraphic font for a client.&#8221;<br>\nWith this in mind, Jen&#8217;s parting words of advice are, &#8220;Create products that you love and would look for yourself. You\u2019ll inevitably find others who have been searching for the same thing!&#8221;<br>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-41857 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2016\/12\/IMG_4099-560x560.jpg\" alt=\"Processed with VSCO with a6 preset\" width=\"560\" height=\"560\"><br>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-41856\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Screen-Shot-2016-12-08-at-7.35.06-PM-560x350.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"350\"><br>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-41855\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Screen-Shot-2016-12-08-at-5.17.07-PM-560x350.png\" alt=\"screen-shot-2016-12-08-at-5-17-07-pm\" width=\"560\" height=\"350\"><br>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-41854\" src=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Screen-Shot-2016-12-08-at-4.34.08-PM-560x350.png\" alt=\"screen-shot-2016-12-08-at-4-34-08-pm\" width=\"560\" height=\"350\"><\/p>\n\n    <figure id=\"card-1113208-1640083440\" class=\"product-card full 1\" data-product-id=\"1113208\" data-index=\"0\" data-width=\"full\" data-pin_it=\"1\" data-module=\"Product Embed\" data-block-id=\"1640083440\"><\/figure>\n    \n\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Keep_the_conversation_going\"><\/span>Keep the conversation going!<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>For those who are new to the design industry and taking a similar path as Jen, she is living proof that no goal is impossible to achieve if you set your mind to it. The biggest takeaway from her story is that you&#8217;re able to be successful in any field with continuous effort and the right resources.<br>\nThis chat doesn\u2019t have to end here! Jen will be hanging out in the comment section below to chat and answer any questions, so feel free to leave a comment if there\u2019s anything you\u2019d like to clarify or something you\u2019d love to learn more about.<br>\n<strong>Products Seen in This Post:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n    <figure id=\"card-989404-307942027\" class=\"product-card half 1\" data-product-id=\"989404\" data-index=\"0\" data-width=\"half\" data-pin_it=\"1\" data-module=\"Product Embed\" data-block-id=\"307942027\"><\/figure>\n    \n\n    <figure id=\"card-84367-574010930\" class=\"product-card half 1\" data-product-id=\"84367\" data-index=\"0\" data-width=\"half\" data-pin_it=\"1\" data-module=\"Product Embed\" data-block-id=\"574010930\"><\/figure>\n    \n\n    <figure id=\"card-843938-1363466613\" class=\"product-card half 1\" data-product-id=\"843938\" data-index=\"0\" data-width=\"half\" data-pin_it=\"1\" data-module=\"Product Embed\" data-block-id=\"1363466613\"><\/figure>\n    ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jen Wagner is a Denver-based creator who has worked in branding, photography, hand lettering, interior design, and now typeface design. She opened her Creative Market shop in July 2016 and has had loads of success with her beautiful products. Now comes the twist in the story: Jen doesn&#8217;t hold a design degree. She started her [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[127],"tags":[286,832,846,1371,1372],"topics":[],"class_list":["post-40679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-shop-center","tag-shop-tips","tag-featured-shop","tag-creative-spotlight","tag-jen-wagner","tag-member-spotlight"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.4 (Yoast SEO v28.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Make it Big Without a Design Degree - Creative Market Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Make it Big Without a Design Degree\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jen Wagner is a Denver-based creator who has worked in branding, photography, hand lettering, interior design, and now typeface design. She opened her\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Creative Market Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/crtvmrkt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-12-12T14:00:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-12T12:58:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2016\/12\/quote1-560x560.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Creative Market\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@creativemarket\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@creativemarket\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Creative Market\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/creativemarket.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/creativemarket.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree\",\"name\":\"How to Make it Big Without a Design Degree - Creative Market Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/creativemarket.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/creativemarket.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/creativemarket.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/12\\\/quote1-560x560.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-12-12T14:00:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-12T12:58:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/creativemarket.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d6927fab89f28e3dd8f6bb7b36219d66\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/creativemarket.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/creativemarket.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/creativemarket.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/12\\\/quote1-560x560.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/12\\\/quote1-560x560.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/creativemarket.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/creativemarket.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Make it Big Without a Design Degree\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/creativemarket.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/creativemarket.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Creative Market Blog\",\"description\":\"Creative Market Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/creativemarket.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Make it Big Without a Design Degree - Creative Market Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Make it Big Without a Design Degree","og_description":"Jen Wagner is a Denver-based creator who has worked in branding, photography, hand lettering, interior design, and now typeface design. She opened her","og_url":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree","og_site_name":"Creative Market Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/crtvmrkt","article_published_time":"2016-12-12T14:00:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-04-12T12:58:21+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2016\/12\/quote1-560x560.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Creative Market","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@creativemarket","twitter_site":"@creativemarket","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Creative Market","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree","url":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree","name":"How to Make it Big Without a Design Degree - Creative Market Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2016\/12\/quote1-560x560.jpg","datePublished":"2016-12-12T14:00:23+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-12T12:58:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d6927fab89f28e3dd8f6bb7b36219d66"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2016\/12\/quote1-560x560.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/2016\/12\/quote1-560x560.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/how-to-make-it-big-without-a-design-degree#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Make it Big Without a Design Degree"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/","name":"Creative Market Blog","description":"Creative Market Blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40679\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40679"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=40679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}