Understand Your Learning Style to Thrive As a Solo Designer
Discover how your unique learning style impacts your workflow and success.
I’m sure somewhere along the lines you’ve heard the term “learning style.” Maybe you’ve even taken enneagram or numerology quizzes for fun in the past. (Team 9 Wing 1 over here!) Even if you think you know you’re a visual learner, I highly encourage you to take 5 minutes to complete this totally free (and non-partnered) online quiz for a deeper dive into what makes you thrive, and what sets you off spiraling when it comes to your individual learning style. I’ll teach you how to interpret your results and use them to your advantage when it comes to mastering freelance graphic design.
Go ahead! Take a pause and circle back with your learning style results. Let’s see how yours measure up to mine!
So were you surprised with your results? I was pretty shocked with mine to be honest. I assumed I was predominantly a visual learner. But the results speak for themselves…
Here’s how my quiz results measured up:
It turn’s out I'm 80% introverted… I don’t know why this surprised me, but it makes a lot of sense, ha! Accepting this information, it affirms my ability to thrive as a solo designer. I did not enjoy most of my time previously working in a busy corporate office. Mindless chit chatter, difficult personalities to deal with, endless meetings with people who spoke over others just to get themselves heard. It wasn’t for me. I am far more productive in my solo space at home. In the quiet, with little interruptions.
However, knowing this information, it did make me realize that I need to make a conscious effort to engage with my freelance clients and provide face-to-face time occasionally. Simple follow-ups or courteous email replies can make all the difference in the world!
For those of you who lean more extroverted – this does not mean freelancing won’t be successful for you. It just means you’ll need to get a little creative to fulfill your social cup to avoid the lonely silo. Maybe that means booking more face-to-face zoom sessions, working in coffee shops or co-working spaces, forming a designer meetup club, etc. My point is: knowing your personality style can help you figure out what work setup suits you best!
What really surprised me was my learning style distribution. My results clearly stated that I am almost as much Kinesthetic as I am Visual. I guess I just assumed I’m an artist and therefore I must be predominantly visual. What does this mean for me?
I have noticed that when clients call me to go over project changes, I cringe. My brain can’t retain everything received auditory for any significant amount of time.
The solution? Knowing my learning styles – I’ve made the following changes:
Taking as many detailed notes as possible during the call (leaning into kinesthetic).
Immediately recapping the phone call in an email to the client, referring to my notes. This also allows the client to chime in with anything missed, and also looks professional on my end.
Train my clients to put things into email when at all possible. This isn’t always going to be successful, since for some clients, email communication is really challenging for them. But it doesn’t hurt to try.
If you’re more of an auditory learner, this might be the reverse situation for you! The field notes in the personality quiz results have really detailed suggestions for every type of learner. I found it super helpful!
Is there one area with client communication you’re struggling with? Comment below so I can help!