We were lucky to catch up with Tyler Spangler recently and have shared our conversation below.
Tyler, thanks for taking the time to share your lessons with our community today. So, let’s jump right in – one of the most essential skills for unlocking our potential is self-discipline. Where does your self-discipline come from?
I realized after interning for a small design studio that I shouldn’t be spending my time working on projects to grow someone else’s career. Time is finite and if I am going to spend hours working, I want that work to be aligned with a pursuit that I value. I don’t have any connections in the art or design world and I was under the assumption that I would need to work harder than everyone else to be lucky enough to be seen. I wanted to work hard enough to support myself without having to get a job with someone else.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My name is Tyler Spangler and I am a freelance graphic designer from Southern California. I have a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from California State University, Long Beach and attended Art Center College of Design for Graphic Design for one year before dropping out to start my own freelance design business.
In between graduating from Long Beach and attending art school, I booked local punk shows and opened up a warehouse hosting 50 bands in three weeks before being shut down by authorities.
I have worked with a wide variety of clients such as: Hermès, Gucci, United Nations, Adobe, Coach, Nike, Adidas, Facebook, Instagram, Starbucks, New Balance, Ricola, Perrier, Rolling Stone Magazine, and The New York Times among others.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The best advice I received was from an art student I reached out to before applying. He said to always make room for personal work, to constantly create new work and to let your passion show through your consistency. I still implement this advice by creating new artwork every single day in addition to my client work.
I think the most important thing for anyone starting out is to explore and experiment. Find out what you like and dive in head first.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
I think it depends on what you want out of your career. If you want to be a generalist you will have more competition. If you focus on what you are more naturally good at then you will tend to stand out more. I think developing your strengths will make you the go-to person for whenever a client needs that service. It also makes the collaborative process much smoother because the client knows exactly what you offer.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tylerspangler.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tyler_spangler/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tylerspanglerart
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerclintonspangler/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TylerSpangler_
