5 questions with David Hanes

1. How long have you been with CorelTRAINER and how did you get your start in this industry?

I have been deep in CorelTRAINER since 2019. I initially had my start with this industry back in 2006 working with a company that sold clipart books at trade shows and on the phone. It has been quite the journey!

2. What services does CorelTRAINER offer?

CorelTRAINER offers industry training inside CorelDRAW as you go paired with support based in the U.S. We also have produced a plugin system that automates product mockups, design approvals, job approvals, instant halftones, distressed layers, instant color consolidation, instant color pallet conversions, and watermarks. We give you thousands of production-ready vector graphics with the digital images for all kinds of processes.

3. How does adequate knowledge of a graphic design program such as CorelDRAW help shop owners?

This is a great question! Art is generally the hard part of the job. When clients send you their logo or artwork, it is rarely production-ready. The knowledge of how to make it production-ready in a timely manner or make those tweaks in a timely manner is critical because, let’s be honest, clients never want to pay art fees.

4. What do you see as the biggest issues facing the design industry today?

The biggest challenge I see is artist retention as well as artists being overqualified. In this industry, shop owners cannot pay artists for hours of custom design work for jobs, so the artists’ “true talent” is never fully explored in my opinion.

5. What do you wish more people knew about graphic design?

I wish more people knew what was needed for this industry. We might use 40% of CorelDRAW or Adobe for what we all do. Most people starting think you either need to hire an artist or have a graphic design degree and you absolutely do not. Knowing that 40% is all you need! For CorelDRAW users, CorelTRAINER makes it super easy to learn as you go for you or your employees.