Designers are in high demand these days, with companies in every industry trying to stay competitive. The problem is that the pool of qualified designers is limited. If you’re not already a designer or know someone who is, how do you get started? Fortunately, there are many ways to learn graphic design even if you don’t have access to an expensive computer.
You can teach yourself by reading online tutorials, watching videos on YouTube, or purchasing books and apps that teach the basics to more advanced techniques for graphic design.
Learning graphic designing doesn’t need to be difficult or expensive anymore—it just takes time and patience. So if you have a creative mind and enjoy digital art, graphic design might be right for you!
What is graphic design?
Graphic design is a graphic project trade that uses graphics, images, colors, fonts, and/or typography to attract attention and create an appealing layout for a website or poster. Striking designers may work with different forms of art—and some are very skilled in every type of medium. Graphic designers are professionals, so you will most likely need to pass a series of tests to prove your abilities before you can be hired.
While the design field is saturated with many different types of graphic design, the various forms can be broken into various categories. Within each of these categories are many subcategories. Web design involves the creation of websites, responsive websites, and various widgets.
How to get started
If you’re thinking about learning how to create a logo or draw a logo for your business or organization, then you might want to learn graphic designer for a career in design. However, don’t go making a major commitment at this time. Before beginning your realistic design education, it’s a good idea to first get your feet wet by creating logos and designs that you can build upon.
Consider working with someone who has experience in graphic design to help you get started. There are many graphic designer websites that offer free logo designs or design tutorials, so go online and search for designers in your area or a local college who offer logo design. Some students take a gap year or summer break to prepare for a design career.
Tips for learning graphic design
Check out online tutorials and videos. Whether you want to learn how to design logos, create simple mockups, or learn how to illustrate, you can learn new skills by watching videos online. The online graphic design tutorials on the B. Altman School of Art website are very helpful, as well as Yahoo!’s “25 Tips for Designing Great Web Sites.” Some companies will even offer online classes that you can take.
See if you can take a class at your local community college or university. The American Institute of Graphic Arts, for instance, offers workshops on HTML, web design, and web applications. Keep your eye out for inexpensive computer graphics-based books and instructional DVDs you can use on your smartphone or tablet to teach yourself about graphic design.
Read tutorials and watch videos
Graphic strategy tutorials and video tutorials are great ways to learn the basics of graphic design. Videos generally last around 10 to 30 minutes. They can be found on websites, YouTube channels, and apps that you have installed on your phone or tablet. Some of the most popular tutorials online include: How to Get Started with Photoshop for Beginners, Tuts+ Graphic Course and Mastering Graphic Designer Principles, to name a few.
Tutorials teach you the tools you need, but you still need to practice to perfect the skills you learn. These online tutorials can be easy to follow and they usually include a step-by-step guide on how to implement the tips and tricks they teach. Some examples include:
Attend a course or program
Whether you’re going to school or online, a graphic program can be a great way to learn about your industry, complete your coursework, and learn skills you need to succeed in a career. With the amount of free or cheap courses online, you can literally learn to design anywhere you want. Learning graphic design on your own is fun, but it’s also highly rewarding to learn from a classroom, attend an event, or join a design group or organization.
Finding a graphic design group to join can be difficult, especially if you don’t know anyone in your field. Luckily, there are plenty of online communities designed to create a sense of community among graphic designer professionals.
Find a mentor
If you’re interested in graphic design but don’t know where to start, then there is one person who can help you. A mentor is someone who is experienced in graphic designs and who wants to share their knowledge with you.
There are a few different ways you can find a mentor—you can find people online, try social media, or ask around at your favorite print or web design company. A good rule of thumb is to ask around at your design company’s networking events or meetups. When you’re ready to find a mentor, then you have a few options:
Go through an organization like PSFK, which has a directory of designers who have partnered with it. For an easier way to find a mentor, check out Google’s Keyword Planner.
Set Clear Goals
If you’re just starting out, it’s likely that you don’t have many resources. But if you know your goal is to become a designer, setting a realistic goal and learning as much as you can is a great start. When developing your skills, don’t limit yourself to just one skill set or style. Don’t underestimate the power of having multiple skills and trying to learn them all at once!
You can teach yourself anything if you set realistic goals and are determined to achieve them. Here are five things that most designers need to know, and how you can learn them on the go. To become a professional graphic designer, you need to understand a variety of artistic principles.
Buy books and apps.
The most affordable way to learn graphic design on your own is to buy or download an ebook or app that teaches you all the basics. Even with all the apps out there, it’s helpful to get a text-based explanation for each technique so you can better understand and appreciate the design process. There are many websites that offer inexpensive graphic programs for download, but they also include study guides, cheat sheets, sample designs, and more resources to help you learn the application.
Try Graphic Designer For Dummies for a fun, non-threatening read about the basics. It’s available in both e-book and paperback and contains lots of good information about the application of graphic design in all kinds of fields.
Consider Teaching Yourself
Many schools have graphic design or design informatics majors, which means graphic designs can be part of your graduate or undergraduate degree if you decide to teach yourself. Even though graphic is mostly used in digital design, it can also apply to physical products such as brochures and leaflets. Teaching yourself can be a great way to get in touch with your creative side, as well as make money from your hobby.
For those who want to have the best guidance and support around, consider finding a professional graphic designer to help you learn graphic design on your own. You can find graphic designer tutors online by searching for free tutoring offers online.
Conclusion.
This guide taught me a great deal about graphic design. While I didn’t accomplish all of the tasks in this list, I did make progress. Graphic design can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. This guide should be helpful for anyone that is interested in learning graphic design, whether they are a designer or a beginner.
It’s especially beneficial if you’re just starting out because you can take it step-by-step to get started, and you can always graduate to the next level with more information if you need it.