How
To Learn Graphic Design (If You’re A Beginner)
1. Dive
into the History of Graphic Design
By learning design history, its movements and designers,
you’ll become more informed and appreciate not only the work of past designers
but also take inspiration from current design practices. This will allow you to
diversify your taste and learn about what makes good design. As you navigate
the different design disciplines, start to pick areas that you’re drawn to and
learn more about that subject to discover where your passions lie and areas you
want to explore further.
As a designer, you will dedicate your life to learning
new techniques and processes. Having knowledge of design history will enrich
your skills as a designer as you learn more about the profession and past
design movements. Knowledge of past movements and designers will enrich your
skills, inform your approach to new projects and serve as inspiration for the
work that you will create.
There are many places where you can get started with your
design history knowledge, from podcasts to documentaries and design books. Want
to get started building your own design library? We’ve curated this
list of both
classics and newer releases that can be a great starting point of important
books to start reading. To get you started, be sure to add these five to your
list:
o
Graphic Design
School: covers
the essentials of visual design, theory and practical examples with case
studies covering both print and digital.
o
History of
Graphic Design Vol 1: is a great starting point for your
graphic design studies. This first volume from Jens Müller is a comprehensive
history of 70 years of graphic design, designers and developments from the late
19th century to after the Second World War.
o
History of
Graphic Design Vol 2: is a comprehensive resource on the history of
designing from the 1960s until the mid-2010s explaining the work of prominent
designers like Massimo Vangelis, Paula Scher and Stefan Sagmeister, providing
you a concise summary of key figures in design.
o
100 Ideas That
Changed Graphic Design: gives an overview of the most influential ideas
within the world of design from the 19th and early 20th centuries, highlighting
key ideas and providing valuable insights that shaped post-war consumer
society.
o
Graphic Design
Visionaries: goes beyond theory and focuses on 75
designers that shaped history, sharing their stories and important works. The
book covers the development of design, mid-century design, corporate branding,
typography, magazine design and iconic posters.
For more book suggestions, check out Shillington’s
Book Club recommendations
where Shillington teachers share their favorite books from their own personal
libraries. And for some more inspiration, explore Design History 101 in
the Throwback
Thursday series
on our blog for brief lessons on design legends like Aaron Douglas, Louise
Fili, Alan Kitching, Emory Douglas and many more.
2. Master
the Design Principles & Process
Graphic design is the effective visual communication of
an idea or concept. Design is all around us—from food packaging and logos to
billboard posters—design is a daily part of our lives, enticing us to buy a
product or helping with an everyday task like using an app on your phone.
Every designer knows the 5 key principles of
design which are
alignment, repetition, contrast, hierarchy and balance. These principles help
to create a cohesive design, stability, organization, consistency, impact and a
clear message. By following these fundamental principles, designers can solve
visual and conceptual problems as a part of the design process, from the research to the idea
generation and final outcome that answers the client brief.
In order for a piece of design to be successful, it needs
to adhere to these fundamental design principles and how each one works
together. Alignment helps to create a more cohesive and orderly design. And
through repetition, the design is strengthened by tying the elements together
through association, creating a familiar and consistent visual style.
On the other hand, contrast is a method to create
emphasis within a design for impact, which can be seen in color choices, scale,
or making specific text bold thereby creating a central focal point. To create
an organization in your design, hierarchy helps to create a system where each
element is organized according to its level of importance.
And, to achieve balance, the design needs to have
structure through either symmetry or tension. Next time you’re looking at a
design online or out on the street, try an exercise and see if you can identify
these principles.
3. Geek Out
On Typography
Typography relates to the way copy is
formatted and arranged within a layout and plays a pivotal role in graphic
design. Type includes typefaces, point sizes, line-spacing, letter-spacing and
kerning. As you navigate your way through design, you’ll learn about the
differences between a sans serif and a serif, deepen your knowledge of
typefaces and learn which font’s pair well with one
another.
Typography gives character to a brand and is crucial to
all communications, from magazine copy to advertisements and logos. By
understanding typography, you’ll be able to justify typographic choices in your
own work and how it can elevate the design. Apart from being central to the
communication of ideas, type gives the design a specific mood through the tone
of voice.
Type can be created by hand or digitally, but it’s also
worth noting the different specializations within typography. Let’s review
lettering, typeface design and typesetting in detail to learn more about each
one:
o
Lettering: custom-drawn
letterforms created either by hand or digitally that can be used for logos,
murals, signs, album artwork, advertising, products, wedding invitations and
more.
o
Typeface Design: is
the creation of type characters that can be the full set from A-Z (along with
numerals, punctuation, accents). Although some typefaces contain the full set,
others can be limited to just upper case or only lowercase. The characters are
created within a vector-based program like Adobe Illustrator before
transitioning to an application like Photographer for further refinement.
o
Typesetting: is
the process of laying out text within a layout, whether it’s a newspaper,
brochure or magazine. The typesetter usually works with large blocks of text
and establishes a hierarchical structure for the headings, quotes, captions and
so on.
If you’re finding yourself curious about typography and
possibly experimenting with letterforms, then why not explore some Instagram
accounts to further familiarize yourself with some awesome creative. We’ve
compiled this list of
Instagram accounts
for type lovers and you should give these accounts a follow.
4. Study
the Fundamentals of Color
Color affects the mood and personality of a design. The
best way to learn about color combinations is to look at the work of other
designers and studios. You can then begin to create your own inspiration boards
with color palettes that invoke different moods. You can also explore Adobe’s
Color CC to further experiment with various color combinations. Palettes can be
created from photos, prints, patterns or any other graphics that you
find.
Color is such an important part of design because it can
be used to affect the mood of design and the brand, being used as a tool to
persuade and entice. Designers learn about the meaning of each color, color
combinations and how the palettes can be used for emotive impact. When
selecting colors for a design, it’s important to have a solid foundation of
color and the science behind it. By understanding color theory, the designer
can make the proper choice in the color selections to ensure the brand stands
out and is relevant to the target audience.
The book Color Now: Color
Combinations for Commercial Design Color is an excellent resource to help guide you in
making thoughtful decisions about color use, color combinations and examples of
successful projects for inspiration. By looking closely into the psychology of
color, associations and its application, this book is your go-to manual for
research and inspiration. Perhaps after reading this book, you’ll look at ads
or apps more critically, and then learn to apply the concepts within your own
work, ensuring the color palettes you select evoke an emotion that is aligned
with the brand and audience.
5. Get Well
Versed in Design Terminology
As you start learning more about graphic design, it’s
also important to become acquainted with the terminology so that you can speak
the same language as other designers. We’ve put together a list of 120 design terms to help you understand the
meaning behind each one.
A few common terms you may have heard of include the
golden ratio, rule of thirds, hierarchy, kerning, leading, tracking and
x-height. By becoming fluent with the common design terms, you’ll be able to
understand the “design speak” when meeting with other designers as well as
communicating with your team.
6. Master
Design Programs
As a designer, you’ll need to learn the basics of the
Adobe Creative Cloud (Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop) and Sketch to learn
how to work with them together to create everything from a logo to a poster or
a book. By mastering the essential design programs, you’ll be able to tackle
client briefs with ease. The top four you need to start with include:
o
Adobe Illustrator: is a
vector-based program that allows you to create shapes and draw using the pen
tool. The great thing about the tool is that it allows you to create a broad
range of artwork from logos to icons and illustrations. Plus, each graphic can
be reproduced and expanded to any size since it’s a vector.
o
Adobe InDesign: is a
layout tool that can be used for both digital and print, working cohesively
with Photoshop and Illustrator. As the industry standard, it’s a powerful
program for creating multi-page documents, creating master pages and paragraph
styles that can be used to create everything from magazines to brochures.
o
Adobe Photoshop: is
a powerful program used by many creative professionals from designers to
developers and photographers. The purpose of the program is for image editing,
retouching, image manipulation and creating compositions.
o
Sketch: is
the standard for digital designers. The program combines vectors with basic
image effects making it a very intuitive program to use for designing apps and
websites.
7. Get
Creatively Inspired
Looking through design blogs, design books, creative magazines and social media (Instagram,
Pinterest, Behance) is a good starting point to discover what type of aesthetic
you gravitate towards. By learning from the work of other designers, you start
to learn about different styles and current trends. Over time you’ll begin to
develop your own personal style based on your interests.
As a creative, it’s good to know what the latest trends
are and what other designers are creating. By following blogs, you can get your
dose of inspiration and maybe get a few new ideas in the process. We’ve put
together this amazing resource of 50
blogs on art and
design that you can explore so that you can stay up to date on what’s going on
in the creative space, as well as push your creative projects forward. Here are
a few to get you started:
o
Create by Adobe: a magazine by creative, for creative—available online
and as a mobile app. Visit them for inspiration and tutorials on photography,
illustration, graphic design, web design, motion graphics, audio/video,
branding and more.
o
99U: started
by Adobe which is aimed at helping creative professionals within their careers?
The practical articles offer guidance on productivity, positive work habits,
work & life balance, personal branding, leadership and much more.
o
Wix Creative: offers great content for creative,
from inspiration to tips and resources with helpful guides on topics from mood
boards to creating an online portfolio.
o
It’s Nice That: is
a popular industry resource for top articles on design, art and illustration
around the world.
o
The Inspiration Grid: an online magazine that showcases global creative talent,
providing you with the best in art, photography, illustration, design and
typography.
To learn more about studios and other designers, take a
look at the I Love These
Geniuses selections
from Shillington students and staff from around the world to find out about the
creative who inspire them.
As any creative knows, Instagram is full of visual
delight from illustration to lettering, photography and design. As the
third most popular social media platform, it’s the perfect go-to for your daily
inspiration and to connect with other creative. To help you get started, take a
look at our curated list of 100 Instagram accounts to follow to discover
your new favorite creative.
Our next place to browse for inspiration, research and
creating mood boards is on Pinterest. It’s the perfect platform to discover new
boards and create themed boards that you can reference later or share with a
friend. To save you time, we’ve put together our top 100 Pinterest accounts for graphic design
inspiration that you can start following now and begin creating your own boards
today.
And lastly, Behance is our next source for inspiration
where you can discover top designers, typographers, digital artists and
studios. Explore this list of 60 Designers on
Behance that we
think you should know about and bookmark for future reference.
8. Get
Social
Social media platforms like Dribble, Behance and
Instagram are great resources for not only discovering the work of other creative
but an opportunity to connect with other designers from around the world that
you admire. By regularly publishing your work on these channels, you’ll be sure
to get your work noticed by other designers. These platforms allow you to share
your work and receive feedback for an ongoing exchange which can help you grow
as a designer and possibly land your next job.
You never know what can develop from a new connection and
find an unexpected opportunity. Through social media, you can exchange in
conversations with other designers, share your latest work and ask for feedback
from someone you admire. Stay engaged, join groups and follow companies that
you respect. Want some tips on mastering your social media strategy and
deciding which channels you should be sharing your work on? Then read this list of
tips for
Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Facebook and portfolio websites.
9.
Submit your Work
Once you start producing your own work, updating your
online presence should be an ongoing part of your overall strategy to ensure
you gain visibility and get your latest projects noticed by other designers,
recruiters and agencies. This is the first step to getting your work seen!
Though social networks like the ones mentioned above are good places to share
your designs, they’re not the only places where you should be showcasing your
talents. Reach out to other sites such as blogs and online magazines to gain
visibility with a broader audience.
There are a lot of websites out there and you may be
wondering what the best places to submit to? To help you out, we’ve put
together a list of 40 design blogs you can familiarize yourself
with and submit your work to. Here’s a preview of five favorites you can start
with:
o
Creative Review: the leading publication in
showcasing the latest design work and supporting new talent. To submit your
work, contact their editorial team.
o
Visuelle: your go-to resource for graphic designers around the world for a daily
dose of visual inspiration. To be considered, email submit@visuelle.co.uk.
o
Creative Boom: has been the key player in
celebrating creativity and curating a wide range of work from various
disciplines. It’s also an amazing blog for expert tips and industry insights.
To submit your project for consideration, go to their guidelines page.
o
Eye On Design: one of the oldest associations for design in the United
States and has a huge membership base. Their Eye On Design blog is the perfect
destination to discover emerging and established designers. To apply, reach out
to past blog contributors to be considered.
o
Design by Women: founded by graphic designer Mary Hemingway and aims to
showcase and champion female creative from around the world, as well as to
inspire other women. If you’re a creative working in design and identify as
female, get in touch with Design by Women for a feature.
Getting your design work featured in magazines and blogs
is an incredible way to advance, but equally, submitting to
awards can help
with gaining international exposure. A few popular design awards you can look
into are The Design Kids Awards, Indigo Awards, AGDA, Creative Design Awards, Adobe Design Achievement Awards, Young Guns and the D&AD New Blood Awards.
10.
Join Design Groups and Network
By attending design events (now virtually!), joining
global and local design groups and professional organizations, you can network
with other creative to build your connections in the industry. By connecting
with and learning from fellow designers, you can create long-lasting
friendships and potentially find a mentor (which is great even if you’re not a
beginner) who can help you in your design career.
As a creative, especially when you’re a beginner first
getting started, you’ll need to continue learning as much as you can and
network. But of course, the learning never ends, especially when you want to
ensure your long term success. As technology is constantly evolving, you too
need to learn about the software, new techniques and ways to be a more
efficient designer. Taking a design course is an important step in gaining
practical knowledge and building a portfolio, but the learning doesn’t end
beyond school. As a designer, you need to stay curious and continue self-training.
A few popular creative events you can bookmark to stay in
the loop about future happenings are:
o
Adobe Max: offers live and on-demand content that you can watch on topics relating
to creativity, technology and entertainment—with over 300 sessions to watch,
there’s plenty to choose from depending on your interests.
o
Adobe 99U: the annual conference is aimed at inspiring creative through keynote
speakers, workshops, talks and master classes so that you can reinvigorate your
work with new ideas and network with other creative. Some famous past speakers
include Debbie Millman, Adam Kurtz, Tina Roth Eisenberg and Michael Beirut.
o
Nicer Tuesdays: monthly event with talks featuring
four speakers from around the world that talk about their latest project. Every
month there’s an incredible line-up of speakers you should not miss.
o
Creative Mornings: hosts virtual events in cities around
the world centered on a different monthly theme. They also provide a platform
called Fieldtrips which are meet ups where you can
interact with others, learn and collaborate.
o
Wix Playground: hosts monthly events that include
workshops, talks and portfolio reviews hosted by creative for designers. Topics
covered include type inspiration, illustration and talks with well-known creative
about their career to name a few.
o
Ladies, Wine & Design: is a global group started by Jessica
Walsh with the aim of promoting diversity in the creative industry and creating
a space inclusive of all women. Through the group, there is a free mentorship
offering, along with portfolio reviews and creative meet ups.
For local design events in your home city, check out
the Design Event
listing on the
Shillington blog.
11.
Explore Creative Career Paths
As you’re learning more about graphic design, start
thinking about the type of creative work you’re interested in. The design
industry is constantly evolving and an exciting career to pursue. As a
designer, no day is ever the same and you will be tackling a wide variety of
projects at a fast pace. A job as a graphic designer is in high demand with
some impressive starting salaries and a promising trajectory.
While you’re in the exploratory stage and learning more
about design, start thinking about the type of work you want to specialize in,
such as UX/UI Designer, Visual Designer, Digital Designer, Creative Director,
3D Designer, VR Designer, Muralist, Product Designer, Motion Designer, Animator
and so on.
There’s nothing better than working in a field that you
love and are passionate about. It’s exciting to have so many different career options to choose from as a creative
once you’ve acquired the training. If you start off as a junior
designer, your career can progress to an art director and after a few years in
the industry, you may choose to go freelance or start your own studio. If you
didn’t start off in a creative industry, it’s not too late to change
paths.
Want to hear from other designers who took the plunge and
changed careers? Find out about their stories and discover how
they were able to change from working in various professions like marketing to
accounting and become a full-time designer.
Learning graphic design offers many opportunities in
the type of work that you can be doing. To help
you decipher the world of design and the different areas you can take in your
professional career, we broke it down into several parts:
o
Branding/Visual Identity Designer: whether
it’s an individual, startup or small company, every business has its unique
story to tell. As a designer, you would work with the client to develop the
brand identity to bring the brand to life.
o
Advertising & Marketing Designer: as
advertising is all around us, from billboard posters to social media ads and YouTube
advertisements, the advertising designer’s role is to create a concept that is
targeting the demographic of the product.
o
Digital Designer: refers
to design produced on a screen and covers everything from User Interface (UI)
for websites to apps. As a digital designer, you will be working on all the
visual elements for the digital experience. Based on your design, UI developers
code to bring the final product to life.
o
Product Designer: as a
product designer you are part of the entire design process for the product and
can be in one of these roles—Interaction or UX Designer, Graphic or Visual
Designer, User Researcher, Data Analyst, Prototype or Business
Strategist.
o
Editorial Designers: are
responsible for the design of magazines or books, such as creating a cover,
layout and graphics. As an editorial designer, you’re responsible to convey the
idea of the editorial.
o
Packaging Designers: make
a significant impact on the visibility of the brand in the market through
creating the packaging for a new brand or redesigning old packaging which can
greatly impact the brand image and boost product sales.
o
Typeface Designers: combine
their knowledge of typography to create typefaces. As you already know,
typography is an integral part of visual communication and typographers are
essential to design and know the ins and outs of typography. Looking to
familiarize yourself with some of the best type foundries? Multidisciplinary
designer Tobias van Schneider shares his picks of some of his favorites from
Milieu Grotesque to Hoofer& Co.
o
Human-Centered Design: is
also known as design thinking that informs all facets of design and the design
process—identifying the problem and then finding the solution. Essentially
finding an effective way to solve the design problem.
o
Design for Good: focuses
on the user as part of human-centered design and social change for positive
impact and making the world a better place.
o
Ad Agency or In-House Marketing Design: when
you’re beginning as a designer, you may ask yourself if you want to work at a
studio, ad agency or in-house for a company. Of course with the choice you make
there are always positives. With an in-house role, you will be part of the team
and work according to the brand guidelines, becoming an expert in the overall
direction of the brand. However, working at an agency you’ll work across a
broad range of products and get to apply your knowledge and skills in different
industries.
o
Freelancer: want
to go freelance after graduating? It’s an excellent path if you want to work
from anywhere in the world! Working as a freelancer comes with additional
responsibilities where you have to find clients, handle contracts and build
your own brand. To learn more, hear from the Liverpool designer Matt Pealing
who offers some advice on how to succeed as a freelance
designer and what tactics you can use to build up your client list.
12. Start a
Passion Project
Passion projects are a wonderful way to develop a new
skill that is outside of your comfort zone or start a self-initiated project
that is connected to what you’re passionate about. The work that you develop
can turn into an interesting series and a future addition to your
portfolio.
If you’re in need of some creative inspiration and have
the time to start something new, take a look at these six approaches to start a
new project, either solo or to collaborate with another creative. Apart from
learning new skills or collaborating with another creative, you can start with
self-initiated timed experiments, creative or design challenges.
As with any project that you initiate on your own, don’t
put too much pressure on yourself, allow yourself to experiment freely and make
this a time for play. To get those ideas flowing, you can browse other designer
portfolios, explore creative blogs and scroll through Pinterest or Instagram.
For some ideas on creative projects, check out this list that Format put
together for seven design
projects to get
those creative juices flowing regardless of your
background.
The graphic design track can be perfect for you if you
have a creative eye and an endless curiosity about the world around you. By
committing yourself to a practice of learning and applying the skills you learn
daily, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a graphic designer. You may even
want to deepen your knowledge and gain a certificate in
graphic design so
that you can advance your skills even further and set yourself apart from the
competition.
