Your Dream as a Graphic Designer

So you dream of becoming a graphic designer! You’ve heard that it’s a really fun job because you get to be creative and still earn money, right? Yes!  This is very true, specially if you have a passion for creativity.

A little about me, I’ve always liked drawing and since childhood felt really attracted to colors, shapes, glitter (lol), and anything that seemed out of this world. I went to school and studied graphic design. I earned my BA in Arts focusing on graphic design and marketing. To me, being a graphic designer doesn’t really feel like work but an outlet to express my creativity. I also get to solve other people’s problems at the same time so it’s a win win!

If you are interested in becoming a graphic designer but don’t have much money for school, or you had a career change, or you just want to learn something new that can maybe turn into a side job or full time job, then this blog post is for you. I will show you how you can learn graphic design the correct way and not have anyone know that you didn’t go to school. I say correct way because there are lots of quick methods out there that don’t really tell you everything you have to know to be a SUCCESSFUL graphic designer. 

Self Taught vs School Educated

While design school can prepare you for a successful career in the design field, there are lots of people out there that are self taught and are doing pretty well. It all depends on how hard you hustle and what you chose to learn. Being a designer myself and having worked for different companies for a while, I could always tell who were the people that actually went to school and those who decided to learn on their own. I knew by their font combinations, design layout, and by how many filters they used on the same design.

See, its not all about the tools. You can be a master on using all the design programs but if your design foundation is not right, you are no help to companies trying to sell and get their messages across. In order to be a great designer you must understand design fundamentals. This is one thing that most self taught designer lack.

Design fundamentals are actually more important than just learning how to use tools.

These include:

• design composition & hierarchy
• typography (very important) 
• marketing & understanding your audience
• color theory
• overall design aesthetic

Most people that become graphic designers on their own, only focus on learning the technical aspects such as learning how to use Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign. That is ok if you just want it as a hobby. Being a successful graphic designer takes much more knowledge than just learning how to use tools. It involves understanding that there is a problem to be solved and having that background knowledge to to solve it.

Know Some Design History

Learning a bit of design history is a big plus in your career. Not only will you appear more knowledgable, but this can help you be a better designer overall. Recognizing some iconic graphic designers will give you that inspiration to build your own style. Learning from the masters can also help you understand what works and what doesn’t. You get to see what a successful design looks like.

Iconic Graphic Designers

Take some time to learn a bit about them and their work. Why are they successful? Why do they design that way? What is the meaning behind their work? Where do they get their inspiration? How do they use color, typography etc.

I remember when I was in school and learning about different designers, I didn’t really have a style back then but the style I still have now is thanks to my typography class. I had a project on art director Fabien Baron. His style blew me away!  The way Fabien Baron uses type and design together is astonishing! At that point I knew I wanted to build my style similar to his. I fell in love with high end and luxurious design. You can see that in my work here.

So take the time, you might even come up with your own style just by looking at their work.  Here are some iconic graphic designers you should know about:

• Paul Rand
• Milton Glaser
• Paula Scher
• Neville Brody
• Michael Beirut
• David Carson
• Alan Fletcher
• Chip Kidd
• Armin Hoffman
• Herb Lubalin
• Stefan Sagmeister
• Michael Bierut
• Ruth Ansel
• Cipe Pineles
• Bradbury Thompson
• Alex Brodovitch
• George Lois
• Saul Bass

Art Periods

This is not a requirement but it is important to know art periods and how design was during those times. What were posters like? How did people advertise? I’m showing you how to be a “Bomb Designer” so gotta know this stuff….😀. Take some time and just learn a bit of different design eras such as:

• Art Nouveau Period
• Industrial Revolution
• Renaissance Art
• Bauhaus
• The New York School
• Digital Revolution

For all this I recommend Meggs’ History of Graphic Design by Philip B. Meggs. This book really gives you a deeper appreciation for design and also shows you how it has evolved over time.

Learn some Typography

Take some time and read some typography books. I am not saying go and create your own fonts and learn lettering. Although that is cool to learn if your’e into it, but learn what different fonts are out there. There are lots of different fonts and each serve for different purposes. For example did you know that Times New Roman is the best font chosen for for reading material? It is easy on the eyes and it’s the go to font for magazines and books. Go check!

Learn some type combinations. For example which fonts go best together. I won’t go to much in detail because I will lose you but in design, it is not ok to use a variety of fonts on the same layout. There are certain rules in typography that must be followed to be effective in your design. Yes, there are some rules you can break later on but in order to do this you must first understand the basics. It is also essential to understand the history of letterforms to use type creatively.

I recommend: Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton 

I recommend:  From Gutenberg to Open Type by Robin Dodd 

Master the Software

YES! The fun part! Ok so now that you know some famous designers, learned some history and typography, it’s time to learn how to use the programs. We are so lucky that we live in a time where you can learn almost anything from Youtube and reading books. Yay for Youtube! One thing I recommend is practicing with the FREE trial versions. Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator I believe all have a one month trial version. Take this time to watch lots of Youtube videos on your specific design wants. Learn to edit photos, make logos, magazines, t-shirt design or whatever design aspect that you want to get into and practice lots for a month. Let me know in the comments down below if I should create design courses, I would love to if it helps.

Attend Workshops and Events

Attending different design events can help you meet other people in your filed and keep you motivated. Having others to relate to is really important because you won’t feel lost by having others that are in a similar path. You can also join many design Facebook groups and connect with other designers learning the same.

Do Free Work

Once you know how to use the Adobe Creative Suit, which is all the design programs that graphic designers use (Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign), ask to do things for people or companies. This might seem like a waste of time specially because you want to start making money using your new skills but you must have a portfolio to show potential customers what you can do. The best way to do this is by having work to show. It also gives you an opportunity to practice dealing with clients and see if this is really for you. A big plus is that people can’t get too mad at you because you are doing FREE work.

Showcase Your Work

If you want to make this a career, it is important to have a platform to show your work. While it is best to have a website where you can send people to, I know it’s hard to build when you are just starting out. Luckily, there are many free platforms out there for designers to show their work. Two of my favorites are: Behance.net and Coroflot.com. They also both have a section where you can find work or connect with other designers.

Practice

The best advice I can give is PRACTICE. You will make mistakes and that’s ok. Sometimes you will feel like giving up because you hate Illustrator and the pen tool lol…. but it’s ok. You cannot have a smooth journey because failure serves to help you grow and learn. So don’t see failure as bad.

I remember hating Photoshop because I couldn’t remove backgrounds correctly. How did they do it so perfectly? Looking back at my work I never knew how far I would come. If this is for you and you love it, you will find a way to keep going. And my advice is FAILURE is good. Next time you fail at something know that you are much closer to your path, push through and keep going. If you get frustrated along the way, take a break go for a run, go watch a movie and come back to your design with a fresh mind.

I really hope I was able to help in your decision on becoming a graphic designer or at least gave you some useful information. Let me know any questions you may have. I will be creating more design posts and sharing everything I know so make sure to subscribe to this blogpost at the bottom of my HOME page if this is of interest to you.

XoXO

Xio.