How can you approach graphic design professionally?

 

Graphics Design Education And Its Resources: Where To Get Inspired

Graphic design is a vast field. It doesn’t seem like it when you first hear the term. But when you sit down and consider the possibilities of design, you realize just how many ways you can go with it. From social media posts to billboard posters, photography, online adverts, and product branding, captivating graphics come in all shapes and sizes. 

Since you’re here, you may already know that. So, let’s skip the ‘what’ and get to the ‘hows’ of becoming a professional graphic designer. Follow along to understand what you’ll need to do.

How can you approach graphic design professionally?

Several professions rely on digital design skills. These include (first and foremost) digital marketing, photography, videography, animation, and branding to name a few. Hence, learning this art can be quite interesting and make for an enjoyable creative experience.

But while design can feel quite easy when mastered, you do need to put in the effort to get there. You’ll need learning material, and tools for practice to get going. 

Places You Can Learn

There are tons of people and brands online that teach design from the ground up. So, if you’re a beginner, you don’t have to worry about things you should know beforehand. You can take a fresh start from wherever. Whether it’s the basics of creative design or a full-fledged product design course, learning resources are just a web search away. That too, with multiple free and paid options to choose from. 

A piece of advice: Always remember that even the most successful designers had to begin from scratch. Nobody’s born an expert. You learn, and then you practice. You make mistakes, you improve, and you repeat the process. That’s how you get to greatness. So, keep your chin up and get started on your journey ahead.

Resources You Can Use

Adobe software has become an industry-standard in terms of design tools. Whether it’s photo touchups, illustrations, social post designs, or UI/UX concepts, Adobe takes the lead. If you know someone from the industry, you must have heard names like Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and XD. All of those come from the same company. 

Of course, you don’t need all of them to get started. For instance, you only need Photoshop to edit photographs and create custom illustrations solely with Illustrator. Pursuing a detailed photography, social post or UI design course would help you narrow down your software needs. Of course, Adobe software comes with a premium subscription. So, you’ll have to spend a little on that. But it’s a small investment to pursue your passion.

Icons, Graphics, & Images

You may have heard of the term ‘smart work over hard work’ at some point. Well, that’s relevant here too. When you get into the design industry, it’s not like you’d always have a patient client. Sometimes, people would want the best from you in minimal time without compromising on quality. 

When that happens for real, you can either create everything from scratch. Or, you can take advantage of the thousands of ready-made resources available. From pictures to caricatures, icons, logo concepts, and social post templates, you can find creative examples of just about anything online. If you’re looking for freebies in that, you can take a look at the following:

• Freepik
• Pixabay
• Vecteezy
• Flaticon
• Pexels

But where there’s something free, there’s almost always something premium out there (which is way better). When you go for ready-made graphics from a paid site, you get higher creativity as well as a larger pool of options. For those, you can check out Shutterstock and Getty Images. Do whatever best suits your needs. 

Free Alternatives To Paid Tools 

As mentioned earlier, Adobe software isn’t free. But if you’re a student or a beginner, you’re already short of a budget, to begin with. This would take premium design software out of your range. So, you’d want something more affordable. Luckily for you, there are plenty of free alternatives out there. Of those, I’m listing down below for your convenience:

With Canva, you can design things online through easy-to-use templates for all kinds of design needs. Adobe Express helps you get familiar with graphic design through Adobe software free of cost. For vector graphics, Inkscape enables you to take advantage of a wide range of features and tools. Finally, GIMP helps you make the most of photo editing and manipulation without spending a penny.

How To Keep Up With Design Industry Trends

With what you’ve gathered above, you’d be ready to begin your graphics design journey. But, there’s still one unresolved issue; design trends evolve with time. You can’t know for sure which concepts would fade out and which ones would last. So, whether you’re a newbie or a pro, staying on the level with the latest trends is what will keep you on top of your game. 

Learn From The Leaders

One of the ways you can do that is by following influencers. But not just any type of influencer. You need to learn from the leaders of the design industry. For instance, taking inspiration from acclaimed professionals like Lauren Hom, Mike Perry, and Jessica Walsh can help you improve your approach toward each canvas you choose to fill with your creative prowess.

Observe Others’ Work

While industry leaders can help you get a dose of inspiration, you should also take a look around. See what fellow influencers are doing. Instagram and Behance are great platforms to connect with design professionals. 

Here’s the thing: Some of them might become industry leaders in the future. So, it’s best to observe what they’re doing and take from their ideas to enhance your work. 

Engage With The Community

Again, connecting with people will only show you visual concepts. But as important as practical examples are, theoretical knowledge is crucial in design education. So, what should you do in addition to joining online discussion boards and forums on platforms like Quora, Reddit, and Facebook? Here, you’ll find thought-provoking discussions on a variety of creative topics. This will help you participate in brainstorms that open your mind to a much wider range of ideas and possibly keep you from facing a block.

A journey towards learning isn’t complete at the end of a course or two. You keep improving and evolving with every second of life. That’s how you know you’re always fresh and interesting.

Now Take The World On With Your Creativity!

Now, you know quite a bit about graphic design. However, there’s one last tip that you should take from this blog post. What’s that you ask? Your creative flair and originality. That’s the one thing you should always keep in mind. A designer isn’t someone who creates things out of thin air, it’s their job to come up with new ideas to produce appealing final products. 

You should take concepts from all around, but never forget that creativity can not be contained within a box. You have to take chances, try new things, and make exceptions to express your ideas to the fullest. 

We wish you the best of luck in your pursuit of greatness in the design industry. Follow our blog for more creative design content. We love to motivate and guide people with the knowledge we’ve gained through experience.