As with all careers as a beginner it can be daunting with no
experience behind you. In becoming a graphic designer your insecurity
can stifle your creativity. You are either unsure of yourself, you shy
away from the simplest of tasks, or your overconfidence leads to
numerous mistakes.
A professions’ knowledge is key and there is no better way than to
learn from others. Studying design literature, watching tutorials and
asking for practical assistance from your work colleagues, teachers or
other experienced graphic designers are all good methods to increase
your own knowledge and experience. The more you do, the more you will
learn. Find professional forums and without being too pushy, ask for
guidance but also read the discussions. You can learn from these too.
Once you have acquired sufficient practical experience, you should be
able to identify your niche. Are you good at particular design
features, such as logos, for instance? Whatever your talent, practice it
continually and be proactive in advertising your skill. You can create
social media profiles for your ‘business’ or ‘brand,’ such as Facebook,
Twitter, or a blog. These are avenues for your name to become recognized
and are great places where you can market yourself.
Initially, you may have to find clients but gradually they will come
to you. Always remember to be professional in your dealings with clients
and avoid posting ‘personal’ posts on social media. A study of business
marketing will assist you not only in marketing yourself but also help
you understand how a design can influence a business. In essence
practice what you preach with your own media marketing.
Remember to keep in the forefront your creativity and innovation and
be open to continually learning through reading articles, studying other
designer’s work and asking questions of fellow designers, no matter
their experience level. A beginner may see something in an entirely new
way from a senior designer, who has been in the business a long time.
Keep learning, always.
Want to know how to get started? Use this comprehensive guide.
Initially the best resources will be books on the subject of graphic
design. There are numerous volumes available but we can advise on
several that will assist new comers to the art of graphic design. These
resources will enable you to discover the intricacies of graphic design
and how to begin designing. The links will take you directly to each
book.
1.
Design is a Job by Mike Monterio – it is easy to read and written well.
2.
Work for Money, Design for Love by David Airey – the author keeps instructions easy.
3.
Graphic Design School: Principles & Practice of Graphic Design by David Dabner – a foundation course for graphic designers.
4.
Graphic design, referenced:
Visual Guide to the Language, the Applications, and the History of
Graphic Design, written by Bryony Gomez-Palacio – a must have book for
all graphic designers.
5.
The Elements of Typographic Style, written by Robert Bringhurst – a masterful style guide.
6.
How to be a Graphic Designer without Losing your Soul, written by Adrian Shaughnessy – practical advice included.
7.
Making & Breaking the Grid: A Graphic Design Layout Workshop, written by Timothy Samara – a comprehensive layout design workshop.
To further your understanding with imagery instead of large amounts
of text, there are documentaries that will make sense of the words in a
visual medium.
- Helvetica – a feature-length movie about typography and graphic design by Gary Hustwit.
- Objectified – a documentary about manufactured objects and our relationship with them by Gary Hustwit.
- Exit Through the Gift Shop – a documentary highlighting Banksy by Banksy!
- Eames: The Architect & The Painter – a documentary about the most influential industrial designers.
Once you have a foundation of knowledge, then comes the practical
steps into becoming a graphic designer. Basically you must get to know
the tools of the trade and practice, practice, practice! The most common
software to use is the Adobe suite. It has a host of applications,
effects and ‘tricks’ that can be utilized, learned, and with experience,
mastered.
The basics can be understood in mere weeks but to master all of what
the design suite can offer, it will take longer. Tutorials are an
effective way to learn and many are available; although, some are not
free, but they are worth the money. Here is a short list of the tools:
Photoshop – a useful tool when working on manipulating images for designs.
Illustrator – this tool enables vector graphics, which are commonly used for logos but other uses are available within it.
InDesign – a powerful program that enables you to
design print materials, electronic books and interactive PDF’s. It is
exceptionally versatile.
Other basics to know are the terms used, such as RGB, CMYK, and
Pantone colors, HEX codes. Learn these to avoid beginner mistakes, such
as colors messed up when copy/pasting them from one format or program to
another.
Here is a good resource to help you.
Here is a brief glossary of terms to know. There are more but we will keep it basic.
Bleed: This occurs when an image or color extends beyond the trimmed edge of a page.
CMYK: Is actually an abbreviation of the colors cyan, magenta, yellow, and black used for printing to create other colors.
Faux-baroque: utilizing swishes, botanical elements and whimsical drawings to humanize designs.
Font: Options for text size and style
Grid: A structure of rows, margins, lines and columns to organize information onto a page.
Hickey: marks on apiece caused by splashes of ink, pieces of lint or dust.
Kerning: The method of adjusting space between individual characters in a font.
Point: This is the unit of measurement for line spacing and fonts. 1 point equals 0.351 mm. (There are 12 points in a Pica.)
Typeface: the full range of characters including letters, punctuation and numbers in a series of fonts.
WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get the acronym for an estimated screen representation of a final image.
To make your design stand out, one design detail to remember is the
typography. The choice of font can make all the difference in fact
utilizing a couple of different fonts can create excellent visuals. The
position of the text is also key to a design, so consider where you
place text blocks and ‘fill’ any empty spaces in the design. Make sure
you are aware of the differences in fonts, such as serif and sans serif.
Also learn about leading, tracking, line-heights and kerning. Read this
article on typography basics.
A key element to design is the color palette so color theory and the
way colors work together is important. Learn about the basic color
schemes and how your design can set a mood or give visual impact with
the right color choice. Part of the Adobe suite, called
Kuler, is a good place to experiment with color shades to find out how some shades work better than others.
Once you have learned these basics, remember that good design has many factors, but keep in mind these points:
- Don’t make the design over complicated, if it is too busy or crowded
it will detract from its purpose. Simple is good but refine it to pixel
perfect and keep it elegant.
- Define who your target audience is and design with them in mind. Your art work should please them not just you.
- Remember to maintain a balance between the design and the text as this will make it not only easy to read but clean.
- Know the fundamentals of design. These include balance, contrast,
alignment, gestalt, white space, repetition and consistency. Take a look
at this comprehensive list.
- Learn about grids – although a basic tool it is vital for creating
stunning designs. Grids give your art structural balance. A firm
foundation will pay dividends. Try this: http://www.thegridsystem.org/
- Don’t be afraid to revise your work, in fact always revise a design
before using it. Get outside opinions, as sometimes being too close to
an art work makes it difficult to be objective about it.
- Imitation of a great artist is allowed, but ensure you don’t copy! Read ‘Steal Like an Artist’ – full of illustrations, exercises and examples.
- Save this link as it has useful lessons in every segment of design:
And just when you thought the reading was done, here are more books
that will assist you in becoming a graphic artist and understand the
concept, history, and techniques involved.
- Megg’s History of Graphic Design by Philip B. Meggs. This comprehensive reference book includes an interactive resource card.
- Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton.
- The Art of Looking Sideways by Alan Fletcher
- Do Good Design by David B. Berman
- Logo Design Love by David Airey
- Information is Beautiful by David McCandless
- The Designer Says edited by Sara Bader includes inspiring words, witticisms and pearls of wisdom from the world’s best graphic designers.
