Hello and welcome to this beginner's guide series to graphic design.
From what graphic design is, skills to be a graphic designer, design theory, education you need,
equipment you need to the graphic design portfolio and interview advice.
This series is for anyone at any level.
So if you're interested in graphic design and considering becoming a graphic designer
join me as I discuss a series of graphic design topics.
So you're thinking about getting into graphic design and
you're wondering how to begin. In this video I'm going to discuss and suggest a
few things you can do to help you get started. To get started I would suggest
you undertake six key steps and I would recommend you do them in the following order.
Step one: Learn research, Step two: Collect, Step three: Be inspired,
Step four: Practice, Step five: Seek education
and Step six: Apply your skills.
Now these steps can be taken at any stage in your life if young
still in school and looking to get into graphic design you can follow these steps.
If you're older perhaps you're thinking of a career change
you can also follow these steps. In this video I'm going to talk about step two: Collect.
So while you're undertaking the first step, learning and researching the
next thing I would recommend you do is start to collect things.
Often we see new things every day
these are a few things I would recommend you collect.
Collect found objects.
Start to build yourself a digital and print scrapbook for my print scrapbook I use
an A3 card binder. If you find a piece of design you like, a cool piece of
typography, a leaflet, a flyer, a poster, anything try and get hold of it and keep
it in a folder. If you find a cool image on the internet try and save it on your
computer to a dedicated scrapbook folder. Collect photos: If you cannot take the
design example away with you take a photo.
Use your smartphone to document your findings.
I actually use my Instagram account as a scrapbook
I always take pictures of cool things I like which I can come back to later
and also share with others. Seek to collect what inspires you or what you
think works well. Keep in mind that you're not trying to copy what you see
but learn and seek inspiration from it. Every now and then look what you have
collected and allow yourself to absorb what you see and learn from what others
have done before and what works.
This will help feed your subconscious and fuel your imagination.
Collect your thoughts. You will not only see cool things but you will also think
cool things. Keep a sketch pad on you at all times. Sometimes cool ideas can hit you
anytime even when you're walking down the street. Be ready to capture these.
You never know where a quick idea and they lead. By writing down all your thoughts
this will allow you to clear your mind and think of other ideas.
Collect books. If you are able to start, to purchase creative books try and buy a book a month.
Now I would recommend that they are not just about design try books on
photography, science, technology, illustration, fine art, web design,
typography and so on. The idea here is creative variety. Try and build your own
creative collection, surround yourself with it, as it can all be a great source
of inspiration to get your creative juices flowing and improve your design
theory and technical knowledge. In a future episode I will attempt to
recommend some good books you can read to help you get started. As well as
collecting books you can subscribe to monthly creative magazines.
These are great because they will keep you up to date with what's going on in
the creative industry. So that's the second step on how to begin as a graphic designer.
Well I hope you enjoyed this video If you did hit the like button on my facebook page.
or follow me on twitter at TastyTuts.
So in the next video, I am going to talk about the next step,
step 3, and talk about how seeking inspiration can
help you begin as a graphic designer.
So see you in the next video!