- Now there has never been
a better time to learn graphic design.
Never before have we had the technology
to bring our imagination to life and empower us
and never before have we had such amazing,
accessible resources at our fingertips.
Today, more and more students are seeking to self-teach
and reject the traditional method to learn graphic design.
Now learning graphic design is no simple task.
If you want to do it well and be successful.
As empowering and accessible as teaching is
unfortunately for those actively seeking to self-teach
they will be missing out
on one of the crucial benefits to traditional education.
Which I think sometimes gets overlooked.
And is a factor which I have seen emerge
and become more problematic.
And that is guidance.
For those looking to self-teach
it can be difficult for a number of reasons
but the most common will be
which direction to take?
In this video,
I'll be answering a question from Hamza,
who asks, can you give us the best method to learn design?
So in this video
I'm going to attempt to suggest an itinerary list
and a pathway you can navigate to learn graphic design.
Some of which you may already be familiar with,
but if not, then I hope this is of use to you.
So the best method to learn graphic design is
one, understand graphic design.
Two, familiarize yourself with the tools and equipment.
Three, collect and get inspired.
Four, practice and build skills.
Five, seek education and apply your skills
and six, make mistakes and learn from them.
Now, if you're an aspiring designer
I would recommend you follow these steps
and in that order,
as each step will put you in good stead
to move on to the next step.
So now I'm going to discuss each point
in a little more depth.
One, understand graphic design.
So before you put pen to paper
and start to let your creativity run wild,
I would encourage you first understand
what graphic design really is
and become familiar with the fundamentals.
Now, this starts with
understanding visual elements and design principles.
If you are unsure on what visual elements are,
well they all the ingredients
that can make any visual design
and include line, color, shape, texture, space, form
and typography.
Next comes design principles.
Now if you're not sure on what design principles are,
well this is the theory of design
and how you use the visual elements,
the ingredients in a composition.
Design principles consider contrast, hierarchy,
alignment, balance proximity, repetition,
simplicity, and function.
Having a good understanding of visual elements
and knowing how to use them
will prepare you well in future
for when you come to practice design later.
If you're interested
to learn more about visual elements and design principles
I have some videos that go into each in a lot depth.
If you wanna check those out,
you can find links in the description.
Two, familiarize yourself
with the tools and equipment.
Now once you are up to speed and understand graphic design
I would next recommend you
to get familiar with the equipment
you will need to practice graphic design.
Now the equipment you need
will fall under two categories,
creative software tools and practical tools.
Now any practicing designer today
will be utilizing both to bring the design
and creativity to life.
And there is quite a big learning curve
to using creative software tools and practical tools.
So, I would recommend getting up to speed
with all the tools involved.
And when you start practicing your design
you will be better equipped to do so.
If you're interested to learn more
about the type of graphic design equipment you will need,
I do have a video on this that goes into a lot more depth.
Again, links are in the description.
Three, collect and get inspired.
Now, once you're familiar with graphic design
and the equipment,
if you still think it's right for you
then next I would recommend you start to collect
and get inspired.
To start, you can build yourself a digital
and print scrapbook.
If you find a piece of design you like
a cool piece of typography, a leaflet, a flyer,
or even a poster,
try and get hold of it and keep it in a folder.
If you find a cool image on the internet
save it on your computer in a dedicated scrapbook folder.
I have loads of saved material
I have gathered over years for inspiration.
And creating boards on Pinterest is another good option
for scrapbooking digitally.
Now, if you can not take the design example away with you
take a photo, use your smartphone to document your findings.
I always take pictures of cool and interesting things
I like when I'm out and about
which I can come back to later.
The idea here is to collect what inspires you
or what you think works well
with the aim to learn from what others have done before you.
This will help feed your subconscious
and fuel your imagination.
Now, you will not only see cool things
but you will also think cool things.
Keep a sketchpad on you at all times.
Great ideas can hit you any time,
be ready to capture these,
you never know where a quick idea may lead.
Another good hobby for a designer
is to collect creative books.
Now, I would recommend that they are not just about design.
Also 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.
Four, practice and build skills.
So at this point, you should really be getting into it
and ready to start having a go at practicing,
with the aim to build and skills.
For this I would recommend you practice your drawing,
your design and your software skills.
Now drawing is the fundamental skill in any creative career.
Drawing is the basic scale of expression and communication.
Drawing is the essence of design.
If you can bring your thoughts and ideas from your mind
and project them onto paper
you can start to practice the design process.
Now keep in mind not to be too hard on yourself yet.
You don't have to be amazing amazingly skilled
unless you want to become a professional illustrator.
Just be sure to work on your drafting skills
so you can get good at sketching your ideas out on paper.
Drawing is something you can be practicing all the time.
I have been practicing graphic design now for over 10 years
and I still try and draw as much as I can.
So once you're consciously learning from creativity
you're observing, you're reading creative books,
you're collecting things you like,
you're seeking inspiration
and you're practicing your drawing,
it's time to put what you have learned into practice
and have a go at a small design challenge.
Now, if you're a complete beginner to design
I recommend you start with a very simple and fun exercise
to get you started.
For example,
pick a local business on the high street
or even make one up.
One, design or redesign a logo for that business.
Two, define some colors, a choice of typefaces,
and create a theme, a brand to go with your logo.
Three, take the brand and design a poster
to promote the business and include the logo.
Four, take the poster design
which should include your brand elements
and think of how it could work digitally
as a website or perhaps in social media posts or banners.
Often in graphic design there is a challenge
to create design for both print and digital.
So, four things there.
Now, whatever your brief,
before you even think about creating the computer,
first do your research, seek your inspiration
and sketch your ideas out on paper first.
At the start, don't focus on just one idea,
sketch as many various compositions as you can
and only move onto the computer
once you have at least three or four good ideas.
Next, I recommend you practice your software skills.
So once you have sketch out your design
and you know roughly what you want to do,
you can start to practice using software tools
to bring your design to life.
Now, today you have a lot of
creative software tools on offer.
Learning these software tools can take a while.
So, take your time and enjoy it.
Stick with it
and soon you'll get the hang of it.
What should result is a fictional project
and something to show for your time and work.
Now whether good or bad
it will be something to reflect on and build upon in future.
Now, this is something that you can do again and again
to keep practicing and developing skills.
The more of this you do
the more work you will have to show for it.
Five, seek education and apply your skills.
So once you're familiar with graphic design, the equipment
and you're getting loads of inspiration,
starting to practice and taking it more seriously.
Next, I would advise you to level up your skills
and start to seek education.
As I said earlier,
there has never been a better time to learn graphic design.
Today, If you want to pursue a career in graphic design
there is not a lot to stop you.
And right now
the three main options to choose from are
one, self-teaching,
two, enroll in online courses
and three, take the traditional route
and study at university.
Now there is no best option to learn graphic design here
only the best option for you.
Each one of these options comes with big pros and cons.
With self-teaching the pros are
it's the cheapest option.
There are more resources pouring onto the web every day.
More design companies are offering free live streams.
Today there are loads of amazing books available
to learn from
and there are loads of tutorials and design-based content
free to access on platforms like YouTube.
Now some of the cons are
it requires commitment and your own determination
and motivation to see it through.
One can feel misguided on which direction to take.
It's hard to get feedback and criticism by your peers.
It's hard to build a body of work.
Lack of goals and a set time
and can be lonely doing it by yourself
as opposed to in a course with others.
With online courses the pros are
a variety of courses available
so you can specialize in an area of interest.
Cheaper than university.
You can learn while you work
and continue throughout your career.
Typically there's more guidance, direction, focus and aim
than self-teaching
and such courses are usually taught by working professionals
who have practical experience.
Now, some of the cons here with online courses
less guidance than with university teaching.
It's more difficult to get feedback, criticism
and advice from tutors and peers than universities.
And if you have to take on multiple online courses
the price can add up.
So last we have traditional education routes
and here the pros are
you are provided with challenging briefs
which are met with feedback and criticism.
One to one time with tutors to get feedback and advice.
Criticism by your peers.
You finish with a body of work
and you get to experience other people's successes
and failures to learn and grow.
Now some cons here are,
it's typically really expensive
and it takes a few years to get your qualification.
Now, whatever path you choose here
the aim is to build and improve on your skills.
Seeking education will help you level up your skills
and better prepare you for a career in design.
If that is what you want to achieve.
Now the main goal of education is to get a qualification
and build a body work.
You can then use to put yourself out there
and get professional work
either through freelance or working with a design studio.
Now it may seem that education is the end of the road,
but far from it.
In some cases, it can be the beginning.
With any qualifications in hand,
it is then time to put yourself out into the world
and start forging their career.
Which brings me to my last point.
Six, make mistakes and learn from them.
So ultimately, whatever you do in whichever path you take
it's all about the journey and your development.
Even after completing all of those steps I just mentioned
one will never stop learning.
One big part of development is discovery,
testing what you have learned and pushing yourself further.
And one part of that is making mistakes.
I have been a designer now for almost 13 years
and I still make mistakes.
And that's a good thing
because if you make mistakes,
then it shows you are trying.
The problem isn't making mistakes.
The problem is not learning from your mistakes.
The more mistakes you make
the more you will learn and improve in future.
Sometimes I look back on the work I did years ago
and I wonder what I was doing,
but in reality, I was in a different place back then.
Today I have done so much and learned a lot
that now I am better equipped to build upon my earlier work.
In the future, I'm sure I'll make more mistakes,
but I know because I have a good attitude
I learn from them and improved further in future.
So don't be afraid to make mistakes.
So to answer the original question,
I'd say the best method to learn graphic design
really depends on your circumstances
and what is best for you.
There is no right or wrong way,
just the way that works for you.
So what are your thoughts?
Do you agree with my answer?
And do you have anything else to add
for those wanting to learn more?
Please share your thoughts in the comment section.
And if any of you have any other questions regarding design
be sure to pop them in the comments
or email me at creative@garethdavidstudio.com.
And I look to get back to you with a thorough answer.
Also be sure to hit the subscribe button
as there will be more designed Q and A videos
like this future.
Until then, have fun guys
and I'll see you next time.
(bright music)