- Hello and welcome to this
"Beginners 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,
then join me as a discuss a series
of graphic design topics.
(upbeat music)
So you're thinking about getting into graphic design
and you're wondering how to begin.
Well, if you're young and still in school,
between the age of 13 and 20,
then you will have years of education ahead of you.
If you're serious about working towards
a career in graphic design,
I would recommend you plan your education
and choose the appropriate creative subjects
which will prepare you for your career in the industry.
So you may be wondering,
what subjects should I study at school?
What should I do after school?
Do I need to go to college, art school, or university?
And if so, what will I do at university or art college?
So in this video I'm going to discuss these questions
and I'll be recommending some approaches
and things you can keep in mind.
In this video I'll also be sharing
my experience and opinions on your education options.
Now, if you're watching this and you're a little older,
perhaps 25 plus,
you may not have the prior correct education
and you may be wondering what options are available to you.
Now, a future episode in this series, episode 32,
is called "Career Change to Be a Graphic Designer."
In that episode, I'll be going into much greater detail
about what you can do later in life
if you want to become a graphic designer.
So if that applies to you, go ahead and skip to that video.
Link is in the description.
Now, when I was 13 years old, I was good at art
and all I really cared about was being creative.
And not much has changed.
I realized I wanted to grow up
and do a career based on creativity.
Even then, I knew it was important
and I had to focus on something and apply myself.
At the time, I was very young
and did not know what creative careers you could do.
So after some career research,
I made the decision to focus my future on graphic design
as, at the time, I believed it best suited my interests
and potential skillset.
Since then, it's been quite a creative adventure.
Everything I have done since I was 13,
all my subject choices, where I went to college,
where I did my foundation course,
where I went to university, and all the jobs I have taken,
has led me to this spot.
And even though I am now into the industry
with over 10 years experience,
I'm still learning and trying to improve and succeed.
So the path to becoming a graphic designer
could be a long one and you could spend years learning.
In my opinion, there is no perfect combination of subjects
you can take to become a graphic designer.
Up until you reach university or art school,
everything you do should really be
about your personal aspiration,
learning, and creative development.
Up until your higher education,
you should keep it broad and enjoy the creative journey.
So the first question is,
what subjects should I choose at school?
As you grow up and undertake your studies in school
between the age of 11 and 16,
don't focus too much on graphic design alone.
If you know you want to be a graphic designer,
well, that's great.
But also take some time
to explore other creative disciplines.
At this stage in your life, you really want to be creative
and exercise and nurture your skills,
imagination and broaden your mind.
This will ultimately make you
a more interesting designer in future.
The subjects I would encourage you to do at this stage
is anything creative.
Subjects like art & design, music, sculpture,
English literature, poetry, design & technology,
and science.
Try and undertake subjects that will encourage your mind
to think creatively in various ways
and subjects that will encourage you to be hands on.
The work you produce here
and the qualifications you will receive
will qualify you for the next stage in your education.
So what should you do after school?
So after finishing comprehensive school, or high school,
I would recommend you consider going onto college
to continue your creative studies
and look for work experience.
As you start to attend college around the age of 16 to 18,
you will have to undertake
fewer and more specialized subjects.
Here you can start to focus on courses
that will lead you in the direction of graphic design,
but I'd still recommend you keep an open mind.
Choose courses like graphic design, graphic communication,
illustration, photography, fine art, or sculpture.
Undertake subjects that will continue to encourage your mind
to think creatively in various ways
and give you the time to focus on those disciplines
to develop your skills.
Now, as well as attending college,
I would encourage you to look for design work experience.
When you're at school, you will be mainly encouraged
to focus on your creative development and practical work.
In school, you will rarely be taught
lessons of the industry.
The sooner you can start to learn
about the design industry in real life, the better.
This will best prepare you for your future and inspire you.
If you can find a design agency
and apply to work there as an intern or part time,
even if they don't pay you
or get you involved in the design work,
seek to get involved in the research
and development on a project
or just be there to oversee and experience what it's like.
With regards to work experience,
I would recommend once you start this, do not finish.
Try and do as much work experience as you can.
Perhaps try a few agencies.
Keep active all the way through the following years
of your education, even up until your higher education.
So this, along with the work you will produce in college,
will reward you with qualifications
and result in your first portfolio,
which will prepare you for the next step.
Now, here in the UK,
after most people finish their academic studies
and achieve their A levels at the age of 18,
they can go into university.
Now, as a creative, you have a choice here.
To either go onto university,
or do what is referred to here in the UK
as a foundation course.
The foundation course
is a one-year intensive creative course
and is typically undertaken at universities or colleges.
To pursue further education
and get into university or art college,
it is highly recommended you do a foundation course
as some universities, art schools
will not accept those who have not done the course.
In 2002, I did my foundation course.
And for me, this was the most significant
and influential creative step I ever took
in my creative education.
Now, it's called a foundation course
because it's a special time for you
to mature as a person, explore your creativity,
and give you the confidence to make a decision
on what career choice you want to pursue thereafter.
Prior to this stage in college,
you may have been encouraged to specialize in your subjects.
But on the foundation course, you take a step back.
For about half of it, you're encouraged to explore
and create work across various disciplines,
such as fashion and textiles, photography,
fine art, sculpture, graphic design, illustration,
and more, depending on the course.
On the foundation course,
you begin to talk more about your work
in front of tutors and students,
you begin to attend lectures,
and are taught about art history, design theory, and so on.
For the second half of the course,
you will have to focus on one of the creative disciplines.
As you specialize in graphic design,
you will spend the rest of the year
building a portfolio of work,
which your qualification will be based on,
which will prepare you for your next step.
At this point, you will be ready
to enter into university or art college.
So do you need to go to university or art college?
Now, today it is debatable
if a university education is actually necessary
to become a graphic designer.
Some people say you do not need it, and others disagree.
I happen to think it's important for many reasons,
which I'll be talking about in depth in the next episode.
If you're fortunate to have the opportunity to go,
I would highly recommend it.
So as you start to attend university or art college
between the age of 19 or 20 plus,
you will have to choose a specific course,
or, depending on the art college,
you may be able to mix various subjects together.
For example, you may be able to do
graphic design with photography,
or graphic design with illustration.
This is where you will take anything from three years plus,
depending on whether you do it full time or part time,
to really specialize and study in graphic design.
Over the course of your higher education,
you will undertake a variety of creative briefs
that will challenge you to research
and develop your visual communication skills
across a variety of media.
You will have to present your work to a group
and talk about your work
and, perhaps for the first time,
receive actual criticism from your peers and your tutor.
You will have time to make mistakes and learn from them.
You will be encouraged to work in teams.
You will be encouraged to learn
some of the finer disciplines of graphic design
such as typography, color theory, design theory,
and learn how to use creative tools.
You will have time to talk one on one with a tutor
and get valuable feedback.
You will attend lectures and be expected to produce
a written dissertation on a subject of your choice.
At university or art college,
you are given access to opportunities and time
to mature and develop as a graphic designer.
At the end of the course, you should hopefully graduate
with a specialized portfolio of work
which will form the main basis of your qualification
and represent your talent and skill
which you will use to find a job.
This should be a symbol of all your years of study
and development you have gone through.
At the end of all this self-development,
practice and achievement,
you should hopefully be ready
to step into the wide world of the design industry
and seek to start your career.
So those are some things I recommend you keep in mind
in your creative educational journey
to best prepare you for a career in graphic design.
If you're between the age of 13 and 20
and you're currently thinking about
a career in graphic design,
I hope this video helps.
So what do you think?
Do you agree with the recommendations I have made?
Or do you have some other thoughts to add?
In this video, I spoke about the education system
here in the UK.
If you're from another country,
how does it work for you there?
Is it similar or is it different?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this video.
If you did, click the like button on my Facebook page.
If you'd like to see more videos like this in future,
hit the subscribe button.
And you can also find me on Twitter at @TastyTuts.
So in the next video I'm going to answer the question,
do I need to go to university or art school?
So see you in the next video.
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