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.
Graphic design is a very creative and specialised job.
There are lots of skills and qualities you will need in order to become a
designer and become a good designer. In this video I'm going to discuss the
practical skills required. Now the practical skills can be taught and
acquired through practice and determination and are the typical skills
that are encouraged and acquired in art school.
These can be considered the foundation skills as you will need to practice and
harness these from the start. So the first is: Verbal communication.
Even though graphic design is visual communication you will often have to
communicate your ideas verbally to discuss and sell them to others.
The greater your ability to communicate and articulate your ideas the better.
Drawing and sketching. It's been said that rough layouts sell an idea better than polished ones.
To be able to draw and sketch will be able to communicate your ideas visually .
All design should really start on paper. Sketching is a great method to
render your imagination fast and bring your initial ideas out of your mind to
rule out anything you feel may or may not work. Sketches can become a
discussion point. When you have something visual in front of you it makes it
easier to talk about that idea with others such as clients or senior
designers. Every time I'm at a meeting I always sketch initial thought out and
show clients. This helps engage them and see their reactions. Every designer
should be able to draw and sketch to some degree.
Research. Graphic design is about problem solving and coming up with new and exciting
ideas. The best way to discover and come up with such ideas is through research
and expanding your knowledge. You will need to be able to research. Often you
may be tackled with a brief on a subject matter you know nothing about. The more
time you spend researching the more you will learn and become inspired which
will ultimately reflect in your work.
This will lead to you having more original ideas and creating more
interesting work. Software skills. Today a lot of design is done using software
tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and after fact to name a few.
The more proficient you are at these programs the easy it will be and the
faster it will be to deliver your design. You will need a certain degree of
software skills to bring your imagination to life. Time management.
Depending on the project you often face tight deadlines to complete work.
That might mean on occasions having to work fast and under pressure.
You will need to be able to manage your time effectively to implement the design
process. You will need to be able to adapt to various timelines in order
complete and deliver your work. Attention to detail. The integrity and success of
your design can often lie in the details. To achieve high standards you
will need to pay close attention. This is one of the strongest practical skills
you can have because after all beauty is in the detail. So those are some of the
key practical skills you will need to be a graphic designer.
If you'd like to take a closer look at the list discussed in this video you can
find out more in the description or in the PDF document that accompanies this series.
Download link is in the description.
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So in the next video I'm going to discuss some of the psychological skills
you will need to be a graphic designer.
So see you in the next video!