What is the Best Way to Learn Graphic Design?
In this era, learning a degree in graphic design is highly accessible, even remotely. What are some good sources on the web? There are a handful of resources on the web.
But if you want to do it the most efficient way, there is more to just learning what buttons to click on Adobe Illustrator. The recommended route, therefore, is to familiarize yourself with the concept , practice it, and get feedback.
In this article, we are going to dive into that and also go through some useful resources you can gain access to.
The 3-Step Shortcut to Learning a Graphic Design
Here are the basic things that you should know. It’s very straightforward now with the wealth of tools that are available to everyone online. You don’t even have to finish a 4 year degree course to be able to hack the basics in graphic design.
Learn the big 4 rules
These are the core of graphic design. Familiarize yourself with these before venturing into mastering classes and all.
- Contrast– this simply means that you have to make the most important thing stand out. Think of small versus big or light versus dark.
- White space– to make the design look concise and less messy, you have to leave a sufficient amount of white space around it. This makes the image feel less suffocating.
- Alignment– do not just line elements and graphics randomly; this makes it obvious that it was made by an amateur. There should be an invisible grid that lines everything up.
- Visual hierarchy- all the elements should be arranged so that the reader’s eye naturally goes to the headline first.
Pick one tool first
There are a myriad of resources available online. Thus, it’s easy to go wild and free and just try everything out. It makes sense that you would want to try a handful to see which works best.
But as a newbie, it’s best to pick a single tool first, commit to it, learn the knicks and knacks before jumping on to the next.
Do not try to learn five different software programs at a time. Just pick one.
How would you know which resources to commit to? It all depends on what you are making.
For instance, if you are making digital products, layouts and web, you can try Figma. This one is free, it is very straightforward and has a less learning curve.
If it’s for branding and vector arts, Adobe Illustrator or the cheaper Affinity Designer are some of the best options. These can create crisp and clear logos and graphics that you can scale to any size.
Practice makes perfect
The quickest way to be a pro is to train your design eye by reverse engineering.
You can do this by recreating a design that you like. Dabble on Behance.net or Dribble.com, pick a design that you fancy, and try to recreate it pixel by pixel. Match everything from the fonts, the space, and shapes exactly as they are.
Shortcuts for the fidgety
If you want to skip the long courses. We have two hacks.
Hover through YouTube and search for Satori Graphics Design Principles or Fix Academy Figma Beginners Guide. These are free, high-quality, and practical tutorials.
Alternatively, you can enhance your practice by building on GoodBrief.io. Try generating a fake client prompt, so you have a real project where you can practice as if you are building a real product for a client.
Train your design eye
You don’t have to be able to master a particular software overnight. Though it’s true that you do not need four years to be able to hack the system, you will not be able to do it overnight. While resources are straightforward, you also have to manage your expectations.
Apart from familiarizing yourself with the software, one of the crucial things is to train your eye to see visual order.
It is possible to build a professional skill set entirely based on tutorials available online. With the right principle and consistent practice, you have everything you need right at your disposal.
