Teach Yourself Graphic Design: A Self-Study Course Outline
Fortunately, it isn’t required to go to design school in order to be a graphic designer. A good foundation in graphic design history, theory, and practical application will help you hit the ground running. There are plenty of resources available in which you can learn graphic design on your own. Don’t set your expectations to high at first, as it will take enthusiastic study for years to become great. You can do it though!
If you would like to learn graphic design from the ground up, through self directed study, then this article lists some great resources that will get you started with your design education. Also, even if you do go to design school, at least three-fifths of your education will be through self directed study anyway. Let’s get to it!
Editor’s note: This article was original posted on Psdtuts in May 2009.
1. Understanding the Principles and Theory of Graphic Design
There are a few graphic design principles that effect every project you’ll create. Understanding these principles conceptually and learning to apply them practically will formulate the foundation of your graphic design education. Let’s take a look at the basic areas you should study to get a solid footing in graphic design.
Shape, Spacing, and Rhythm
I remember first learning these basic design principles, and they seamed so foreign at first. It took me quite some time to get comfortable with these techniques. In school we did a beginner project that consisted of drawing triangles, just to communicate emotion through placement, shape and spacing alone. Below are some good resources on these principles.
- The Principles of Design by Joshua David McClurg-Genevese
- What is Graphic Design? Overview, Basics of Design Principles, and Design Elements
Color, Texture, and Imagery
Understanding the basics of color theory is important and getting a feel for how to work with colors. Color can make areas of a design pop off the page or recede into the background. The use of texture can enhance the feel of a design. In print design texture can be the actual feel of paper or other materials. Imagery can also blend in with texture and is loaded with colors. Learning how to balance these is a delicate craft that will take some practice to apply well. Here are some resources on using color, texture, and imagery in graphic design:
Working with Type
Your ability to use type is one of the things that differentiates graphic design from other visual professions. A big part of graphic design is understanding typography, developing your knowledge of typefaces, and how to apply them in your design. This will be a constant study throughout your career. Here are a few great resources on type:
- Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works by Erik Spiekermann and E.M Ginger
- Typography Workbook: A Real-World Guide to Using Type in Graphic Design by Timothy Samara
- A Typographic Workbook: A Primer to History, Techniques, and Artistry by Kate Clair and Cynthia Busic-Snyder
- Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students by Ellen Lupton
2. Standing Strong with a Historical Graphic Design Grounding
Philip Meggs book (see below), is a must have for every graphic design. You should read it from cover to cover. Also, as you go through spend time researching areas that interest you the most. Pick at least three areas to go into detailed study with and learn as much as you can about them. One area of interest for me is the Bauhaus, which was a graphic design and craft school founded in the early twentieth century. I find the subject captivating, probably because it combines so many of my passions: art, design, history, and education.
- Meggs’ History of Graphic Design by Philip B. Meggs and Alston W. Purvis
- History of Graphic Design
3. Internalize the Graphic Design Process, Conceptual Solutions, Real World Experience, and Creative Application
Graphic designers solve visual problems. The key to teaching yourself graphic design is to understand the process of solving a visual problem. This means you’ll benefit from tackling design briefs. You’ll learn to apply the skills you study by solving fictitious design problems to begin with and as you advance tackling real world problems and working with clients.
Visual and Conceptual Problem Solving
Visual and conceptual problem solving is the core of what we do as graphic designers. Clients come to us with a brief, which is a problem that needs to be solved. A new company may need to enter a specific market and come to you for a comprehensive identity solution. Or you may work at a newspaper and have to lay out a page to deadline. The problems are endless and your job is to solve these issues.
What is a visual concept? Well it’s more than a pure visual solution. It’s a unification of a graphic and an idea, which is placed in context to solve a problem. Let’s look at the example of a logo. It’s a visual mark, which represents the idea of a company, presented in the context of all the company’s identity, marketing, and history. Let’s look at some resources for developing your visual and conceptual problem solving skills for graphic designers. Keep in mind though practicing your craft will help build your visual problem solving skills.
- Visual Literacy: A Conceptual Approach to Graphic Problem Solving by Judith Wilde and Richard Wilde
- Graphic Design: The New Basics by Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips
The Design Process
Learning to research, create thumbnails, refine sketches, work up visual solutions in programs, and present to clients are just some of the basics of the design process. Every subset of design may have a slightly different procedure, and your working methodology, or a company you work for may implement things in a somewhat unique way in their production environment. Even so, the basics remain the same. Get familiar with the design process from start to finish, and work on getting faster and better at each stage of the process on each project you work on.
- Design Evolution: A Handbook of Basic Design Principles Applied in Contemporary Design by Tim Samara
- My logo design process by David Airey
- The Role of Sketching in the Design Process by Sean Hodge
Real World Graphic Design Application
A business card, like a canvas, has boundaries. A book has specific dimensions and technical print limitations. These type of practical and technical limitations are an important part of practicing the craft of graphic design. Work to learn about these technologies and build up your knowledge through real projects. You’ll learn a whole lot about print by having to get a big project printed on a budget. Also, keep in mind that creative solutions are often driven within contained creative environments. Part of the fun of graphic design is solving technical problems with creative solutions.
- Working Within Limitations to Achieve Great Designs by Sean Hodge
- Basic vs Applied Research in Graphic Design by Michael Kroeger
4. Consider Advanced Study and Development
Advanced study can take many different paths for each designer. You may become interested in a related field, and then mold your graphic design education to apply to that field. However, every graphic designer will benefit from advanced study and planning.
Of course, there’s no limit to the depth you can study on any subject of graphic design. Grid Theory, Graphic Information Design, and Career Planning are just a few areas to focus on. You could certainly go much deeper in other areas as well.
Grid Theory
Many areas of graphic design incorporate grid based solutions. In many ways, grid theory is advanced principles of spacing, flow, and rhythm, though applied to real projects, like laying out an entire book or website. Putting together any multi-page document will likely benefit from a grid, as it makes the design feel cohesive. Below are some resources to get started with grids.
- Grid Systems: Principles of Organizing Type by Kimberly Elam
- Making and Breaking the Grid: A Graphic Design Layout Workshop by Timothy Samara
Graphic Information Design
While many of the principles of graphic information design are similar to graphic design, it takes on a more technical and practical approach to visual problems. Rather than looking at the concept on a billboard, a graphic information designer might analyze the proper font size to use for traffic passing the billboard at 40mph, so as to have maximum impact. It’s a blend of scientific research and practical application to visual design. Edward Tufte has written many good books on the subject, and I recommend you read them all. They are elegantly written, the layout of the books are beautiful, and the principles taught have strong, illustrative examples.
- The Work of Edward Tufte
- Envisioning Information by Edward Tufte
Planning Your Career
Spend some time getting acquainted with the graphic design landscape and plan your career. Graphic design is a large discipline, which is directly involved in numerous occupations. Learning the potential of the field will help you decide what you want to focus on. You may be attracted to print design, advertising, interface design, or another graphic design or related field.
- Graphic Design: A Career Guide Edited by Sharon Helmer Poggenpohl
- 25 Graphic Design Career Preparation Tips
- Becoming a Graphic Designer: A Guide to Careers in Design, 2nd Edition by Steven D. Heller, Teresa Fernandes, and Steven Heller
5. Learn from Professional Graphic Designers
Aside from studying graphic designers throughout history, you’ll also benefit by studying contemporary designers whom you identify with. A couple designers I found inspirational while I was in design school were David Carson and Carlos Segura. Both of these designers utilize typography in intuitive, innovative, and illustrative fashions. They helped encouraged me to get expressive with my use of type, spacing, and texture. While the approach they practice in design isn’t appropriate for every project, it certainly helped develop my graphic range and ability to think illustratively through graphic design.
You may fall in love with some other approach to design. Also, you’ll go through numerous phases, where you’ll be attracted to something else in design. This is part of what’s great about the field; it’s so diverse. Don’t be afraid to emulate designers approaches on some projects. It’s a good way to learn. Then you’ll move on to something else and it will become part of your collective design experience.
- The End of Print: Graphic Design of David Carson by Lewis Blackwell and David Carson
- 16 Great Graphic Design Blogs and Sites by Danny Outlaw
6. Developing Your Proficiency, Intuition, and Flow
Part of becoming a good graphic designer is becoming one with your tools. If you can wield a pencil, and quickly sketch down conceptual solutions, then you’re a more proficient designer. Of course, when working within programs the same thing applies. If you’re a logo designer, the better you know Illustrator, the better a designer you’ll be. That’s one of the reasons why sites like Vectortuts+ are so useful.
Being proficient with your tools helps you to be able to enter an intuitive flow like state when working, but it’s more than that. The better you know design, your medium, your chosen field of focus, your toolsets, and your workflow, the easier it will be to sink into that space where decisions come easily and time disappears. This flow state is a big reason why people choose any art related field, like graphic design; they enjoy being in the flow of creating and working visually.
- Tuts+ – Power Up Your Skill Set
- Core Principles for Rapidly Attaining Creative Flow by Sean Hodge
7. Put Together Your Portfolio and Blog
Make sure to create a portfolio (a home base with your own url), and blog regularly on what you learn as you grow as a designer.
Three things help get you hired as a graphic designer (in order of importance): your portfolio, your demonstrated experience, your ability to communicate your knowledge on graphic design. You build all three of these over time. It’s not something that happens overnight.
Your portfolio is your most important tool in marketing yourself as a graphic designer. It demonstrates your abilities to practically apply your skills. When interviewing it also holds some of the greatest weight in you being hired.
Experience takes time to grow. Someone that has worked in the field for years, run an agency, or worked with large known companies has a tremendous leg-up in the industry. Don’t get discouraged though, everyone started from ground-zero to begin with.
One of the greatest skills one learns in design school is how to talk and write about design. It’s not just being able to create something that looks cool, but being able to critically analyze a problem, apply a proven workflow to solving it, and communicate the process. In the field, this will equate to needing to sell your solutions to clients or bosses. Or when interviewing, describing how you solved a design problem.
Writing articles for your blog is a great place to practice discussing graphic design, and how you’ve solved specific design problems. It also, in itself, demonstrates your knowledge in the field. Don’t be afraid to add case studies to your blog, even for personal projects, as it’s a great way to build this analytical skill set. Through self-study, use your blog to write articles as you learn about design. This serves as a good substitute for assignments you would receive in a design class, and will compliment the design projects you do.
- 12 Steps to a Super Graphic Design Portfolio
- Creating A Successful Online Portfolio by Sean Hodge
- 10 Steps To The Perfect Portfolio Website by Lee Munroe
8. Participate in Online and Professional Graphic Design Communities
Becoming involved in the graphic design community and professional associations will increase your connections in the industry and knowledge of the field. Also, attend conferences and network whenever possible.
Join Professional Associations
A great way to learn about the workings of the graphic design profession is to join professional organizations. They run conferences, produce articles, books, and other resources. Some of these organizations work to improve the profession as a whole by lobbying and other activities.
Becoming Part of the Graphic Design Community Online
Aside from professional communities, there are loads of communities on the web that you can participate in. Below are some graphic design forums you may want to participate in.
Getting Critical Feedback Online and Promote Your Work
Interaction and critique is really important to your growth as a graphic designer. If you’re not in design school, then you need to find other places that people will tear apart your work, and that you can develop your own critical eye. The best thing for a young design is to have someone tell them why something they made isn’t well designed, and what they might do differently. This prepares you for clients doing this (gives you a thicker skin), and it helps you grow with your visual and creative problem solving abilities.
I don’t know of the perfect place on the net to find this, but try different online communities or forums. And if you can find a mentor, even someone with just one or two more years of experience than you, who is willing to critique your work, this can be invaluable. Try some of the places mentioned below and search further.
Aside from your main portfolio, it also helps to have satellite portfolios, which are submitted to portfolio communities, and where you can get feedback on your work. They are also great places to promote your work and gain new clients. Below are some communities to explore.
9. Keep in Mind that Graphic Design as a Discipline Doesn’t Exist in Isolation
Any study of graphic design will include some connection to related disciplines. Studying art and illustration will help develop your ability to create graphics. Studying Marketing will help you place your conceptual solutions within the context of business and consumer needs. Also, graphic design is often a part of the foundational study for related disciplines. You’ll be a much stronger web designer, if you have a solid graphic design education for example.
- Seth Godin’s Blog
- Fundamentals of Illustration by Lawrence Zeegan
- Basics Illustration: Thinking Visually by Mark Wigan
- The Fundamentals of Creative Advertising by Ken Burtenshaw, Nik Mahon, and Caroline Barfoot
10. Finding Work as a Freelance Graphic Designer
Aside form landing a job directly, freelancing is a career path available for designers. There is work out there for almost all skill levels. You’ll need to work at building your portfolio, negotiating, and your business skills.
There are numerous communities and resources online that can help you grow as a freelance graphic designer, and freelancing is a great way to get a broad set of graphic design projects under your belt. It’s a great way to grow your skills and learn through real projects, as you study independently.
11. Evaluate if Self Study or Graphic Design School is Right for You
After evaluating the above steps, do some research on schools, and consider the best course of study for you. Not everyone has the financial ability or desire to go to college. Fortunately, it isn’t a prerequisite to becoming a professional designer. The biggest resource in landing a job is your ability to demonstrate your skills, done through your portfolio, and in interviews your knowledge and passion should show.
Going to design school is great, but if you’re diligent you can learn graphic design through independent study. Keep in mind, I’m not saying don’t go to college, as that decision is up to you (I went to Undergraduate school and I took some Graduate courses). Also, you may be in a position that you’re studying something else, but are passionate about graphic design. Plenty of great designers started in other fields or learned on their own.
Even while I was in design school, some of the greatest lessons I learned came from doing projects on my own, studying online, and books. A good teacher can be a great resource though and I appreciate all those that helped me learn while I was in school.
If you do plan on going to design school, then spend some time deciding on the right school for you. What school fits your budget, goals, and ability to attend. You may want to consider online professional programs as well. Or for the brave of heart, do it without formal schooling.
Graphic Design Schools
- Choosing a Graphic Design Degree
- A Brief Guide To Design Education by Adam Richardson
- 7 Tips for Getting Into Graphic Design School
Putting it All Together
Good luck with learning graphic design. Keep in mind, an undergraduate course takes numerous years to complete, and some even go on to grad school, so don’t set your expectations to high in the beginning, whether you attend school, or go it independently. It’s OK if it takes even years to master graphic design. Just study, grow as a designer, don’t give up, and you’ll get there. Be sure to have fun along the way, or else what’s the point!
Besides, by the time you’re a great graphic designer, you’ll probably be interested in learning something else. That’s just the nature of things, right!
Feel free to link to your favorite graphic design resources (books, articles, and others), as their is an endless amount of great material to get started with, and then to advance your skills as you grow!
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This is an extremely informative article which i wish i had read when i graduated from university last year. If you go to university i found it was looking for a job and constructing my portfolio to be the hardest part, with no help and guidance and no one to bounce ideas off. The best way i found to learn as apart from my degree i went into graphic design with no real prior experience, is to work with other people and learn from them, and don’t be precious about your design work.
Yah, internships are one of the best things you can do in school. The better the school, the better internship opportunities are available, and you should really take advantage of those. I went to a state school in Connecticut and there were few if any real agency internships available at my school.
You don’t have to be a student though to get an internship. An internship just means “your willing to work for minimum wage or close to it” for experience. I think one of the things that the graphic design profession would benefit from is a return to an Apprenticeship tradition, whereby someone works underneath knowledgeable Master designers for a few years until they become graphic Journeyman and start to work on their own. Lots of craft and skilled based professions have traditionally worked this way, and an intern is something like an apprentice.
ESPN used to be down the street from me in CT, and they used to hire interns regularly. You don’t have to be a student to land the gig. It is possible to get hired based on a portfolio review, though schooling would certainly help to give you a leg up.
I’ve never been in a grafic design school, or anything like that, and started to work as an informatic engineer that was my diploma. I learnt all my photoshop skills and grafic design alone (thx psdtuts!!!!!!!) and it’s been now 6-7 month I work 100% of my time as a grafic designer.
I’ve met a couple of persons that are in grafic school, and I realised that even if I’ve never been in graphic school, I have much more theory than them just because of the practice.
So yes you can learn grafic design by yourself :p
@Troublon – I met a couple people that were in filed like that and another that was an architect. And there experience and related knowledge made the transition over to graphic design alot smoother.
This is a PLUS tut!
interesting article you got here, have a lot of information
Most of what I learned in school was not about the curriculum. Its not just about learning principles and a few programs. There is a LOT to be said for student-teacher interaction, and communication between peers. I think there is a VERY VERY small percentage of people that can pull of an incredible career without the education.
The rest may be wondering why they can’t charge as much as other designers… and can’t seem to find quality clients.
There is definitely a lot to be said for self-initiated learning, but that is in addition to a solid education, whether it be at college or university. Learning and experience can’t happen in a bubble at home at your computer.
I agree, without the solid foundation of education and the vast networks of teachers/peers early on, it would take a lot to really make it work. Getting the quality clients that respect your knowledge, education and experience makes this job fun and makes it go a lot more smoothly.
i agree
soorry my name is josh and i really want to be a graphic deisigner
please if you now any tranning courses for a 10 year old boy pleease reply
Thanks great post.
Outstanding! Thanks for the post!
i hate when clients read this shit and think…”Oh its this simple, I could do it” and take thier project into their own hands and then give you a “comp” (similar to a childs drawing on a fridge) and then expect you to make something out of it… OH MY FAVORITE! Revisions=$
This has got to be the most helpful post on the web, even if it’s only a refresher course for most. Thank you very much. This is great information.
graphic design is like all other arts a matter of practice. even if your main goal s to brake all the rules in order to be the best you should still know what those rules are.
this is a great article, but remember kids only practice makes perfection.
Now this is a great post. Lots of depth and informative stuff here. Like these much better than those plugs for graphic river.
wow nice work sean… ;)
THX Sean it’s very useful for me..
What I find amusing (as pointed out by David Carson in the video linked below) is that his book, The End of Print, is now in its 5th printing.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/david_carson_on_design.html
I hope everything’s going great with you, Sean. Enjoy the weekend.
Great talk by Carson, thx for the link. He’s actually kinda funny in person :)
I agree, and you’re more than welcome buddy.
Yeah, everybody can be a graphic artist. Just add Indesign and photoshop.
Oh, wait. You still need to know how to be a problem solvers and have a eye for elegant solutions. Design is more than pragrams and a MacBook Pro; it’s patience, perseverance and a desire to speak visually.
I’m not saying that education is neccessary, but it can’t be a hobby to do in a few minutes time. College’s best aspect is immersion into the culture of design. You feed off others, and new design is born from that hunger.
Just a thought.
Very nice post! It’s just amazing how much people thinks design it’s something easy and don’t need discipline and hard work.
ROCK N ROLL ! ! !
Bookmarked!
Hey thats a fantastic post, I feel better now hehe with energy, thank you for the post, and although I´m in a design school and I love this carreer and everything I learn, I began to feel confused about what I was doing, but like you say “dont set your expectations too high right away” and Im going to work in my skills.
Thank You
Really nice post, It’s best motivation for graphic designers…
helpful things….thanks for that
This is absolutely amazing. The resources that you’ve put together will definitely teach me a lot. I am an aspiring web developer and these resources are really useful.
I just wanted to bring a college to your notice since this post has a bit on that too. Take a look at http://www.fullsail.com. That is where I will study. The university is excellent for anyone that wants a formal education on any of these areas of study.
what a helpful post….thank you ;)
Thanks for the post. Not everyone can afford to study in college or even have graphic design degrees or programs in the country they live in. Thank you so much for opening up the opportunity for those of us who have no choice but to self-teach ourselves graphic design.
99 .9 percent of web designers are self taught
save yourself 15 – 20 grand
@Ani not true i know people who have 50 grand a year jobs without degrees
its about how you selll yourself and your ability -
Incredibly helpful, thanks.
Great post!! I’m lucky enough to go to design school. How I wish I found design website like this 4 years ago when i just started go to university.
Anyway, they say it’s never too late for us to study anything.
Again, great post!!
As a professional designer that battles this kind of garbage on a daily basis (underqualified wanna be’s diminishing our industry with little talent and barely enough knowledge to be dangerous), posts like this make me sick to my stomach.
Again.. Fat Head.
You should help, not be a jerk.
Especially for those who REALLY have talent, but cant get the tools at school to utilize it.
For shame.
Talk about valuable information. This is worth gold!
Fantastic post. Will definitely help us all.
I have such a respect for graphic designers. Being a computing scientists that has recently moved into web applications, I know that there is so much more than scripting and concepts, it takes talent. Thanks again for a great article and collection of reliable resources.
Super Duper Awesome stuff…
Thank you for the tips. will keep them in mind!, very nice article.
Nicely done. I will promote this in my classes.
Hi,
Does anyone know a suitable art school to study graphic design?
I’m about to get my bachelor degree in language but have no practical experience in the design field. Art school I’m looking for is the kind which offers courses to students without experience. I know there are many, but don’t know how to choose from. It’s ok for me to start everything from the ground up, as long as I can get on the right track and really learn something.Thanks.
David Carson no college self taght an styled best designer in the world so i think that kinda says it
thank you very much….helped me a lot.
Nice post… I don’t agree (with one post) that in the real world people won’t look at you without a formal study background, I think study is a good way of forcing yourself to sit adown and actually learn, but at the end of the day what people really care about is how good your work is.
I think, all in all, this is a good list of resources we can all benefit from. But what irks me is the title of this post and the general message that I feel is being sent out to wanna-be designers reading this. Which is that you can teach yourself something other people go to college or university to learn. And I feel that is the way most people see design. As a hobby you can teach yourself instead of an actual profession you have to earn credentials to practice. You’ll never see a blog post entitled “Teach Yourself Thoracic Surgery: Cuz like who needs Med School right? Totally!”.
Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy and appreciate posts like this one as long as they don’t promote ignorance. Would you give your sick puppy to anyone claiming to be a Veterinarian just because they read a lot of books about dogs? C’mon. As designers we need to prove to the world that we, like doctors and lawyers, are not dispensable! And this “Teach yourself how to play guitar in 30 days or less as easy as 1,2,3!” attitude is not helping us achieve that.
That’s just my 2 cents.
Amazing,
It’s a great effort. Thanks Thanks Thanks
this is extremely amazing, and it’s amazing that ur helping so many people, since some cannot afford to go to college, or don’t have the time
Just what we need, a thousand more self taught “graphic designers” polluting the job market with substandard skills, turning out horribly amateur work. Owning a computer, Photoshop & reading a few tutorials does not make you a designer. It makes you a nuisance because I’m the graphic designer who has to fix your crappy work so it will print correctly. Its a daily part of my Graphic Design job at a printing/publishing company. Fixing crappy design files that people want printed. They usually come from self-taught, tutorial reading ‘designers.’
Do the whole Graphic Design industry a favor — go to school and learn to do it RIGHT. Do you think you can read a few tutorials and be a surgeon or a lawyer? Nope. Why do you think you can with wanting to be a Graphic Designer? Stop it.
Because graphic design is NOT the same as other jobs..in other jobs you need to go to college to be good lawyer or a good surgeon cuz that is the only way to learn it right..but its really different for graphic design..cuz graphic design is not about where did u study or what degree do u have..its about how much talent do u have and how good are u…and i think u know that there is many people who didn’t go to design school can make better works and better designs than the ones who actually did go to graphic design school…im not saying that learning graphic design in school is not important..its very important..and im not saying that there are many people who think they are graphic designers just becuz they know how to mix up some brushes in photoshop..there is and i used to believe that i can be a good graphic designer because i can use photoshop and illustrator but i realized that i still haven’t crossed the starting line yet..but still there is a great graphic designers who didn’t study it in collge…
Graphic design school only gives you the tools. Those who have real talent will shine through if they can utilize the tool correctly, and most tools can be found on the web.
Looks like someone has a fat head.
That’s unfortunate because as a graphic designer you should be helping change the world, instead of spreading your negative slander across the faces of those who truly have visual talent and discouraging them from taking it a step further.
For shame, sir.
Sound like someone feel frightened by self taught designers… Let’s talk about how your feelings, we are here to help you… XD
Graphic design is not brain surgery or criminal law. Those things don’t require much creativity. It’s structured science and laws that don’t change. A brain surgeon can’t decide to move a blood vessel to some new place just because. A lawyer can’t decide to use acrobatics in a courtroom to entertain jurors. Yes design has foundations and standard rules, but above all else it is a creative field. Same goes for fashion design, photography, music, singing.. and the like. Most of these fields started off purely from creativity, but as technology has advanced it’s required them to take a more technical turn. Most musicians are self taught. Some of the best can’t even read musical notation. When you’re singing along in your car, you don’t care do you? Some of the best photographers out there are self-taught. Same with fashion..and same with design.
This is why “wanna-bes” even have a shot in the first place. If someone views their work and deems it worthy, they’re not going to consider if that person created it using a structured thought process. Maybe you sat down and sketched a design step by step, finalized it, and then moved into a computer program. Maybe someone else just sat down and made it from moving stuff around in front of a computer screen. The final product and how good it looks to your client is all they’ll care about. Especially in a freelance environment. When you’re in a creative field…you’re going to have to deal with less trained people than others competing with you all the time. If you don’t like it, you should have chosen law or medicine.
well it must be in this way all studying in universities is almost self-study they only gives u the headlines and u have 2 do the rest ……. specially in graphic it all depends on finding an idea and another thing they gives u the basics of design so u can design according to knowledgment and its not about using tools and program its about being creative
everybody can use the program bt not everybody can be creative
how to make an idea is the problem ….. and this is what design all about
it is a good site.
Good article for anyone who wants to learn on his/her own. For those who would rather take courses/earn a degree you’ve given some very bad advice. The first link listed under “Graphic Design Schools” is for a site that lists only proprietary schools, i.e., for-profit commercial enterprises. While some of these may be good, I distrust them as a general group. Throughout the U.S. there are strong graphic design programs in colleges, universities and community colleges. Cost-wise some, especially community colleges, are far less expensive. The quality of instruction will be equivalent or better.
A website like AllArtSchools.com, which you’ve linked to (and there are MANY similar) are self-serving ads for schools that want your cash. Don’t waste your time with them. Here’s a site that will give you a more objective look at schools:
http://www.core77.com/design.edu/
Al Wasco, Cuyahoga Community College
THANKS , THIS article help peoples who want to learn graphic design a lot,
and what you say of method is pure-hearted, thanks
Great article. However I prefer tutor based training rather than teach yourself programmes.
It could be a beginners guide to Graphics Design!
Thank you. Although I have a couple of classes behind my back, right now I am in a location that doesnt offer good schooling for GD unless I want to over pay and get ripped off or pay even more (which I dont have) I would love an education.. but fate has shifted me otherwise.
This artical, reassured me that I am exactly where I am supposed to be and I cannot tell you how much that means to me. It is very generous that you would offer such literature to the public. No matter where I am in the world, learning is always my forte. It seems to be mankind’s greatest challenge these days, but Im not giving up.
Thank you..
Thanks for the great article. I’m wondering what resources there are out there to learn how to use Adobe illustrator, InDesign and photoshop. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
What does the following words mean:
1.Dimensions
2.Alphabet of lines in drafting
3.Drafter
Hi..
I am a stay at home mom but due to some personal reasons cannot attend school. I have an Engineering degree and 4 years of work-ex in telecom industry. Now , I want to foray into the design industry mainly interior design/home accessory design etc. so wanted to check if Graphic Design is the way to start. If not then what is best way? Are the online degrees offered by various colleges in US worth and accredited well in industry?Would appreciate genuine advise on the same so as to get a clue from to start…