Graphic Design Careers: First Steps

1. GETTIGN STARTED IN GRAPHIC DESIGN

Planning your design

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- So, you have a design project and you are ready to dive into
InDesign to start creating. Before you do, take the time for one of the
most important, yet often overlooked, parts of the design
process, concept development. Before you turn on your laptop, or
iPad, the right way to start any design project, is to pick up your old
trusty pencil and paper and simply sketch. When you first brainstorm
an idea, it's usually the most common and expected solutions that first
pop into your head. So it's vital that you push beyond those. Sketching
will force you to use your imagination. Find a quiet and inspiring place
to work, grab a coffee, put on your favorite music and give yourself a
specific amount of time to really think, research and experiment. If you
need a boost of inspiration to help you start, Stefan Mumaw's
"Creativity: Generate Ideas in Greater Quantity and Quality" is a great
resource to learn helpful idea generation tips. Another effective
strategy in design, is using story. Some of the greatest designs, that
have captured our attention and our hearts, have done so because
they used story. In our course "Storytelling for Designers", you'll learn
the elements of a compelling story and how to weave narrative into
pictures and graphics, in a way that you audience will respond to. An
important component of storytelling, involves creating an emotional
connection with an audience member. So remember, design is so
much more than colors, images and typography. The way to set your
design apart is starting with a strong concept.
The importance of sketching

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- In this age of everything digital, it's still essential to sketch and draw
your ideas. Sketching away from the computer and all the distractions
it holds allows you to focus on concepts and outline a direction that
supports the goals of your projects. It's easy to get pulled into
choosing fonts and picking colors you love versus making thoughtful
and informed decisions about how these elements work together and
what they communicate. Think of it as one of your key tools alongside
your favorite software and apps. You don't have to be a master
draftsman, but you do need to feel like you can convey your ideas
quickly with simple sketches. If your drawing skills are strong, this can
be a huge asset and a valuable skill that you can bring to your team
and clients. If you're able to create some of your own illustrations, this
can also save time and money. Now, if you don't feel like your drawing
skills are where you'd like them to be, don't panic. Look for our
Drawing Foundation series. Here, you'll get guidance on perspective,
shading, drawing the figure and landscapes, and more. These are more
traditional fine art drawing courses, and will teach you how to render
what you see. For another great group of courses, look at the Drawing
Challenges with the talented illustrator Von Glitschka. Whether you
choose one of his 5-Day Challenges or the 21-Day Challenge, they are
really fun and will get you into a daily habit of drawing. So grab a
sketch book and start getting your brilliant ideas down on paper.
Learning design history

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- Why should you care about graphic design history? In the words of
Sean Adams in his course Learning Graphic Design History, "One of
the best tools to be a great designer "is to have a wide visual
vocabulary. "History gives us that." Designers often focus on what's
hot today and spend time trying to determine what's going to be hot
tomorrow. Design is a field obsessed with all things on the cutting
edge. Having knowledge of design evolution and cultural
influence gives you a smarter and more varied toolbox to work
from. Understanding the simplicity of the typography and emotional
connection to color of the Bauhaus, as well as the handmade and
unique principles of the Arts and Crafts movement, may help inspire
your best work. It's also helpful to know what design trends were
popular when, so you can use those styles in a design related to that
time period. For example, say you're designing a poster promoting an
exhibit of rock memorabilia from the '60s. Your design will more
effectively communicate the events if the colors and typefaces you
choose are from that period. Knowing history is essential to creating
remarkable design.
Harnessing your creativity

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- Creativity is the fuel artists and designers depend on. Many believe
it's an elusive force that comes out of thin air, except when it
doesn't. Who hasn't sat in front of a blank canvas, a sheet of paper or
a computer screen waiting for inspiration to strike? Creativity is more
complex than simply thinking of ideas. It can also involve overcoming
major emotional blocks. As artist Amy Wynne shares in the weekly
series, Creativity for All, she feels fear and vulnerability when looking
at a big looming white canvas. In this same series, photographer Ben
Long share his taxonomy of creative fears, ranging from a fear of bad
ideas to a fear of discovering you're not good at what you do. Yet
another creative block can be our own harsh inner critic, and Denise
Jacobs created an entire course to help you with this called Banish
Your Inner Critic to Unleash Creativity. Are you seeing a pattern
here? Even experienced creative professionals struggle with finding
and nurturing creativity. Do you experience this? I know I have. Now,
take a deep breath. (exhaling deeply) There are so many courses that
can help you with your own creative practice, such as Creativity
Bootcamp, Learning Brainstorming, and Breaking Out of a Creative
Rut. It's not always easy to find the fuel you need to break through a
creative impasse, but hopefully, some of these ideas can help you go
beyond it and create designs that you truly love.
 2. THE ESSENTIALS OF GRAPHIC DESIGN
Key components of design

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- The core elements that make up every design are layout, typography
and color. To be a good designer, you have to have a deep
understanding of how each of these elements contributes to the
overall message. It's like cooking. You need to know each of your
ingredients and what they'll go well with before you can combine
them successfully. Layout is extremely important because it's the
structure or skeleton of the piece and therefore drives the overall
design. Layouts can feel peaceful and serene, dynamic and functional
or even chaotic. The right mood for the work just depends on the
audience and the goal of the piece. Almost anything goes in the right
context with one exception, a design that feels dull or lifeless. This is
all determined by your choices of color, balance, scale and density of
type and image. These are the elements of design that when used
correctly will enable you to set the right tone and create a strong
composition. The role of type in design is so much more than just
communicating a message in words. Type creates an impression
before the words are even read. Good typography communicates the
message of the design. It should be tailored to the intended
audience through the chose typeface and how it sets. For example, the
goal for the typography on an Income Tax Return Form is
legibility. There is no room for creative expression here and the design
is purely functional. On the other hand, if you're designing a poster for
an exciting event, the type is critical to create interest and represent
the appropriate feel. Typography is complex but once you know the
rules, you'll know when you can push the boundaries of it and you'll
be able to set beautiful type like a pro. Color plays an important role in
every design, both visually and emotionally. Color can be a crucial part
of brand identity. Color can make us feel a certain way and because of
the cultural connotations associated with color, it also plays a huge
role in helping to communicate a message. Think of these three
elements: layout, type and color as you building blocks of design. With
a solid understanding of how to use all three, you will be on your way
to creating designs that your viewers will connect with.
Types of design projects

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- Graphic design is all around us. From logos, magazines, and
posters, to signs, product packaging, and marketing pieces. Not to
mention social media. Each type of design has a specific
job. Understanding what that job is will help you create a successful
design. Regardless of the type of project, the job of design is to attract
attention, while visually communicating the essence of what or who it
represents in the most immediate way. There's a kind of
misconception that good design is beautiful. But getting it right isn't
just about making it pretty. It's about making sure it delivers your
message in a way that resonates. So let's talk about a few different
types of design projects. Logos are highly condensed graphics packed
with meaning. Because of that every design decision is that much
more critical when it comes to crafting the message it
communicates, and who it communicates to. The most important first
step is understanding the clients, who they're trying to reach, and
what they're trying to say. With that information in hand, you can then
explore which colors, images, and type will best communicate the
intended message to the intended audience. Magazine design is
complex due to the volume of text and images a designer needs to
organize and present logically. Its main job is to present the content to
the reader in a way that's easy to navigate while also creating an
immersive experience. Infographics are visual representations of
information and their job is to tell stories in a fun and engaging and
easy to digest way. Lastly, we have marketing materials and
catalogs. These have a number of jobs that we've already mentioned,
such as, capturing our attention, telling the story of the brand, and, in
some cases, providing visual beauty and delights. These are just a few
types of design projects you may work on. But no matter what job you
have, it's essential that you truly understand the product or client
you're promoting, the intended audience, and the purpose of the
piece. If you don't, you'll fail to communicate your message and its
beauty will only be skin deep.
Essential software tools for design

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- We've already discussed the importance of sketching and
planning. Once you get your concept down on paper, you'll need to
create a digital version for distribution, and in many cases,
refinements. Although there is no shortage of tools to choose from in
today's graphic design world, most designers are using three main
applications in either desktop or mobile format. Adobe InDesign,
Photoshop and Illustrator. InDesign is a layout tool for producing
documents for print and onscreen delivery. This includes print
publications, interactive documents, online catalogs, stationary, e-
books, and more. Text and images import easily and InDesign has a
rich collection of tools that will enable you to customize every element
of your design. To edit and create images and videos or work out
concepts, Photoshop is your best bet. It's great for taking care of
common editing tasks like cropping and straightening, color and tonal
adjustments and retouching. One of the many benefits of editing in
Photoshop is the ability to edit non-destructively, working in layers
using masks and more. Now, when you need to create a work that can
be scaled up indefinitely and never degrade in quality such as logos
that may be used at wildly different sizes, you need a program that
can create scalable vector art. Illustrator is perfect for this. It's also
great for creating freehand drawings, as well as tracing and recoloring
scanning or captured art. Many use Illustrator for creating logos and
icons, illustrations, and even setting type. It's an essential tool for any
designer. Learning software takes time, but these types of programs
are vitally important and can enable you to create work beyond what
you can create with pen and paper alone opening up endless
possibilities.
 3. PUBLISHING
Digital output for design

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- When creating a piece that will be digitally distributed, you have a
number of options. The most common is a PDF. Most can access it,
but it's fairly limited in terms of interactivity or rich media
support. Adobe's Publish Online is another easy to use option that
allows users to publish a document via a unique URL, this way anyone
with the link, desktop or mobile can access it. You also have the ability
to include any of InDesign's interactive elements, including hyperlinks
and buttons, audio and video files, multi-state objects, and even
InDesign animations. Additional options with easy to use
interfaces, perfect for social media posts, are Adobe's Spark Post, and
Canva. These are WYSIWYG applications, or what you see is what you
get, that give users the ability to combine photographs,
illustrations, and text into a single post. This is a space that's changing
quickly, so be sure to do your homework before setting out.
Ebook format and distribution options

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- Creating and distributing ebooks has become significantly easier and
more accessible over time. The tricky bit is knowing which format is
right for your projects. Ebooks have come a long way, in terms of
developing industry-wide standards, including Epub, which is now the
most widely supported formats. But if you're serious about
distributing your ebook far and wide, you can't ignore Amazon's
Kindle format. This is a proprietary format, that is only available on
Amazon. If you're new to design, and want to produce and publish
your own book, Apple's iBooks Author is a beautiful and easy to use
solution, if you're okay with your book being available on Apple
devices only. One more great option is Adobe's Publish Online. An
easy to use tool that allows you to publish directly from InDesign, as
long as you aren't planning on monetizing your book. The technology
around ebooks is always evolving, so research the various platforms
often, so you have the most up to date specs on each one.
CONCLUSION
Additional design skills to learn

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- Let's take a moment to go beyond the basics of design and discuss
some other key things that will help you on your career path. Brand
strategy is a critical part of design and yet designers aren't typically
trained in communication or marketing. Branding is a complete
system that communicates a brand's message and therefore impacts
all aspects of your design project, from packaging to
marketing. Emotional connection and consistency all play a role in
good brand design. Where and how you work are important
considerations and require different skill sets. Do you want to work for
yourself or an agency? Or do you want to be part of an in-house
design team? If your dream is to land a spot on an in-house design
team, this is very different from working as a freelancer. You'll want to
be armed with really great interpersonal skills and find ways to thrive
in a corporate and at times more bureaucratic environment. On the
other hand, if you plan to run your own design business, knowing how
to earn passive income while you are focused on more intensive
design projects may be a major part of keeping your business
profitable. And one last thought and this is really
important. Remember that as with any fields, having related skills that
keep you well-rounded will help set you apart. Here are a few
examples. Having solid photography skills may help you land a project
creating social media designs. A good working knowledge of web
design will keep you current and relevant and expand your design
skills beyond prints, and an understanding of art direction may help
open doors to opportunities for promotion at your company. My
parting words of advice are keep an eye out for ways you can expand
your skills, have the courage to try new things and always be learning.
Next steps

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- I hope this course has provided you with a helpful overview of our
amazing design courses and empowered you to determine what you
need to learn and where to get started. There are two series that I
especially want to point out; our Essential Training series is a great
place to start when learning a new piece of software, and check out
our Foundation series for more information on the key elements of
design, such as layout, color, typography and more. Both series have
been created for those who are new to a topic so they cover the
essentials and will prepare you to start your design journey with
confidence. We also have a number of weekly series where a single
technique is covered in one movie. This will give you a quick dose of
inspiration, learning and creativity when you may not have the time to
get into a longer course. The topics are really varied, so you never
know what cool, new thing will be featured and how that may
influence the work you're doing. Regardless of where you're at in your
design education there will always be something new to learn. You got
this, thanks for watching.