The minute you finish design school the clock starts ticking. You've got a limited time - about a year or two - to sharpen your design skills and Develop a methodology that will allow you to take a business and brand it. To create a process that will allow you to learn the business, to plan a strategy and finally to produce print and digital products.
School can give you great basics but you’ve got to be able to make a good work with a teacher to guide you and no - you probably don’t have a method but rather work by a hunch.
For example, you can follow Aaron Draplin this guy has lots of great videos and a great book.
Find about 2-3 really good designers and follow them for a long time all across the media, listen to their advice, see how they see the world and the way they work.
Someone reaches out to you with a project, you talk and take the job. Let's say it’s about a woman who coaches young parents or a company that sells unique glue for plains or maybe a tax professional. What do you do next? If you are opening a program and starting to design right away so that’s probably no good. You have to create a process in which you:
, put on a shelf a few great design books
, wear stylish clothing and spread around yourself some fancy gadgets like a cool clock and those tiny cool or artistic figurines like creative people would put on their desk.
School can give you great basics but you’ve got to be able to make a good work with a teacher to guide you and no - you probably don’t have a method but rather work by a hunch.
So how do you become better as a designer
Here are 4 great tips that will lead and boost you on your way to become a true professional.1. Model rule \ mentor
First and foremost find a few really good designers that you admire their work. Pick them by their awesome projects and stick to them. Follow them. Read each content piece they make or what others say about them. Watch, read, and copy their work.For example, you can follow Aaron Draplin this guy has lots of great videos and a great book.
Find about 2-3 really good designers and follow them for a long time all across the media, listen to their advice, see how they see the world and the way they work.
4. Great equipment will empower you
You surely don't need to buy the most expensive chair (like the Herman Miller Classic Aeron Task Chair).
2. Create a process
How does a full design process seem?Someone reaches out to you with a project, you talk and take the job. Let's say it’s about a woman who coaches young parents or a company that sells unique glue for plains or maybe a tax professional. What do you do next? If you are opening a program and starting to design right away so that’s probably no good. You have to create a process in which you:
- Research - first, research about the industry and about the product or service.
- Research.02 - Afterward, you’ll examine competitors and what do they do design-wise.
- Inspiration - Now you can search for Inspirations of great design on the subject or close enough to it.
- Sketching ideas - Then you’ll start sketching ideas and have enough time to think about everything you saw, going over notes you wrote to yourself while researching.
- Design - Now you can start designing.
- Present - finally, serve the design to the clients. Showcasing your design process with explanations and mockups.
3. Experiment & Practice
Do. Make. Create. Practice. Design as much as you can. Real products, redesign stuff just for the fun of it, help others, try different styles and get involved in creative challenges.4. Designer’s Workspace
Great equipment will empower your confidence and your progress. Search for “The clothes make the person“ and read some of the effects. Have a good desk, get a good chair, work on an awesome computer, a super mouse and a Wacom, a high-quality sketchbook, put on a shelf a few great design books, wear stylish clothing and spread around yourself some fancy gadgets like a cool clock and those tiny cool or artistic figurines like creative people would put on their desk.