Graphic Design Tips for Beginners

In the modern world, some skills that were thought of as less important in the past, relatively speaking, are growing more relevant by the day. Perhaps they were just as important as they are now, just a few decades ahead of time. Graphic design, for instance, wasn't so popular and not many really tried that hard to learn stuff like that. In our younger years, most of us decorated our papers, tests, and homework with hand-drawn stick figures, pictograms, and bubble letters.

That is where some realized that they are not so good at drawing on paper. But that was a different era. Today, the ubiquity of machines and other digital devices have allowed us to revisit that part of our lives where we can 'draw' our ideas to life. Some have actually made careers out of it. But graphic design is not easy. It can be particularly overwhelming for individuals with no prior knowledge or experience. Here a few tips to get you started.

Draw Inspiration

Design is a form of art, and any work of art ought to be inspired by something. If you decide to learn graphic design, seek relevant places to draw inspiration. Start gathering pieces of what you think is good work. You can build a catalog of successful work in folders on your computer, make a Pinterest board, or bookmark it in your web browser. Anything that — in your opinion — screams uniqueness and creativity should be cataloged.

Be Observant

Your observation and analysis skills must come into play if you want to excel in graphic design. You have spent a lot of time collecting the different designs you have in your catalog, now take some more to observe and analyze them carefully. All these icons, illustrations, and info graphics contain text, shapes, and other elements blended masterfully. Observe, analyze, and take notes.

Keep It Simple

Keep your designs as simple as you can. Some of the world's most popular logos and other design items are simple. Avoid making your designs too complicated, whether you are building a brand for your business or simply creating a logo.

Choose the Right Fonts

Clarity is one of the most crucial aspects of design. Do not place too much importance on visual appeal at the expense of readability. Try to stick with variants of the same font family in your designs. Using different typefaces in a single design is not recommended. Some readers have problems adjusting their eyes to different forms and styles. However, all your designs to a single font is not a good idea. Play around with different fonts until you find the perfect combination, same with colors.

Seek Feedback and Use It to Improve

Share your work with the world. People will have different opinions, some encouraging, others, not so much. Don't shy away. Use the feedback to improve your work. If you don't have the confidence to share your work with the general public, you can ask a professional graphic designer for their honest opinion.

Everyone, from students to business owners, needs some level of knowledge in graphic design to excel in our endeavours. As a student, you may need to come up with a fantastic presentation to impress your professor, or maybe you need to create some graphic designs for your social media or blog. The point is, you don't have to be a professional graphic designer to need some skills in the field of graphic design. You will face the need to read up on graphic design at one point or another whether you are an employee (regardless of the industry your profession is in), a business owner, or a student.