Graphic designing is a skill that requires no formal education and still ranks pretty well as one of the highest-paying skills that one can acquire. In many ways, the designing skill is one of the most essential talents in many businesses. Why is graphic designing so important anyway? It is a crucial tool in developing visual solutions using texts, symbols, and images to communicate or interact with a target audience.
8 Essential Graphic Design Tips and Tricks for Beginners
Graphic designing serves the purpose of:
- Company branding
- Visual aesthetics
- Sales enhancement
- Convey messages through images and logos
- Encourage professionalism
- Improves readability of content
- Increases the power of persuasion in businesses
As a newbie, delving into the world of graphic design can be a bit overwhelming, with a plethora of resources at your disposal and very limited information on what suits you best or which effect is most appropriate. However, there are general guidelines for graphic designers that ensure you do not derail from purpose. As a graphic designer, you may begin to notice that every single piece of paper you pick up, any magazine, any book, or any internet webpage you click through is the work of dedicated graphic designers; you begin to see things a little differently from here on, you begin to notice color grading and patterns, as well as effects and font. This is completely normal. “You are not insane,” so what does it take to get into the process and hone your skill as a pro in the business?
Here are eight very important graphic designing tips and tricks for beginners.
Gather inspirational images
The first step may be obvious… or not, but you must build a catalog of images from which you can gain inspiration. This can easily be found online, from stock photo websites or regular free image sites. Many graphic designers today add photography as one of their major skills, allowing them to take their shots with a personal camera rather than use existing images on the internet.
Get familiar with the process.
Every graphic tool has a unique interface, with many instructions, details, shapes, aspects, ratios, panels, toolbars, etc. To be able to dissect a project, one must understand the applications of every tool and how to mesh variables to achieve a masterpiece flexibly. To expedite this process, one can collaborate with other designers and download tons of valuable materials such as video tutorials, PSD design resources, and ebooks on skills for graphic design.
Craft specific queries for search engines
Rome was not built in a day. The road to becoming an expert is layered with tricky steps and obstacles you may never know until you ask the right questions. Even the best of the best can still be stunned by an unfamiliar design. Ask the right questions on search engines like “How to do this?” or “How to do that?” Chances are, many people may have encountered this peculiarity and written articles on them or made videos on the processes. However, asking the right questions to get the most comprehensive and concise answers would be best. So how do you ask the right design questions? Search for a design terminology glossary; this will enable you to find the exact terms you intend to use for your query.
Follow designer channels
It is important to follow professional designers on their channels and social media handles because they often give lectures, tutorials, tips, and freebies on various design aspects. This would enable you to tap into their knowledge and experience in becoming a professional.
Replicate images
Often a graphic designer may stumble upon a great piece of design and wonder to themselves, “How was this done exactly? Could it be a fusion of this and that?” The next thing they do is try to replicate that piece of design and even go so far as to improve on the spaces that may not be so great. They personalize every work and add flavor to every piece. This is usually the most effective way to get better.
Finding color schemes
Color schemes are a thread of specific colors that come together as a pair and are categorized under a label. The right color schemes give you clean, clear compatibility of colors rather than picking random colors for yourself, which may become a bad choice on a second look. There are websites where one can find and download color schemes.
For the love of fonts
Fonts are a big deal in graphic design, so much so that your whole presentation may look completely unacceptable if you make the wrong font choices. There are many websites where you can download fonts for graphic designing, such as fontspace.com, fontsquirrel.com, free-fonts.com, and likes.
Practice, Practice, Practice
There is no back door to becoming a graphic designer professional; no expert ever became one through procrastination. So rev up those engines and get started, then practice as often as possible because, as they say, “practice makes perfect.”
These are a few tips to help you start your graphic design journey.
