The world has turned all digital. The companies, big or small, are working to establish themselves on the digital map. In order to achieve that a very common yet highly significant role is played by the graphic designer. They design for the company’s website and renew the designs from time to time and also, for their social media platforms.
The demand for ‘good’ designers is increasing and so is the competition. However, it should not scare you to stop trying in fact, it should entice you to work harder than before.
To start with you have two options-
Option 1- Enroll in a design institute.
Option 2- Now, if option-1 is possible then it’s all good. However, chances are that if you are reading this blog this option might not be applicable to you. In that case, given below are a few guiding steps that one could undertake and start off in the design career.
1.Design Basics- In order to build a high-rising building it’s crucial to build the base strong. Clear/ not-so-clear/ not at all clear basics make all the difference. Get yourself acquainted and well-versed with the basic design principles as they are the foundation of anything you do ahead in design.
They provide the support needed for your potential high-rising career. Spend a good number of hours into it- learn them, practice them, apply them wherever you can-do build them rock solid. It could not be stressed enough but, they are extremely important and one could not afford to neglect them.
2.Design Resources- It is the era of the internet. There is hardly anything you look up for and don’t find it on the net. Design resources can be searched for on the internet, in the form of books and magazines and gather as much knowledge as possible.
One very useful resource is YouTube. There are multiple channels where people with real experience and true knowledge show up to help beginners and designers in general. You can always ‘ask’ google for help. In fact, you can also take up free courses for some time usually, for a month or so. Even though free, they can prove helpful for the initial period.
Have a research on these resources and grab everything you think will benefit you.
3.Design Softwares- There are softwares used by graphic designers for their work such as, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator to name a few. A graphic designer must have the knowledge and practice on working on all these softwares.
Of course, it isn’t possible to have a strong grip on all of them in a short duration of time- it takes years of practice. To begin with it is important that a designer is at least capable of working on Photoshop and Illustrator.
Anyone can learn to use them just by searching up for tutorials on YouTube. There are a number of generous people out there who actually try and solve any query you might have and it is not just the tutor himself but an entire community that is learning from the same source.
4.Make Projects- Once all the above steps are done with you can finally start working on real projects of your own. They need not be for someone else but just for yourself. You can create mock-ups, brand identity of popular brands and a lot more which can later be used as projects of your portfolio.
This portfolio can be shown to the potential clients you deal with and start earning either as a side income or work harder and become a full-fledged graphic design professional.
To complete all these steps will take a little longer than what you could have imagined but every bit of patience pays and pays very well! So hang on, genuinely work on yourself and your skills because hard work accompanied by smart work is the key.