6 practical steps to become a professional graphic designer
How to become a professional graphic designer?
Did you know that the average income of professional graphic designers can exceed the average income of engineers and doctors? The jobs that many believe are in the highest demand in society!
Today, the field of graphic design has become one of the most important areas required in the labour market. The importance of this and the diversity of applications and applications in many industries and living areas has made it even more important.
Because there are hundreds of sources (books, websites, YouTube channels, lectures) talking about how to learn graphic design, but many of these sources overlook something important!
This is a key element of success in graphic design, a clear, practical roadmap that helps beginners achieve their goals, and motivates them to continue learning and confidently enter the job market.
That’s what today’s discussion is about becoming a professional graphic designer. Despite the comprehensive topic, we are constantly posting about this topic – I will mention them in the line.
Unlike the various sources of the Internet, we found that all of this was not enough, and we had to combine all the threads and connect them in this comprehensive guide, How to be a Professional Graphic Designer.
This prevents many problems, such as:
A) many beginners don’t know exactly where to start. There are many courses and resources ahead. Do you see how they choose among them?
B) some people spend a lot of time researching and watching, instead of applying and getting distracting and practical experiences between the source and the YouTube channel.
C) many areas of graphic design may seem confusing, and the differences between them are unclear.
D) There are many ways in which people learn new skills, some people prefer to practice rather than read or watch, and others vice versa.
E) because many YouTube channels talk only about how to implement some designs, many beginners believe that learning graphic design is limited to working with some programs.
This eliminates the steps involved in critical research, marketing fundamentals, customer communication, and business communication in various areas of graphic design.
F) many novice designers do not know how to show their work and skills to people who are interested in them.
J) many beginners overlook the possibility of making money on the Internet while still in the process of learning the basics.
All this directed me now write this line and publish this guide which is the roadmap I hope all beginners will see to become professional graphics designers.
This map contains some carefully selected information, resources, and practical tips and advice to help you avoid the issues discussed earlier and learn smarter and faster.
I don’t want to go any more. This introduction is the most extended introduction to the winners and shows the importance of the topic we are discussing.
Let’s start with a practical step to becoming a professional graphic designer.
1. Set the key objectives of graphic design learning
This is the first and most important step in the professionalism of any field; to know why you are learning it and working for it, to see the goals you want to achieve to work for it with a firm mind.
So, I ask you to seriously think about this step and not underestimate it. Many people who have not started and continued in this area or have not achieved the desired results have ignored this step.
Let’s think aloud. Why would you like to be a professional graphic designer?
- Want to learn the skills that many people talk about on social media and YouTube? Do you just want to go with the trend?
- You are still in school and want to learn more skills to take time and try to discover yourself and your skills.
- Want to learn about graphic design to make money on the Internet?
- Do you have any idea or project that you need a graphic designer to help you implement it?
- Do you like the number you saw looking at the salary of a professional graphic designer and want to go like them just through this field?
- Do you love drawing and want to master one of the graphic design areas to further develop your skills?
- Love freelance work and want to start with graphic design?
Your motivation should be strong and comes from your mind and mind, it’s never a problem to learn new skills that talk a lot, but if you are interested and have a job with that skill.
And when you learn to use it to overcome problems or implement specific ideas, you know you are far more likely to succeed than others.
I hope you are honest about yourself and think carefully about the previous question, and I hope to answer this question:” do I want to learn for myself that I am interested in graphic design? “
If your answer is yes, continue reading and follow the steps otherwise you will find your passion in other areas in which you are interested.
Now let’s set your own goals. For example:
Even if you are in a low-wage job to gain experience in one of the areas of education and graphic design, you can get a job within six to eight months of learning.
Start your own business in less than five months and generate income from the Internet.
You can master a design program (such as Photoshop) within two months.
Over the next four months, you can generate $200 in revenue through a variety of graphic design revenue methods.
Just set a goal to evaluate yourself within a certain time, and after you reach it you set a new goal to achieve such a loss!
This is one of the most effective ways to learn new skills on the job, and my advice is to always tie your goals to money to keep overcoming obstacles and giving you greater incentives.
2. Select one of the graphics design areas to start
The second step is to familiarize yourself with the world of typical graphic design to see it from above the world to understand the most important details and tasks that graphic designers need.
To this end, you must check out our comprehensive guide “areas of Graphic Design”, we have recently posted a simple and practical description of the most important areas of graphic design presented in the labour market.
Look through these areas and see some examples, then follow these steps:
See your passions and interests. What type of design do you like most?
Focus on the type of work required in each area and how long it will take.
Explore the designer community (we’ll show you how to find it later) and connect with experts in your chosen field in principle.
When you ask questions about the challenges in this area and compare them to your main goals, some areas can take a long time and experience to get a job at a graphic design company.
This will push you in this way to choose another sector or change your goal itself, putting yourself on the right path to becoming a professional graphic designer.
At this stage, the most important thing is to settle into the specific areas you are going to and gain basic skills and work experience. Don’t worry. You can change the area later.
The graphical design area is interconnected, and whatever you learn in any field, you will find useful for any sector or industry. You must constantly learn and develop.
The goal of this phase is to identify the tools and resources (design program – process – designer community) to use in the next step.
3. perform the first design
Before you learn the basics, see rules and theories, or see anything else, you want to design first. Now search YouTube for the quality of your design.
For example, if you are designing social media or designing for a logo holder, you can find a YouTube video that explains how this design works.
Open the design program referenced in the video, and step-by-step imitation of what you see in the video to get a great feel at the end of your first design.
Note: All graphic design software provided by Adobe has a free trial period to test all features of the software.
You can then ask a variety of design questions, such as:
Why did the channel owner specifically choose these colours and why did they look consistent and harmonious?
What is the function of some of the tools used in the design program?
What are the criteria for selecting design dimensions?
And publish other curious questions that motivate your mind to learn about the world of graphic design and learn this will help you choose the sources you will depend on to learn professionally.
After learning about the different areas of graphic design and the types of design required in the working market and gaining practical experience using one of the graphic design programs, you can choose the right path for you.
At the end of this phase, you will be able to:
- If you test yourself, you’ll find that the process of designing graphics requires a lot of effort and effort. You will find that this field is not suitable for you.
- Learn about the most important graphic design software you need in the field.
- Discover some principles and rules that you should learn later.
- If you have completed your first design, trust me, then you feel happy and precious, and then you will find the motivation to learn more and more.
4. identify the main sources of professional graphic design learning
It is very important to determine the main sources from which you can learn different graphic design techniques to help you in the areas you have chosen for yourself.
Each person has a special personality and learns differently:
- Some people love self-learning without their superiors.
- People love engagement and interactive learning.
- Some people want professors and mentors to force them to do what they need on time.
- Some people don’t have enough time and need a broad and rapid source of information.
So, you can recommend a few sources so that I can think with you loud and learn graphic design so that you don’t get upset:
1. If you are a person who does not master self-learning, you do not want to sit at home alone to learn, and you want to teach someone and direct you to share with others the results you have learned.
So, you will learn to design graphics in one of the accredited centres such as the Russian Cultural Center in Egypt, which offers an excellent course in learning graphic design at a very affordable price.
2. If you are a self-study fan and can take time to learn and train alone in front of your computer, and you also have good English skills, we recommend the “Master Graphic Design Class – learn Cool Design” course on the Udemy platform.
This course is a great introduction as it covers many basics and masters three graphic design programs (Photoshop – Illustrator – InDesign) with many real-world examples.
3. If you want to learn Arabic, we recommend that you start the free “Introducing Graphic Design” course. Team Education Platform, is a good simple topic.
Then go to YouTube Arabia to specialize in your graphic design program and get the experience and practical information you need.
6. learn the basics of physical anatomy, structure and dimensions
One of the most important elements of any good graphic design is the interest in perspective; knowledge of the field of view and direction of light, and determination of dimensions and shadows based on it.
Another essential element in many areas of graphic design is physical anatomy, which is how to correctly draw parts of the body in different situations and sizes.
This theme is particularly important for those interested in the field of illustrations, drawings of characters in books and novels, or in the special world and animation that requires the creation of all detailed drawings.
Unfortunately, many graphic design courses do not care about these topics, despite their great importance to all professional graphic designers.