If you love designing something from scratch and have a natural creative ability to be imaginative, then a career in graphic design is perfect for you. The design field is artistic, fulfilling, and profitable when approached rightly. A Graphic Designer essentially is qualified to create visuals to either sell a product, service or communicate a message. However, they must be inventive and possess the technical skills needed to put together impressive compositions using design elements such as images, typography, and engaging colour palettes. It’s an industry that’s always in demand. How? It’s because businesses always require designers to create branding assets or design upcoming event brochures, promotions, etc. They are required in the advertising industry, print media, digital marketing companies, IT companies, FMCG brands, financial industries, and many other similar sectors.
If you’re a graphic designer at heart, you surely have a passion for learning new things and driving yourself further each day. It’s an interesting field to get into, but most would-be designers can get stuck at the first steps due to a lack of proper guidance. So read on below for six essential steps on how to become a graphic designer.
Enrol in a Design Course
Before taking any further steps, you must take the time to learn the design principles and have a solid understanding of design elements. It is a technical field that requires proficiency in many computer programs, so you should be eager to invest time to obtain an education and become an experienced professional. Completing a graphic designing course or earning your bachelor’s degree in the field can help hone your skills and teach you all the fundamental basics. India has some great colleges offering design courses that will give you experience and help you connect and network with industry specialists.
Build a Portfolio
Once you decide to learn graphic designing, start building a catalogue of work you think is successful. That can be as simple as bookmarking pictures in your web browser, creating a Pinterest board, or saving items to your computer’s folder. Sifting through a catalogue of inspiring work will help you unfold the conceptualisation of your own thought process and design practice.
Identify and Follow Current Trends
Graphic designers are artists and continually try to learn new techniques. Therefore, stay current on trends, such as minimalism or geometric shapes, so you know what clients want. Identifying and analysing new trends and following them on various media will be helpful in the long run. By doing this, you will develop your own graphic designing trends and maybe even learn to forecast future design trends.
Network and Reach
Networking with other designers can be an excellent way to break into the industry. Seek out people who are looking for designers with your particular skills, and try collaborating with them on a project. Networking can be a great initial step in getting to know people in your field and lead to networking opportunities later on. Designers who attend creative events are more likely to make precious connections and gain exposure.
Update your Design Skills
The tools of the design trade are always evolving and getting updated, so it’s necessary to stay on top of all the latest developments. It’s a unique way to ensure you possess the requisite skills that employers are currently looking for. Stay up to date with design styles, techniques, software programs, or methods to make sure you always have something to offer.
Just Begin...
It’s common to feel intimidated by the sheer volume of learning affiliated with graphic designing courses, but you need to tell yourself that even the most skilled designers were beginners once. Besides, you’re most likely to learn the most from the mistakes you make and the need to fix them, so welcome all opportunities as a possibility to improve as a designer.
Getting Started
Now that you know some of the many ways to take your graphic design career to the next level, the key is to start putting these tips into practice today. IIAD is a great design school for starters. Students at IIAD get revelation into various fields within the realm of Communication Design, such as film & animation, branding & advertising, graphics & publication, UI/UX and many more. They also learn to design compelling communications from the theory phase to the final structure using appropriate content, visuals, communications, moving images and digital practices at IIAD’s Communication Design programme. It prepares you to address the needs of a hyper-connected world through a wide range of visual media.