By following these article tips, you will easily find a graphic design job.
The first thing you need to keep in mind is that a graphic design degree is not a certification of your work. It is usually insignificant compared to an excellent portfolio of your creations.
There are 15 tips for graphic design students I will talk about. You should follow them during your university period, and they will help you find the desired job position.
Whether you’re a first- or fourth-year student, these tips will help you bet the competition when it comes down to work search.
What Are Your Responsibilities As a Graphic Designer?
Graphic designers are responsible for a successful visual representation of a brand. We are “tirelessly” sitting behind our machines, and we are in charge of designing various things such as business logos, flyers, billboards, and webpages.
Now that we got that straight let’s look at the tips you should follow as a graphic design student.
1. Gather All The Things That Inspire Your
Observe your surroundings for inspiration and write down everything that might influence you. A film, nature, or architecture might be one of those things. Organize your notes and sketches in your notepad and regularly check them out to make your creative juices going.
They come in handy, especially when you’re short of ideas. You can simply open your notebook, and BAM, there is a note you took or a sketch you made. This helps you overcome that awful creative block, and in the end, leads to a successful design project.
Don’t forget about the daily inspiration post you can find on the internet. This is the quickest and easiest way to infuse your creativity, where every imaginable design project or style is only one click away.
2. Follow Design Blogs
The best way to share your ideas is through an online blog, and graphic designers use them as a platform to showcase their work and share industry tips and tricks.
Design blogs are an essential source of new knowledge for every graphic design student, so visit them regularly if you want to expand your design intelligence.
3. Take Photos
Pick up the habit of taking photos whenever you find something visually stimulating and save them for later use.
The photos you take are a great source of inspiration. Besides that, they will also improve your understanding of brightness, color, and visual ratio.
4. Regularly Create New Designs And Put Them in Your Portfolio
The best way to enhance your graphic design skills is by creating new works regularly. You can create brochures, logos, banners, or different UI designs, which you should put all together in your portfolio.
It will come in handy when you need to show your design abilities and creativity to your future boss or client. As we all know, a picture is worth of thousand words, so an excellent portfolio will definitely help you open new doors.
5. Meet Design Professionals
Search for your local graphic design events and mingle with professional designers. This provides the opportunity for you to meet the industry experts and share ideas, which, in return, boosts your design skills.
Pro tip
Check out which designers are going to these events and browse their work. In this way, you will have something to talk about. Besides that, if you’re searching for their feedback about your creations, this is the approach you should take.
6. Turn Words Into Pictures
As a beginner graphic designer, the vital habit you should develop is translating words into visual language. Let’s take a close look at what that means.
When you get a design brief, and your job is to create a logo for a new company with a younger population as their target audience, you should immediately think of a style and colors that will appeal to that target group.
7. Combine Different Styles And Ideas
There is a phrase that says that ‘Less is More.’ Still, you can explore your creativity by incorporating different design styles and ideas in one project, whether a logo, business card, or webpage design. But be sure you don’t go overboard, start from a simple design and add things to it.
It is not easy to incorporate many ideas in one project because your end design might look like a Christmas Tree.
8. Online Videos
Various videos related to graphic design are available on the interwebs. As a graphic designer student, start from the basics and move to the advanced level step by step.
These videos support you both in improving creativity and technical skills. The main benefit is that while you’re sitting comfortably in your home, you can learn the advanced techniques without spending a single penny.
Be sure that you put the e-courses into practice and not just seemingly watch them.
9. Redesign The Works of Others
Try to redesign the work done by various designers. In the beginning, it may be difficult for you to find out the design mistakes done by others.
But with the development of your design expertise, your eye will easily catch the design slips. Improving already made designs is a great way to sharpen your skills.
Be sure you never humiliate others because of their mistakes, because you never know when one might happen to you.
10. Travel
You are exposed to new social structures, ideas, culture, and thoughts specific to that region whenever you visit a new area. These factors will enhance your innovation and imagination.
Don’t forget to write down everything you see as a novelty in your notepad or take a picture of it.
11. Practice Makes Perfect
Remember that you are working in a versatile field, and it will take some time to become a professional. You just need to put some practice into place. Never think about quitting.
In this industry, it pays off to be an expert. The core ingredient of graphic design is creativity, which cannot be gained overnight. You should try creating as many new designs as possible, and with a lot of practice, you will become a master of this field.
When starting as a graphic designer, following the quote perfect is the enemy of good. Don’t try to be perfect your designs. In the beginning, just finish them.
12. Minimalistic Approach
Try to minimalistic design wherever possible, especially if you are inexperienced with different color combinations. This style will bring your shapes in focus, and you do not need to worry about other things.
One of the examples that you can take a look at is the Apple logo, which remains famous for its simple design and great use of white space.
13. Use Pictures Effectively
Every picture you use in your work has an impact. Whenever you use the images, think about the clarity and style and never forcefully put them in a way that ruins the look of the overall design. Never neglect the essential factors like color, style, and brightness.
14. The Right Color Selection
The proper color selection is crucial in graphic design. Every color has a psychological impact and is chosen for a particular audience. For example, high contrast colors will make the product or design more visible.
The proper color selection requires experience to get the desired outcome, which you can develop with practice. The best way to get a grip of the correct combinations is with the help of Color Wheel, where you can try mixing monochromatic, complementary, and compound color schemes.
15. Simple Font Style
Never use font styles that may be stylish but hard to read for others. Avoid using multiple font styles in a design that affects the user experience. Remember, applying more than three different font styles is overkill for design.
The right font style should always match the idea you want to convey to the target audience. For example, suppose a product or brand is connected with sports. In that case, you should go with the use of italic letters, which illustrate movement.
Not all font styles are available for commercial use. So read the font licensing policy or search for free commercial use fonts on Google before you begin your project.
Final Thoughts on Tips for Graphic Design Students
You will deal with visual problems daily, and your job as a graphic designer is to solve them in the right way. Here your skills and creativity really shine.
Besides creativity, you should also develop excellent communication skills because clients often don’t know what they want. So you should ask them the right questions and discover their preferences and wishes.
As with every profession, you will suck at first but don’t get discouraged, keep on pushing, and one day you will be a design master.
