I’m going to write about how to become the best designer? As designers, we’re always looking at better, and when we are looking to improve our skills, our designed skills, our conceptual skills, and our strategic skills here are the best twenty ways that you can be a better designer.
Study the history of design
You can’t do innovative work unless you know what went before you so get some books on design go back in the history of design and study where a lot of these movements ideas using concepts came from?
Learn the fundamentals of art
Design is a little bit of art and a little bit of science so on the art side you really want to learn that basics of visual arts so things like composition and balance and color and form and materials all of the things that are going to how humans visually perceived things.
Learn to sketch
Sketching is a highly underrated skill these states a lot of designers go right the computer and it really takes a lot longer to get design ideas out on a computer than it does through a quick thumbnail sketch so I encourage you to keep a sketch and sketch all the time particularly when you’re conceiving a design you can bang through a lot of ideas very quickly.
Go to school
Go to in the credit in art school if you can afford it but if you can’t go to a community college go and take courses online things are all the way from free to just a few hundred bucks there’s no excuse for not getting educated in design.
Design all the time
There is a no brainer just design all the time, the volume is going to make you get better.
Get feedback
So get outside of the circle of your family and get feedback from other designers gets yourself set up with a mentor get hard feedback on your work because that’s what’s going to make you get better.
Copy your heroes
Whoever does that you’re inspired by whoever does it the thing is an amazing designer copy one or two of their pieces you will be amazed how much you can learn by actually copying someone else’s work there are always nuances that you don’t realize when you look at something or some technique that they used in order to get a certain effect and until you do what you never really learn how it was done so, copy people.
Consume inspiration
Stay inspired so gather inspiration voraciously gather inspiration like a religion carry a sketchbook with you tear things out of magazines put them in that sketchbook pictures with your phone started Pinterest board gather images from or around the net stay inspired gather inspiration because when you need inspiration you always have that to go to.
Think conceptually
Think conceptually so the design isn’t just about visual aesthetics designs about ideas design his art that has a job to do so you want to think about the concept behind your work what is the purpose of your work what motion is as supposed to get across what kind of action is it’s supposed to precipitate so think about the concept of your work not just about how it looks
Think strategically
Thanks strategically so just like thinking conceptually thinking strategically as thinking about your viewer or what is the action that you want your customer or your view or to take one the experience or design whether that’s an illustration or a video or graphic design think about what the strategy is behind your work.
Art + Science
Practice smart design what smart design is as a combination of the art in the science of design so the visual aesthetics and the strategy and the concept behind the work that is what makes up smart designs so think about the balance between those two things.
Own your career
Own your own career there is no free lunch no one knows you anything knows when I was your promotion no one owes you money only you have to make the decisions about the type of work that you want to do to the type of place you want to work to the type of clients you want to work for you on your career so every step of the way the decisions you make what’s going to make you to think the career you have to own it no one’s going to do it for you.
Take the initiative
Take the initiative challenge yourself every set of their way get off your but give yourself a goal give yourself some sort of carrot that you’re going to pursue whether that’s a new skill a new job a new tidal a new position a new client always take the initiative and continue to put yourself and challenge yourself them.
Forgiveness not Permission
Ask for permission whether it’s from your boss or from your client to do something that you want to do is not the right approach just do what you think is right take the initiative and if then they don’t like it then ask for forgiveness later but at least that gives you the opportunity to push yourself and always putting out there what you think is the best thing.
Learn new stuff
Learn new stuff always be challenging yourself to learn the next thing I always say this in my videos but define yourself as a lifelong learner whether that’s new applications new design technique and whatever it is always been learning.
Practice writing
Learn how to write I had a whole video on this about how it’s important for designers to know how to write whether its an email to a client a description of a project to your boss or whether it’s a blog post or an article designer have to know how to write
Practice speaking
When I say learn how to speak I mean how to verbally articulate what it is that your work is about. Develop that vocabulary that you gonna use to describe your concepts the aesthetics of your work because presentations is the most valuable skills for the designers.
Practice listening
Knowing how to accept constructive criticism of your work is one of the hardest but also one of the most valuable thing that you can learn in doing your career to become a better designer because that’s going to enable you to hear how to improve your work. How people are perceiving your work so learn how to listen and how to take criticism.
Feed energy don’t suck it
Where ever you are whatever you do bring positive energy to that interaction whether that interaction is with the client or the coworker or someone you met at the conference. Instead of living in negativity or living in the problem always live in the solution feed energy don’t suck it.
Go beyond the brief
Always over-deliver. Whether that over-delivering in quality or quantity or interaction or communication always goes beyond the brief deliver the brief but always takes a step further because that’s what gonna differentiate you from all the other designers in the world.Always over-deliver. Whether that over-delivering in quality or quantity or interaction or communication always goes beyond the brief deliver the brief but always takes a step further because that’s what gonna differentiate you from all the other designers in the world.