As every other answer starts here with “Graphics designing is a profession” I do know it is a profession (as being one… duh). So the answer you’re looking for here is PASSION. This field is referred as a Creative field, and people in these field are seen as amazing artists, which is why being creative is rather confused with being good at sketching, painting, etc. These are the results of your creativity, the translation of your idea into something. The only things you pack in your bag when you want to go learn graphics is your ideas, willpower, some strength & definitely a book and pen.
I’d suggest not to jump right into any courses or college. I say take a look in a designer’s life first. Look at how they work, how their lifestyle is and their struggle. This is a field which being very open, demands a lot of determination & focus. You have to stick to the field, have to give a huge part of the day to it. Designing something every day is how you survive here. Practicing is everything here. Once you take a rather big break, you’ll have to start from the basics again, so be sure about that when you start.
Graphic design is actually a collection of disciplines. You will need to start by learning the following skills, since all of them are necessary for competency in graphic design for example as in the following site:
- Basic drawing/drafting skills
- Conceptual/creative thinking
- Composition
- Color Theory
- Typography
Production (including proficiency at popular design software and the basics of file preparation for print and online use)
Note that learning how to use the software is a small part of what a graphic designer actually needs to know. Anyone who suggests that learning Illustrator and Photoshop is the biggest part of learning graphic design is selling you short on what graphic design really is. One might as well say that all you need to be a great sculptor is to learn how to use a hammer and chisel.
Graphic designers employ a variety of tools, skills, techniques, and knowledge to solve visual problems. Building on a repertoire of artistic and technical skills a graphic designer can capture and/or keep the attention of their intended audience while celebrating a variety of mediums.
Whether in print or on the screen a great designer can communicate messages effectively and with flair. However, not all jobs require excitement and flair. Sometimes a designer creates visual communication that is subtle yet reliable.
While the list of skills and traits of graphic designers is enormous and ever-growing there are five essential skills that graphic design requires:
- Creativity is a must. A graphic designer must be able to create unique imagery and visuals. Creativity is also a problem-solving skill and graphic design is all about solving visual and communicative problems.
- Communicative skills are required as graphic designers must be able to negotiate and communicate with their clients and be able to communicate ideas visually and coherently.
- Technological skills are needed to blend both artistic and IT skills to effectively produce designs in a variety of mediums.
- Typographic skills are essential in blending typographic forms into imagery that can communicate a message. Read our beginner’s tutorial on what is typography.
- Management skills are required to budget for time and resources for a given project and to balance multiple projects and deadlines.
The best way to learn these skills, in my opinion, is to learn in a classroom environment where you will receive immediate feedback from instructors and classmates. You can choose to pursue additional online studies at the same time, although I do not believe that time spent watching YouTube tutorials is any replacement for a college-level program.
All of the skills I listed above take time, practice, and dedicated study to do well. Ideally, you will keep learning and refining those skills over the entire span of your graphic design career.
Now about learning. Before enrolling anywhere, try to get your hands on any free software available and dive into their tutorials. Learn as much as you can learn from YouTube, because it’s free of cost and doesn’t require much commitment. Once you start getting a hang of it, make something out of your own ideas. Share it around with your friends, get feedback and work on it. Half of what you’re going to learn in a course is finished here. Now there are many online website which allow amazing blue Sky Online graphic design course. Go check it out and you might find a good sale going on which makes the course really cheap compared to the amount of knowledge divided in sections, modules and resources given to you.
Conclusion
Graphic Design is a broad field and yet its intentions are simple: to make visual communication interesting and beautiful. The goal of this tutorial on how to learn graphic design has been to introduce you to some of the theories and techniques of the discipline.
But more than this, it has been aimed at providing an overview to capture your attention and encourage your interests in and pursuit of graphic design. It is from this point that we encourage you to start designing.
Hone and practice your new craft and skills. We hope they bring you as much joy as your designs bring to their audience. We hope you like this tutorial on how to learn graphic design basics and principles and that it will encourage you to take the next step to become a graphic designer. Good luck designers.