How to Become a Better Graphic Designer

Graphic design, especially in this age of new media, is a field that is constantly changing and morphing. If you implement a few smart strategies, you can make improving your own graphic design skills a daily part of your life. Keeping up is great, but getting ahead of the crowd is even better.

Instructions

1. Find one reliable source for up-to-date graphic design information and news. Don't be sucked in by the insane amount of websites, blogs, news sources, magazines and books out there. Just pick one. Pick one that appeals to you, that is reliable, that covers the important stuff happening in graphic design and then get yourself a subscription or add it to your reader. Do whatever you need to do to make it convenient to keep up with that one publication, and then make it a habit. Read it while you drink your morning coffee, or have it with lunch or keep it beside your bed to read for fifteen minutes every night. Keep it in your car and read it when you have to wait somewhere. Just make sure you read it.

2. 

   Learn new techniques, ideas and concepts. Your news source from step one can be your springboard for this step. When you read about something new and intriguing, do a little follow-up work. This is when you can take advantage of all those other information sources. Look for more articles about the latest concept you want to research. Pick up another magazine that covers it or browse a few blogs that mention it. Look for specific examples, and think about how you can incorporate it into your own current projects.

3. Study work you admire from a great graphic designer or graphic design firm. You probably know of a handful already that produce work you always admire. Take a little longer to review their finished projects. What is it that really appeals to you? What part of the design makes you shake your head in awe? Define the elements that make the piece pop.

4. 

   Get a critique of your portfolio from a professional in the field. This could be one of your peers at your own graphic design firm or a contact you've made within the industry. Maybe you could trade critiques as a way to help each other improve. Get the most out of this by being very specific in your request. Exactly what do you want your peer to critique: the overall portfolio, the individual pieces or the individual elements within a piece? Maybe you could provide a form or a few questions for her to answer; make it as easy as you can for the person who is agreeing to help you out.

5. Review the critique humbly and with an attitude for change. It's way too easy to get defensive about your own creations. Remember that change is for your own benefit. Put your ego aside, listen with an open mind and accept that your perceptions may not always be the best. Consider the comments on the critique you received like they are pure gold. Think about how you can make some changes in your style.

6. 

   Find multiple streams of inspiration. The more great design you take in, the more inspiration you will have to draw from. So find great music to listen to. Go see concerts. Visit local museums, art shops, galleries, antique stores and cultural collections. Go to special events and do some people-watching. Make sketches. Listen to conversations. Find new places to hike, picnic or just take a short walk over lunch. Sit still sometimes outside and just watch what is happening around you.

7. Take a course in graphic design. It's OK if it's one you took before; go ahead and take it again. You can find many online courses that are often free or visit a local community college for another affordable option. Your whole experience will be different because you have actual work experience, you've grown and changed and you have a different goal with this class.

8. 

   Take a course in some other field that involves design. Art, architecture, interior design, photography... there are lots of options. Again, you could so something online that allows you to put in as much time as you can when you can, or you can make a commitment to a class at a local college or university. Also look into adult learning centers and offerings from municipal organizations. Sometimes there are day-long seminars or workshops that you can attend for very little or for free.

9. Perfect the basics. Grab your go-to textbooks from college and review the very first few lessons you ever got in graphic design. Make sure you remember terms, basic design elements--the whole point and purpose and overview of why you loved this field in the first place. Are there some basic techniques that you never perfected or basic methods that you just brushed over? Go back over them and be sure you're solid on the basics.

10. 

    Challenge yourself. Take on a project that requires a totally different style than you normally have. Take on a project that requires lots of cooperative work, if you're a staunch individualist. Take on a solo project if you tend to depend on your teammates too much. Volunteer for things that scare you a little bit, and then do your best at them. Make taking on challenges a normal part of your graphic design work, and you will find yourself constantly improving.