Designers frequently desire time. How to become a graphic designer is to be inspired, to ponder, to investigate, to think, to reflect, to browse through a couple of pieces online but just to look at the photos and scan the headlines… you have the idea, how to design all about the creative process.
Yet, in reality, you’ll frequently find yourself in a scenario where you must provide something immediately, in such cases, you simply have to provide. Next to that is the “truth” that if you need a flexible deadline, you will most likely spend the most of your time seeking for “innovation,” putting you in a situation where you must race to provide anything.
It’s critical to teach yourself how to design in a fast and stable way in this day and age when speed is a priority for many businesses. Today, there are hundreds of designers. To set yourself apart from the competition, you must learn to create quickly, have a strong work ethic, and produce excellent results.
There are many reasons why designers are successful at how to get better at graphic design. These reasons are generally related to their performance and a series of habits and skills that such people have acquired throughout their lives that help them measure their performance and plan how to improve it. But before we delve deeper into graphic design tips and the habits that make a great designer, let’s look at what separates skill and habit
What is the Difference Between Habits and Skills?
In sociological theory and behavioral logic, habit & skill are frequently used interchangeably. There are, nevertheless, solid empirical and conceptual reasons for having them separate. Notably, the attribution of skill & habits implies distinct aspects about action, with just one (habit) being informative in the sense explained in a prior piece.
When we attribute skill to designers, we are generally concerned with providing a merely descriptive assertion of “capacity ownership,” rather than placing the action within a wider explanatory framework. It’s because skills ascriptions, as opposed to situational habit ascriptions, typically refer to prospective rather than actual acts.
On the other hand, habits are the things we do on a regular basis that builds up the foundation of competence and expertise. A person might have a skill but not practice it. Habits, however, are constantly practiced in order to gain talents and skills.
Why Are Habits Important?
Everything is based on habit. Habit allows you to go one step farther than others.
Tenacity, perseverance, resilience, or long-term devotion are all terms for it. Habits are really how you train your mind to perform an action without having to think about it. Simply put, this is repeating that very same set of behaviors on a frequent basis such that you don’t have to expend too much mental energy starting that task from scratch and have the opportunity to do much more.
Experience is indeed the consequence of faltering habits, taking risks, and looking for appropriate choices. As a result, experienced personnel may be a good investment for a firm since they understand how to minimize hazards.
As a designer, incorporating good habits into your daily working life will improve your skills in how to design and the success of your career in the long run. Habits require consistent action to acquire, and it can be hard to develop new habits. Although there is no recipe for success, there are several things we can do to improve our performance. With so much on the line, take the time to engage yourself with the tips below so that you can adopt them in your routine.
10 Habits of An Effective Graphic Designer
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Getting Plenty of Rest
People underestimate the power of good rest. Constantly pressuring yourself to produce graphic design projects on time won’t do anyone good if you’re burned out or have no room for a clear mind.
Our health is dependent on our habits. They have the power to make or break our chances of accomplishing and sustaining our lifestyle and career goals.
Making time for rest is extremely beneficial; when people use their bodies’ natural ability to replenish and refresh themselves, they have the added benefits of appearing younger, healing faster, losing weight more successfully, and having a clearer mind when it comes to working.
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Learning Continuously
As a designer, you can learn a range of things, from improving technical skills to exchanging workflow tips with other designers to staying current on industry trends and subjects that are on the minds of the design community through online communities.
It is critical to continue studying how to design outside of the typical classroom structure and to cultivate a habit of lifelong learning. The natural inertia of change in the workplace, as well as isolation from the greater landscape of the design profession, might force a designer to learn to specialize in one area over time.
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Always Looking for Inspiration
There’s a popular saying online that goes along the lines of “steal like an artist”. When one steals like an artist, one must use references in the best way one can. Stealing is when you have all the elements of one work, when you’re stealing like an artist you grab different elements from different sources. Inspiration can be found anywhere, the internet has made it easier to find inspiration, good places to look out for are Dribbble, Behance, DeviantArt, and Pinterest are good places to pick up ideas!
A pose can be from a fashion magazine, the background can be from Pinterest, some furniture can be copy-pasted from Twitter. You shape them how you want it to look and recreate them in your style!
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Managing Your Time
One of the biggest mistakes newbie artists make is accepting as much work as they can. This is good advice, especially if you’re looking to absorb every single piece of information, style, and technique out there. But those doing this long enough will tell you that you should only accept as much work as you can handle. It’s good that one pushes ourselves to emulate multiple styles, never forget to take time to recuperate in between projects. When you pace yourself better, knowledge and skills come to you easier and you can produce much higher quality work.
Being resourceful and using graphic design tools will also help you accomplish your tasks faster. If you have a lot of tools you can always use and access, your workflow will improve, thus saving more effort and time. There are also free mockups and free UI/UX kits that you can use to create initial drafts, wireframes and prototypes.
Good time management is an essential ability that will allow us to make continuous growth now and into the future. You’ll be able to go to sleep each night knowing that you’ve made progress toward your objectives and becoming the artist you want to be.
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Careful Planning
In line with the advice before this, planning how you go about your work is not only a good idea but it’s imperative. Not only should you find time to rest or manage the projects you should handle, but you should also plot out how you’re going to tackle them. Which has the most demanding client? Who needs the graphics ASAP? Can this one be put off for a couple of days at least?
Some people work on their hardest project first and others start with their easiest. It depends on you which you’re more comfortable with.
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Creating and Following a Workflow
One of the most important parts of learning how to design, workflows take place all throughout the office. Workflows arise whenever work or information goes from one activity to another, and they can be very structured or quite unstructured.
One of the best ways to create an effective workflow is a checklist. With a checklist, your thoughts are more organized and you don’t stray too far away from what you’re supposed to do. A workflow saves you time and headache by neatly lining up what you need to do.
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Removing All Possible Distractions
In this age of continual distraction, it’s critical to consider whether the activities that consume so much of our time are actually assisting us in achieving our design objectives. Put away your hobbies and open up your inspiration instead. A good tip for some people is they download all the things they need (images, videos, programs, etc) and then work somewhere that doesn’t have an internet connection.
Some people call this “airplane mode”, removing everything that contributes to their distraction.
As designers, we thrive on media for inspiration however we sometimes end up getting carried away. Instead of checking out how some companies layout and design their ads, you go to online shops and add to cart instead.
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Listening to Clients and Advice from Others
Do you want to have repeat clients? Listen to your clients! Do you want to grow as an artist and as a person? Listen to your friends and colleagues!
Try to communicate with your client on their project needs, how big does it need to be? Do they want you to create an intricate piece or something simple? Where is this going to be printed?
Your friends and colleagues will always have good tips that can probably save you stress and time. What is the best DPI to work with? Don’t forget to convert your image to CMYK mode. Are you working on the correct layer?
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Speaking Your Mind
Now, even though we said we should listen to the customer, we also know our limitations as their creative talent. If you’re sensing that what the customer is asking for is above your paygrade, something you can’t do, or it’s just impossible to do then you should communicate this with your client. We’re not magicians and this isn’t Hogwarts either.
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Being Truthful and Fair
In line with the advice before this, you might receive a little backlash from your client. They want you to be a magical miracle worker who can read their minds and produce the exact thing that can put them on the annals of history for having the best ad. But you need to be honest and explain to them why what they’re asking for seems beyond what you can do. You need to layout why their request is beyond you- or anyone if it seems like it. Most of the time, the client will understand why you can’t do what they want.
Develop Good Habits to Become an Effective Designer
Being a designer means being part of a creative field, this means that change constantly happens. It’s important to develop habits that can help you adapt to these changes. Make the most of your schedule so that you may engage in the appropriate item at the appropriate moment. Don’t create in solitude; get out of your design and seek various viewpoints; it will assist you to progress quicker, though it means starting from fresh at times. Look on the positive side, the quicker you realize this, the better.
Author Bio:
Jenn Pereira is an experienced UI/UX designer and writer. She currently works as the Marketing Head at Removal.AI – a photo editing and AI background remover platform used to optimize product images for ecommerce, mobile and web app, etc. Loves to write about design trends and resources for designers, share insights about marketing strategy and innovative technology. You can read her articles at Medium.
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