How did you learn how to become a great designer?

Hi,

I answered this thread before but now I think I will give a more general answer to your question.

At one point, I was thinking to myself, "Why can't I be a great designer like everyone else on DP?", I even sent PMs to some of the best designers here and they really really helped me. Some took the time to gather a collection of links to websites, some wrote about what to do and answered more specific questions I had, and some just told me to practice.

Of course, it's quite easy to see which answers were most useful, and which were not, atleast that's what it seemed at the time.

Tutorial websites will, to the least intelligent person, show you how to make a specific thing, maybe a button for example. But, to someone who thinks at a different level, this tutorial will not just show them how to make a button, it will tell you how to create shaped boxes, how to create that effect on the text, how to produce that pattern inside the box...the list goes on.

What I'm trying to get at, is that if you want to learn by following tutorials, then do not just make what you're meant to make, and move on. Instead, look at all the elements of whatever you have created, have a play around with the settings and look at the outcome, one of the best ways to learn is to experiment.


Another way to learn, and in my view the best way, is to enter the contests that you will find in this forum. You might need some basic knowledge in order to enter, but soon you will realise that by entering numerous contests, listening to feedback and making changes, seeing different approaches by other designers, and entering designs that you are happy with, you will get better and better.

It is only with experience that you will find out what sort of logo is popular, and how to transform the feedback given to you into a great design that is more suited to your client.

After all, a designer isn't just someone who has the best photoshop skills, you need to visualize a design before you can make it.


One last note is that when you enter contests, don't get down if you don't win any. I've only ever won one, but I have seen myself improve, and it is that that makes it worthwhile.



~Hecky

 

Practice makes perfect, as they always say. Just keep trying, read new tutorials, learn new tricks. You will be good in no time

 

One thing that annoys me is when businesses use free email accounts, arenamalviya use @yahoo.com. Especially as they claim to teach webdesign and development.

You always see on busses and vans, the business email and sometimes they are the free ones. Why they don't spend $40 / year or so to get a decent email?

 

Although I'm not great, I've learnt everything from:

• Friends, greater designers, discussion
• Tutorials on the net (www.good-tutorials.com)
• Exploring the programs, trying out different tools
• Learning in school courses
• Appreciating people's work and drawing inspiration
• But most of all, it's all about practice, keep designing.

Just keep at it, you'll get better and better