Are you a blogger or entrepreneur taking control of your social media presence? Are you a budding graphic designer and you don’t want to be completely clueless going into school? Don’t worry guys, I’m here to help. Let’s start with the basics. This post is going to be split up between two parties; people who are trying to utilize graphic design as a MAIN FOCUS of their career, and those who are looking to AID their already existing career with design skills.

FOR A STUDENT/BEGINNING DESIGNER:

1. You’re going to need tools. Laptop, Adobe/Coral/Whatever else you want Programs, several sketchbooks, tons of pens, pencils, and other mediums you like.┬á Get this junk ahead of time before school if you can. If you don’t you’ll end up paying a lot more money if you buy any school provided kits. Make sure you have a nice laptop a pc or mac is fine. Most places will use Macs as well as schools so make sure you have the know-how to use them when the time comes.┬á You will also need to purchase Adobe products, most likely. I recommend just buying the all-inclusive package for around 35-40 dollars a month. However, if you are in school they DO have a discount for that. If you are not a student and still looking to enter the field, you still can as a freelancer, however it just doesn’t really secure any full time positions from any agencies or companies unless you’re REALLY great and make a great impression. (Look forward to a post about great free or cheap design programs!)
2. ┬áGet yourself familiar with sketching daily, playing around with the programs (doesn’t matter if you make a full project, just get a hang of the tools so you’ll pick them up faster), and get used to collecting design pieces you see around you. Make a couple Pinterest boards, start following some great design blogs to get you inspired!┬á Check out a few big blogs:┬áhttp://thedsgnblog.com/┬á┬áhttps://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/
3. So you got your first steps into things now you want to delve into learning how to create graphics. A great place to start is YouTube, or if you’re feeling really fancy and have some cash, you can sign up for a Lynda.com account and take some courses on their site!
4. While you work on collecting more inspiration, playing with the programs, and experimenting with your craft.
5. ARCHIVE YOUR WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Create an Instagram, a Tumblr, a WordPress, ANYTHING that you can post your progress. You will thank yourself later when you want to see how far you come, as well as you are creating your designer presence. By starting out posting what you’re creating your allowing yourself a lot more prolonged visibility. Don’t worry about EVERYTHING and feel free to edit and remove your things to create a better experience, but you will thank yourself later when you want to see your growth.

FOR A PERSON NOT TRYING TO MAKE GRAPHIC DESIGN A CAREER, BUT MORE OF AN AID IN YOUR CAREER:

1. ┬áYou should decide on what you’re trying to accomplish, and maybe make a decision on how much money and time you are going to be spending on a project. Are you looking to make a few blog posts and maybe some quick invites? These are things you can very easily do without much knowledge of design and they are still functional. However, maybe if you want to re-vamp your whole website, or maybe work on branding a product, perhaps it’s not worth the effort for you to learn the deeper design knowledge it requires to create a successful brand or website. Freelance and agencies are things you should utilize for the sake of your time, money, and sanity.
2. You’re still here? Well, if you’re not rushing to hire a designer, you will just need a computer or even just a tablet, you can actually create a lot of really successful designs using easy apps like Canva or the Adobe apps available. Canva can also be used on a browser. I use canva a lot for my quick post images because they do a lot of layout creation and typography settings done for you. That means you don’t have to think about HOW you can make it look good, you can just choose your type layout and move on to creating your ads fast.
3. Utilize free ways to learn more about utilizing design thinking into your business and marketing strategy. Having functional and good looking designs will attract customers and viewers, and paired with your fantastic products or work, you can real in more visitors whether it’s on your website, in your store, or on social media. Use YouTube to help you with specific things you’d like to create or do in your work. I will also be making tutorial posts, so feel free to request certain things you’d like to see!
4. Practice!!! You will need to spend some time practicing and exploring with your programs or apps of choice, once you feel more comfortable you can start making plans for your graphics.

Alright, so if you’re not already doing these things you should get started! Stay tuned for when I go more in depth about things like youtube tutorials, design tips, getting jobs, and creating interesting work! Please subscribe to my blog and learn along with me!