1. Learn to
use the grid
Building a
well-balanced design
layout, whether for web or print, is one of the most
difficult and excruciating design tasks. Grids provide an instant remedy for
this problem: an organized and systematic approach to building layouts that
takes away the “trial-and-error”, which normally occurs.
Most
importantly, you will never feel intimidated by your next design project
because once you create a design grid, layout options become instantly visible.
2. Use
technology to make better font choices
How do you
normally decide on a logo font? Most likely, you set the company name in your
default font, then browse through your type library until you find a
good-looking option. More experienced designers will know which typefaces they
want to try, so they will pick them directly.
But there
are problems with both of these approaches. First, you are limiting your
choices to fonts available only on your computer. Second, you are not using
freely available technology which is important in our fast-moving design world.
For your
next design project, head over to MyFonts.com tag section. Pick the word that
best describes the style you're looking for or use the search box in the top
right corner to type a specific tag.
You will be presented
with an array of typefaces that match the style you're looking for, while
having the ability to type your own sample text. For example, you can pick the
“restaurant” tag, type the restaurant name in the sample text box and instantly
see some great fonts for your project.
3. Explore
different palettes with free colour generators
We are
creatures of habit and most of us pick the same colour combinations over and
over. Believe it or not, these choices are often influenced by your software
defaults – notice that most vector designs use default colour swatches from
Adobe Illustrator. The simplest way to break this habit is to use online colour
generators, such as Adobe Kuler-This tool will let you browse through thousands
of great looking color combinations, then save them in an ASE format, which can
be easily imported into any Adobe application (note: you need to register to be
able to save but it's free). In essence, Adobe Kuler allows you to explore and
share great looking colour combinations.
Another good
trick is to generate your palette from an image or photo, which is immensely
helpful when your brief includes mandatory images or photos, or when you simply
like the colours in an image. Try colour palette generator from cssdrive.com,
which will build CSS and Photoshop palettes straight from your images.
4. Design to
tell a story
Great design
is less about decoration and more about communication. What makes a designer
famous is not the ability to create nice looking work – it's the ability to
send a message and get a point across effectively.
The best way
to learn this skill is to study advertising techniques. Advertising can teach
you about analogies, metaphors and other creative tools that will help you
create convincing and persuasive designs.
5. Use pen
and paper while brainstorming
Starting
your design project inside Photoshop or Illustrator can be a serious handicap
for a number of reasons but most notably… loss of creativity.
Design
programmes weren't made to explore design ideas and options, but to execute
them once they're already set. When you use them during the idea stage, you're
actually working incredibly slow – you need to worry about clicks, points,
buttons, weights and swatches… none of which is required by your pen.
Also, you
might be tempted to play with colours and effects, which will only drive your
attention away from the idea itself.
6. Never
settle for one idea
Always develop
at least three, completely different, design ideas for your project, no matter
how overwhelming this might seem. This will not only get the generic stuff out
first, but will also give you something to compare and separate the good from
the bad.
7. Use RIS
approach to drive your design decisions
This is an
acronym for Response – Imagery – Solution, which is a 3-step system for coming
up with highly effective designs. This method works best for more complex
design pieces such as brochures, websites and posters but it can be used for
logo inspiration too.
You need to
split your work into three distinct stages:
· Response – which emotions and impressions do
you want to elicit with your design? For example, if you're doing a website for
a popular ski resort, you might want to elicit emotions of joy and excitement
while making people think the resort is upscale and prestigious.
· Imagery – which images and visual elements
can be used to stimulate such responses? Think in terms of colors, textures,
photography, patterns and fonts. For our ski resort example, joy and excitement
could be provoked with images of people skiing and having fun, while
prestigious element can be introduced with big serif headlines, silvery-black
palette, and perhaps slightly textured background. For this stage, it's best to
develop a mood board, but it's not absolutely necessary.
·Solution – develop the design
concept based on your imagery and check to see if it makes people feel the way
you intended them to.
8. Make a
cover version of a popular design
Copying and
imitation is generally bad for most purposes but it's an excellent learning
tool for beginners. Just as many musicians practice their skills by singing
cover versions of popular songs, you can create cover versions of popular designs.
The task is
simple – find a website, poster or logo design you really like, then try to
reproduce it as well as you can. You can either make an identical replica, or
change it to reflect your personal style.
Covering a
design will make you even more appreciative of the original work, and best of
all, you will expand your creative and technical skills.
You will
understand how the layout was constructed (and why), which combination of fonts
were used, how the particular texturing was created and which technical
challenges the designer faced in order to get the details right.
Note: this
exercise is just for learning. Do not copy other designs and submit it to a
contest or to a real client.
9. Decorate
your office – intelligently
Designers
need inspiration and white walls will not give you much inspiration. However,
instead of building a generic “creative” office which looks good but serves no
purpose, why not decorate with practical items?
For example,
you could:
· Print out your font library and hang it on a
wall.
· Create 20 colour combinations you like and
paint them on your ceiling.
· Print out and frame common website or
brochure layouts.
· Buy a flipchart and use it to sketch ideas
while standing.
This will
create a stimulating environment which will get your juices flowing while
providing you with references to typefaces, colours and other important
elements.
10. Learn to
draw
Knowing how
to draw will make you twice as good and valuable because there are certain
design problems that are best solved with this basic artistic skill.
When you
don't know how to draw, you will keep inventing less than perfect workarounds
for things, which essentially require a drawing or illustration skill, such as
icons and character logos. Plus, you will miss the innate sense of visual
balance and harmony that develops naturally with this skill.
Today,
learning to draw is easier than ever — just google “learn to draw” or go
directly to drawspace.com.
11. Learn to
(copy)write
Designers
often overlook the importance of writing skills in their work, yet messages and
communication are the reason graphic design exists in the first place.
Some design
pieces can be based purely on good copywriting.
Though
copywriters are usually asked to handle the writing part of the project,
understanding the basic principles of good writing is a mandatory skill of
every professional graphic designer.
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