What skills do graphic designers need to master? Ten essential skills for graphic designers

Graphic designers use the combination and arrangement of various visual elements to express their design concepts and images in graphic materials in two-dimensional space. The graphic designers that ordinary people know are those who perform appropriate image processing and typesetting of visual elements such as text, photos or patterns, and display them on paper media such as newspapers, magazines, books, posters, flyers, logos, VIs, etc., that is, on paper Art design and layout on quality media.

Nowadays, more and more people are learning graphic design, but there are still many people who have not been able to understand the true essence of graphic design. In fact, if you want to be a good graphic designer, mastering the skills is Essential! After all, what skills does a graphic designer need to master? Let’s talk about it next:

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1. Having style is better than having no style.

Style can serve as a designer’s signature. If your design has a specific audience. Then a style that is familiar to your audience will give you an important design tool. Every designer should have his or her own style. Because every project you work on is unique, your style will leave a lasting impression on your audience. Most designers (especially newbies) and they have many different styles to showcase their well-rounded skills. But a unique and inspiring style is a designer's dream. If you want to control a certain style, you should delve into its history.

2. Project management.

Many designers want to be able to organize their work in an orderly manner, but on larger projects, it is useful to master the basics of project management. A designer who can manage the design portion of a project well will have an advantage over a designer who just sits around and waits to be scheduled. When managing projects, leadership is one of the key qualities of design. Taking on a new project means managing your authority so that your project operates efficiently and effectively. When you start a new project, make sure you have reasonable authority. As a leader, you should be flexible enough to know when plans need to change. When you determine the direction of a project, planning should not stop but continue. After your plan is implemented, you should think about the war plan and document all your strategies. Bad planning can lead to failed implementation and chaotic results.

3. Typesetting.

Typography as a design technique is underrated these days. In fact, top advertising agencies regard typography as the most critical factor in design works, and it is usually the dividing line between good designers and great designers. Layout design requires a sufficient understanding of fonts, appropriate line height, word spacing, and tracking. Advertising was originally about conveying information, so it required clear, readable, well-designed typography. Experienced designers will tell you that it is impossible to know the names of all typefaces. However, if you can learn to distinguish a few key fonts and express your content clearly, you will feel more confident. Typography can easily be attributed as the official language of graphic design. If typography were alternate, most designs would become irrelevant or outdated. Letters come in different shapes, colors and styles, which gives graphic design its uniqueness. Although there is only good technique, if a designer does not know how to express it fluently.

4. Think creatively.

For graphic designers, a very important ability is to transform some incomplete materials into a stunning work. Designers should be able to clearly express in pictures what others want to express in words. At first, the image may not be clear enough, but this is often when creativity comes into play. Boundless thinking, boundless thinking is possible. Practically every project wants this idea. If you can break out of the conventional mold, new ideas will emerge. Using creative thinking, you can find intersections between different ideas. If you can find similarities among different ideas, you might discover a new perspective on design.

5. Printing design and layout.

In addition to skills, employers also value designers' understanding of electronic print products. Using typesetting software is a very important skill, usually referring to desktop publishing software (Adobe, InDesign, or Quark). Print design also often requires an understanding of color separations, grid layouts, and master pages. Designers in every profession should have a thorough understanding of the printing process. Although you don't need to know how to operate the printing button, you do need to be familiar with the entire printing process. The most basic printing knowledge includes an understanding of color space. A color space is a combination of different colors that describes how some colors combine to make other colors. There are two color spaces: ligh and pigmenk. The light color space consists of red, green and blue, or simply RGB. The pigment color space consists of cyan, magenta, yellow and black, or simply K.

6. Web design.

Web design may be the most valuable skill for a graphic designer. Countless doors will open for you and you will face a huge customer base. You can update your presentation of your work as often as you like.

If you are proficient in web design and several different programming languages, not only can you earn a steady income working from home, but you can also bring you potential employers who are looking for a generalist to reduce their expenses.

7. Photography.

If you want to be a well-rounded graphic designer, sooner or later you will involve photography. If you're lucky enough, the company has provided you with a camera. Take advantage of it. What kind of camera can meet the needs of the designer? A camera that can provide enough light to fully expose the actual object you are shooting. This can be achieved with a built-in flash or an external flash. Using a digital camera is a great way to get higher pixels. Pictures below 6M pixels are not suitable for generating high-quality pictures and should be modified through image editing software such as Photoshop.

8. Network.

It is very important to get guidance and support from others. Especially for designers, they need to spend most of their time in offices and studios. Building a network of people who are interested in your career will be an effective approach. These people can be: other designers, marketing experts, web designers, design blogs, design magazines, photographers, SEOs, magazines, publishers, etc.

9. Communication. _

In fact, communication is the most important skill in a designer’s career. Expression is the foundation of everything a designer does (please refer to the typography chapter above), but it is not limited to visual communication. Designers must be able to communicate their ideas and thoughts clearly and fluently to employers and clients. At the same time, a graphic designer should be able to write well-organized introductions and copy. In order to complete a new project, good communication skills are required 90% of the time. As long as you are working on a project, good communication with clients or other team members is very important. From accurately refining requirements, discussing changes and different options, explaining how to use a tool, explaining why this approach won't work, good communication skills are required. Today's successful designers can often write clear emails, organize Skype conversations with people from different regions and cultures, handle countless communication problems, and use their own communication art to communicate.

10. Social media promotion.

In today's market, marketing and promoting one's brand and services are essential skills for any individual. Companies that understand the value of social media include: Weibo, Renren, Facebook, Twitler, Dig. How to correctly use this media to build relationships with users and build brand recognition in the future will become increasingly important and valuable. If you understand the market rules, you will get more work or a new start. Learning the art and science of marketing will help you design targeted pieces. Think about it, many web designers end up creating their work with the goal of eventually getting more attention, building a brand, selling products, or bringing in a steady stream of business.

Actually, to be honest, if you want to be an excellent graphic designer, simple design operations alone are not enough. Without skills in various aspects, it is really difficult to compare with other excellent graphic designers~ Finally, come learn graphic design! ~