How To Actually Improve In Graphic Designing

Hi everyone! I’ve been in the Graphic Industry for a year now. So please guys, i will love to know how to improve my skill.

I can think of about 2 dozen “skills” that contribute to producing effective graphic design, ranging from tangibles like proficiency with bezier tools to intangibles like measured restraint. The avenues to improvement may largely be found in experience, monitoring of results, and mental exercises like critique, self critique, the ‘5-why’ method, etc.

Many designers seek to improve by way of better looking output, but that’s subjective in the end. The best — that is, the most effective — graphic design comes from deeper understanding of the role of graphic design in meeting business objectives, closer observation of market psychology, and greater attention to detail with respect to client and product positioning.

Not saying this is the best method but I offered my design skills to help with anything at any job I worked. I did this as a hostess, a tour guide, group coordinator, educator etc. Eventually I had a small portfolio of things so I could show more than college work. This helped me get a design internship, print job, and now I’m the Project Manager and main graphic designer (for a small business).

Sooo TLDR:
Practice and offer your skills to any job.
Build a portfolio.
Practice more and get critiques.
Practice again.

There is no sure-fire way to improve as a graphic designer, as there are dozens if not hundreds of different skills, soft and hard included, within the graphic design domain. Depending on your niche, on the skills you want to improve, you’ll have to change your method for improving.

In my case,

  • For Hard Skills: I usually follow agencies and big designers and study the works/projects in their portfolios. I don’t just study their end results but also their thoughts, decisions, processes, and how they present their works. It might be a bit different in the West but in East Asia, there are many agencies who also provide the detailed processes for their projects, making it really worthwhile studying. While looking at their works, I usually compare their projects with mine and figure out what makes them stand out and what makes them unique. After that, I’ll try to apply these findings to my practice projects to ensure I could create similar results before integrating these new skills into real projects.

  • For Soft Skills: Honestly it’s the most difficult task trying to improve soft skills as the only efficient way is to constantly work on real projects with real teams and clients. However, I would also take additional courses on skills like negotiation, public speaking, etc. and participate in meetings, conferences, or networking events just to study how people interact with their peers. It takes more trials and errors but the whole process would pay off in the end.

If you are unsure about a certain skill or anything similar, in some cases, it might be a good idea to find a mentor or connect more with your peers.

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Ok sir. Thanks a lot. But i don’t have a mentor. Don’t know if you will help me. I will really appreciate. :pray: :pray: :pray: :pray:

My name is JOSHUA JULIUS known as J.J GRAPHICS .OR J.J GRAPHICS GALLERY. Am in NIGERIA. Please i need you to be my MENTOR