I recently read a great article by Brian Hoff entitled “16 tips to improve as a graphic designer.” Granted, the article is old (it was posted back in 2008 on The Design Cubicle), but still has good advice for designers. Brian is a graphic designer in New York, working primarily in the realm of interactive web design. Below is a summarized version of Brian’s post.
- Collect stuff for your inspiration file.
- Buy real books on various subjects.
- Read other design blogs.
- Start a design blog.
- Actively take part in a design community.
- Take photos of everything.
- Work on fake projects.
- Redo someone else’s project.
- Redo one of your old projects.
- Attend lectures.
- Network.
- Take classes and keep learning.
- Interview other designers and tour other studios.
- Travel.
- Learn something new.
- Work in a physical sketchbook.
As an emerging designer, I appreciate advice and do my best to improve myself. There is a lot of advice packed into these 16 statements, but that motivates me to keep improving and growing. And now I can check one off from the list: welcome to my design blog.
