7 easy steps to Become a Self-Taught Graphic Designer

Are you aiming to become a self-taught Graphic Designer but not finding appropriate guidance? Graphic designing is one of the growths in the IT sector. Its increasing craze attracts the attention of many learners, but sometimes inadequate guidance kills the case of learners. 

But today, we have developed unique solutions allowing you to learn graphic design independently. However, becoming a self-taught Graphic Designer is challenging in the initial phase. Still, once you sustain the challenge, your learning will provide you the reward of confidence and opens many open career options in design. 

This article will examine some significant steps to facilitate your journey to becoming a graphic designer. These steps will eliminate all your confusion and provide a clear-cut way to learn graphic design easily. Apart from this, we will also examine some aspects that self-taught graphic designers usually miss out on and result in failure. 

Fundamental steps to become a Graphic Designer

Learning graphic design requires persistent dedication and hard work. But valuable and systematic guidance adds smartness with dedication and hard work, take that valuable guidance from the following steps:

1- Start with the fundamentals.

Construction of any tall building starts from the base. Due to this, strengthening is imperative in all kinds of learning, One must start becoming a graphic designer by learning the fundamentals.

The best option for becoming a self-taught graphic designer is to start from the fundamentals, Fundamental topics: Elements of design and Principal of design must be clear to you.

These basic concepts will help you in creating visually appealing designs, these fundamentals will allow you to communicate with the audience with your designs.  

Now, the question arises of how to learn the fundamentals of graphic designing, You can watch graphic design youtube channels listed below, and can take internet support.

7 Best youtube channels to learn graphic design

1. The Futur
2. Satori Graphics
3. Will Paterson Design
4. Yes I’m a Designer
5. Dansky
6. DesignCourse
7. PixImperfect

2- Build your expertise in graphic designing tools.

Many tools will make the task of graphic designing easier and more flexible. It is very important to have good expertise in these tools. Many tools or software like Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Adobe Illustrator are available to create attractive designs.

The interface of all these software is very user-friendly, but still, you need to take an overview of them. You can choose any software according to your comfort zone.  

Although, if you are looking for a very easy interface and to create a basic graphic design, Canva is the best option for you, You can make basic graphic designs with the help of Canva in the initial phase. But, to have an ultimate level of expertise in graphic designing, you need to learn designing Graphics on the above-listed software.

3- Learn new ai tools for graphic designers

Ai tools can help a designer in many ways, for example designers can use chatgpt for learning graphic designs to create design concepts, generate ideas, learn softwares and many more, and Midjourney to create stunning visuals, brandings, mockups etc. You can check out these free ai tools for graphic designers, these will help you become a better designer, automate your repetitive task, enahance productivity.

4- Keep practicing and make your concepts stronger.

It is impossible to become a professional graphic designer without practicing regularly, You must fix it for approximately 2 hours daily and practice different kinds of design. You can try to copy the designs of brands. For instance, copying the Instagram posts of famous bloggers, graphic designers, and many more.  

It would help if you also analyzed the market’s demand and how other graphic designers sustain it. Once you understand how the market works, you win the half-battle. 

5- Stay up-to-date with the market demand and trends

We already discussed the importance of understanding the market demand for playing a long-term game. We will now understand how to remain updated with the market’s current design trends. It requires deep research and observation.

It would be best if you observed the work and Designs of popular graphic designers. Along with this, you need to analyze the design pattern used by the many brands in their advertising.  

You can also research trending topics for graphic designing using Google Trends, Reddit, Pinterest, and other related websites. But, in the initial phase, it is best to do the other experts’ activities, always try to put your innovation in your every design and make it the best and most appealing.

6- Build your network

Networking is the most important part of succeeding in any field, especially for self-taught Graphic Designers. You must build a good network by joining the communities, organizations, workshops, and events, You can also negotiate with new startups and service skills at a very cheap rate, It will help in building your good profile.  

There is another option available for beginners in graphic designing, which is freelancing. Freelancing is the best option for those who learn graphic design initially and want to execute their talent practically.

You can start freelancing in graphic design on various freelancing websites. The ultimate aim of performing all these activities is to build a good network and generate a good amount of experience. 

7- Build your portfolio

Having a good portfolio is very important to get clients for your design project, as a beginner you can work on dummy projects, or get ideas from Ai tools for dummy projects and compile your design in a portfolio format or you can use platforms like dribble, behance to showcase your works. You can use your social media to showcase your works, use link in bio tools on your social media for multiple links.

Things self-taught graphic designers usually miss out on.

There are some common aspects that self-taught graphic designers miss out on, which other graphic designers consume through expensive training and courses. But don’t worry; we will provide you with Insight into all those aspects so that you will become an expert designer with your potential.

• Learning the history of graphic design is important for understanding the advancement in design.
• Professional live projects, which self-taught graphic designers can do by exploring freelancing work and following the steps of experts.
• Good presentation is still in graphic designing, which self-taught can develop themselves by practicing.
• Collaboration with the team and guidance of experts can be accessed by exploring the market trends and learning from free internet resources.
• Exposure from recognized universities and coaching brands, Self-taught graphic designers can give exposure to themselves by building a good profile and gaining experience.

Free course for graphic design on youtube

final thought:

Overall, graphic designing is a very broad field, and it is possible to learn it independently, But it is impossible to learn it without putting in persistent efforts. Keep exploring new patterns, designs, and templates in the market and grow yourself. Once you become an expert in this field, you will get multiplied returns for your efforts. 

FAQ: self-taught graphic designer