Each aspect of graphic design can be hard to learn as a newcomer, but with dedication and discipline, it can become easy to learn the basics of both design and the software needed to accomplish design briefs effectively.
Is learning Graphic Design Easy?
Learning graphic design can be a long process. It’s not necessarily hard but it does require a certain amount of dedication, persistence, and discipline. Each aspect of design has its own learning curve associated with it. For instance, learning the fundamental principles of design so that you not only know them but you can use them takes time. The Adobe Suite is the go-to industry-standard software for Graphic Designers. Each Adobe program has a different toolset and interface which can take weeks to a couple of months to learn so that you can solve any design brief that comes to you. Some of the software is at hit’s heart similar to the others so it can shorten this time. For instance, After Effects is kind of like Photoshop for moving imagery. The same core concepts just laid out into a different user interface and with a far wider tool-set.
Consistent Learning Makes it Easier
I have found that to learn something new, the best way is to be really consistent with how you go about teaching yourself. Spending at least an hour a day to learn something new means that those hours add up quickly, you also don’t need to repeat sections because you have forgotten what was taught. Picking one Adobe Program and then teaching yourself consistently each morning, set yourself design briefs or follow tutorials and you will start to see real progress which will lead to this skillset being able to be used in Professional work. There might be some concepts that challenge you, but it’s important to stick with it so that you can master these tricky parts. For me, learning animation curves within After Effects took some time to master – but now it is part of my daily workflow, and without it my work would be considerably worse.
Hardware and Software
Having the right hardware and software can really make a difference in how easy you find learning graphic design. For instance, if you are trying to run professional design programs on a ten-year-old computer – you will have far more trouble than someone with a top-of-the-line machine. Or trying to use some free software packages like Gimp which is a free version of Adobe Photoshop – this can be great to learn on, however, the industry standard for all design is Adobe Photoshop. So when you go Pro you would be expected to work alongside other designers using Photoshop. You would put yourself at a serious disadvantage by not learning Adobe software, to begin with.
Easy Design Tutorials
Learning Graphic Design has never been easier because of the sheer volume of tutorials and courses available to you. It can be hard to find quality content to learn from but it is out there. Finding tutorials that look fun is important to keep you motivated to want to learn. However, as you keep going through your learning phases you will want to look for more Professional ways of working so that you will be ready to work professionally. For instance, learning about non-destructive workflows is vital to keep up with client’s changes from feedback rounds. Getting over these learning curves is all about personal discipline.
Can you show up every day to learn something new?
Here’s a couple of my favorite tutorials to get you started:
Create Comic Book images in Photoshop
Create Seamless Patterns in Photoshop
Create a book cover in Photoshop
Is getting design work easy?
For a Graphic Designer to bring in design work they will need a professional portfolio, which is no easy task to pull together. It can take between 4 months to a year to put together a portfolio that will land a graphic designer consistent jobs. Once a Graphic Designer has a portfolio it becomes easier to land interviews for design positions, but designers who are new to the industry may find that their lack of experience holds them back. Navigating the starting phase of a design career can be difficult and time-consuming and one that many will decide is not for them.
However, with some perseverance and determination, it is absolutely possible to land consistent design work and make a fantastic creative career for life.
There are many ways of working as a Graphic Designer and some are easier than others. For instance, working in a Design Agency can be one of the hardest, yet productive ways of working. Some may find the high volume of work and speed at which the deadlines must be met can be incredibly hard to keep up with. However, there are easier day-to-day design jobs such as being an in-house designer that creates design materials for one company.
This type of design job typically has less workload than an agency and a more stable work-life balance. Working as a freelance designer can be easy if you have the clients that send design briefs to you however getting these clients in the first instance can be very challenging and can take years to cultivate enough professional relationships with other companies to make freelance working a stable income.
Is switching design disciplines easy?
One of the best things about Graphic Design is the ease at which you can switch design disciplines. This is because the core fundamentals of design and the skillsets you learn with them are present in all of the disciplines. You may find that you have to learn another Adobe program but the learning curve on each additional Adobe program gets less the more that you know of the other programs within the Adobe Suite.
One thing I have done is look ahead a year or so with the intention of switching design disciplines and then learning the various programs and skillsets that are needed for me to succeed. For instance, I was working as a marketing designer and knew that an opening in UX/UI design was going to become available.
So I spent time each day learning about UX/UI so that when the opportunity arose, I was ready to take advantage of it and switch disciplines.
Graphic Design Work Hours
Working part-time as a Graphic Designer is the easiest way of working as you will only be expected to work for two to three days a week. This allows for a work-life balance that favors life. It’s great if you have a side project that you want to dedicate longer hours to on a weekly basis or if you are starting a family.
Working as a graphic design freelancer can be similar to part-time work hours but it can also become a lot harder as clients may want to increase their output and so the working hours can become a lot longer.
Full-time work as a graphic designer can be fairly balanced in terms of work-life balance and is often the middle ground that many designers choose to work in.
Working in an Agency as a Graphic Designer can be hard and intense from a work hours perspective. The benefit of working at an agency is having a huge scope of projects that cater to a worldwide audience.
If you want to know more about the work hours of a Graphic Designer then check out the article here: What are the work hours of a Graphic Designer?
Working alone vs working in a team
Your own personality will define whether you find it easier to work alone or within a design team. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Working as the sole designer within a team will mean that you are looked at as the creative expert and the rest of the company will look to you for advice on everything visual or creative thinking. This can be a powerful position to find yourself in and having a team depend on your creative viewpoint can be a really interesting and valuable experience.
Being part of a design team, however, will give you the ability to bounce creative ideas off of other people. This can lead to a great dynamic where you and your team can come to solutions that would be difficult to come to if you were alone. It can be a hugely collaborative design process and one which can be truly rewarding.
Is Graphic Design hard?
Learning graphic design software has a steep learning curve which takes time, however, with the number of free resources that are available that teach creative skillsets it has become far easier to gain the information necessary to be a professional.
I would highly recommend Graphic Design as a career to go into if you are looking for a creative job. It’s a great way to earn a living and you can engineer it to fit into your own personal work-life balance.