7 ½ Challenges to Help You Become a Better Graphic Designer
Every designer has their problem areas – whether you hate creating fonts or haven’t quite gotten the hang of your character animations yet, you’re certainly not alone. But when they encounter these problems, what does a designer need to overcome them in order to complete a project and get paid?They challenge themselves to Albania WhatsApp Number List overcome their greatest challenges. That is exactly what we hope to do here.
For each roadblock or problem point, you can practice with a design exercise. Even if you’re just starting out in the world of design — or have hundreds of completed visuals under your belt — you’ll improve.
What makes designers excited?
Whether you’re a design student building your skills or a professional designer working with multiple clients at once, there’s a good chance you’ll run into these questions at some point:
Burnout. Every creative — from designers to copywriters to copywriters — has dealt with this, and from experience, I can tell you it’s the worst feeling. Ever. Especially when you’re burned out on something you’re passionate about and getting paid for. Whether the burnout stems from a lack of ideas or inspiration, or is the result of repetitive projects, it’s a sign that it’s time to shake things up a bit.
Unspecific Client Needs. A client who can’t explain the vision they have, or at least the purpose and outcome they hope for, is one of the biggest challenges a designer can face. A project without clear direction and expectations can quickly go off the rails. (But note that there’s a difference between, “I don’t know what I want,” and “I trust your design experience and expertise.”)
Too many cooks in the kitchen. This is basically the inverse of our last problem – a client that doesn’t provide enough guidance can be problematic, but a client with a team of stakeholders who all have their own opinions is a whole different beast. (And don’t even get us started when one of them says “make it pop.” Heads will.)
Lack of trust in your expertise. Professionals who have to defend their design choices are not happy people to non-designers. There's a reason for everything, and when a client asks for something that's simply not possible , it's enough to make a designer want to scream.
That's for starters. Things like time management, keeping deadlines, maintaining creative control or dealing with wild client requests can also frequently present and create challenges for even the best designers.
However, there are ways to overcome these problems.
Enter the design challenge.
No, we’re not talking about frustrating problems that can make a design project more difficult. We’re talking about exercises and activities that professional graphic designers can use:
Flex their muscles and overcome creative blocks.
Specifically enhance their skills in a particular area of graphic design.
Enhance their experience.
Add to their graphic design portfolio.
There are examples to turn to for ideas and inspiration.
We’ve rounded up some of the most creative, eye-catching and fun graphic design challenges that span everything from logo design and web design to social media and more. Whether you’re a student working towards a graphic design degree or a professional building a client’s visual brand identity, here are some challenges you can use to become a better graphic designer:
1. Create something outside your comfort zone
Remember when we said repetitive projects were linked to burnout? Yep, that happens to a lot of designers, more than you think.
It’s not that hard when all you’re after day after day is designing a logo, or dragging and dropping elements into a web design template.
If you're dealing with burnout or just want to try something you haven't had the chance to do, try to put graphic design prompts as far outside your comfort zone as possible. One place you can turn to for such prompts is Sharpen , which has given over 15 million graphic design challenges as of this writing.
https://usaphonelist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Albania-WhatsApp-Number-List-300x158.png
For example, let me laugh out loud in the minute it takes to load the page:
Put my colors on great.
Grind even lets you set a timer so you can manage your time flexibly—or so you don't get stuck into a workout for too long when you have time. If you don't like the first challenge, hit the button for a new one that'll let your creativity flow.
2. Get Inspo from Social Media
If you're a designer looking to learn new skills, or you have a hard time keeping your finger on the pulse of the latest design trends, this challenge is for you.
Drawing inspiration from social media is a great way to give yourself a heads up on new design strategies and see what other professionals in the industry are doing. Or, if you’re a student in a graphic design degree program, you might be looking for all the inspiration you can get, and social media is the perfect place to turn. This article from the Creative Bloq staff is a great starting point for using Inspo as a professional to build your Insta feed.
2½. Visit the library!
While social media can give you clues and inspiration for the latest graphic design trends, some clients may be looking for a more classic or vintage style. In these cases, consider looking at the prints and other designs available at your local library.
This approach has some great overlays:
You can find inspiration in spades. From logos to typography, there’s a good chance there’s a book or resource that will satisfy that need for inspiration.
It's not just print. Many local libraries have digital indexes so you can refresh your website design, as well as periodical guides so you can check out older magazines or newspapers.
Browse the graph history.Only inspiring resources are available - grab an art history book or encyclopedia and expand your art education horizons.
free.yeeep! Fill your head with knowledge and see all the inspiring books your little arms can carry - all for free. Worth it!
3. Create typography based on your own handwriting
Where some designers struggle is with typography and fonts. This can be a difficult skill to improve, especially when there are so many opinions surrounding the use of fonts ( myself included! )
One of the best ways to beat this challenge is to create your own font. You can do this by basing a font on your own (or someone else's) handwriting and then go from there. Or, you can design a font that helps send a specific message, or works with a specific logo - the choice is yours.
Tools like Calligraphy can help you create typography based on your handwriting. Or, try something less formulaic and more creative with Fontforge , an open-source program that allows you to play around with font styles, sizes, italic angles, and more.
4. Logo Design: Modify the Classic
Like a Throwback Jersey, but better. This exercise is something you see everywhere from student graphic design projects to something fresh and succinct on a public scale.
页:
[1]