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Ask HN: How to be a Kick-ass Designer

1 points by nQuo 16y ago

I'm really interested in learning how to be a kick-ass designer. I've been told I have a great eye for design/aesthetics, so it'd be great to put it to good use. Interested in making beautiful icons, websites, app interfaces, etc. What would be the best way to learn? Best resources? PS. Would I need to go to school for it? I've heard otherwise, as designers like (@dcurtis) were self-taught. Thanks.

dools 16y ago
Find a designer you like, and ask them for a job. Failing that, offer to do some work for them for free.
jamesteow 16y ago
Hah. I'm from Toronto too (looked at your Twitter). I'm a designer (though not kick-ass) so here is my input. Design school is very different from one another. Some design schools focus on style while others are focus on conceptual development. Neither is inherently better than the other. While you can be self-taught, I would say school was great for making important connections in my career and in exposing me to different subjects that would add to my creative arsenal (namely photography). If you have a good eye, that's a great start. Having a sense of style is supremely important as a designer since having a creative vision is one of the core responsibilities. I think some of the best resources are books that deal with some of the principles. Josef Muller Brockmann Grid System in Graphic Design is certainly one of the Holy Grail books of grids. Reading about Typography is also of utmost importance if you indeed to do web design, as it plays such a central role. But I think some of the most important things are: doing a huge volume of work and getting critiques from designers who you respect. Both of these will help you get a feel of what is right and wrong. And if you can, intern or work for an agency/studio for a bit. You'll learn TONS.
notAdvertising 16y ago
Designing beautiful icons requires a fundamental understanding of figure, lighting, perspective and technique. Designing a website requires an understanding of visual architecture. Designing an app-interface requires an understanding of user-behavior and interaction. I have been designing since I was about 15 (25 now) and mostly everything I have learned has been through inspiration, trial and error. The design school that I attended was mostly focused on design theory and visual communication as a whole. We were taught to build a concept first, then learn the technical aspects of how to achieve it on our own. I would suggest; first understand the purpose of what you are designing, who is going to be looking at it and who is going to be interacting with it. Once you understand what you are designing, the inspiration of other great designs that you have seen in the past will come through. Then, it is just a matter of diving in and trying to create your vision. There are plenty of resources online to research and problem-solve along the way. A resource that really helps with inspiration and will save you time designing on large-scale projects (websites) is http://www.graphicriver.net http://www.graphicriver.net - I would check out the whole Envato marketplace system. Being a great designer takes lots of time, practice and patience. If it is something that you are truly inspired and motivated by, just dive in and enjoy the learning process.

1 points by nQuo 16y ago

dools 16y ago

Find a designer you like, and ask them for a job. Failing that, offer to do some work for them for free.

jamesteow 16y ago

Hah. I'm from Toronto too (looked at your Twitter). I'm a designer (though not kick-ass) so here is my input. Design school is very different from one another. Some design schools focus on style while others are focus on conceptual development. Neither is inherently better than the other. While you can be self-taught, I would say school was great for making important connections in my career and in exposing me to different subjects that would add to my creative arsenal (namely photography). If you have a good eye, that's a great start. Having a sense of style is supremely important as a designer since having a creative vision is one of the core responsibilities. I think some of the best resources are books that deal with some of the principles. Josef Muller Brockmann Grid System in Graphic Design is certainly one of the Holy Grail books of grids. Reading about Typography is also of utmost importance if you indeed to do web design, as it plays such a central role. But I think some of the most important things are: doing a huge volume of work and getting critiques from designers who you respect. Both of these will help you get a feel of what is right and wrong. And if you can, intern or work for an agency/studio for a bit. You'll learn TONS.

notAdvertising 16y ago

Designing beautiful icons requires a fundamental understanding of figure, lighting, perspective and technique. Designing a website requires an understanding of visual architecture. Designing an app-interface requires an understanding of user-behavior and interaction. I have been designing since I was about 15 (25 now) and mostly everything I have learned has been through inspiration, trial and error. The design school that I attended was mostly focused on design theory and visual communication as a whole. We were taught to build a concept first, then learn the technical aspects of how to achieve it on our own. I would suggest; first understand the purpose of what you are designing, who is going to be looking at it and who is going to be interacting with it. Once you understand what you are designing, the inspiration of other great designs that you have seen in the past will come through. Then, it is just a matter of diving in and trying to create your vision. There are plenty of resources online to research and problem-solve along the way. A resource that really helps with inspiration and will save you time designing on large-scale projects (websites) is http://www.graphicriver.net http://www.graphicriver.net - I would check out the whole Envato marketplace system. Being a great designer takes lots of time, practice and patience. If it is something that you are truly inspired and motivated by, just dive in and enjoy the learning process.