13 ms·

How to become a designer without going to design school

118 points by karenxcheng 13y ago

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
sp332 13y ago
Google cache https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?strip=1&q=cache:http%3A%2F%2Fkarenx.com%2Fblog%2Fhow-to-become-a-designer-without-going-to-design-school%2F https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?strip=1&q=cach...
- karenxcheng 13y ago
  Thanks for posting this! I need to find a new host for my blog that can handle traffic better. If anyone has suggestions let me know.
  - ixtraz 13y ago
    Try github pages
    - ncarroll 13y ago
      Here is a little love for Octopress. Easy to mess around with the themes and easy to deploy with github or rsync.
  - andrew_gardener 13y ago
    If your ok with a static blog that you need to put a little work into you can use GitHub Pages and Jekyll. You have to push updates yourself but its completely free. http://jekyllrb.com/ http://jekyllrb.com/ http://pages.github.com/ http://pages.github.com/
  - shadeless 13y ago
    Instead of jumping on another similar host try optimizing your website first, installing caching plugin like W3 Total Cache would make a lot of difference. Of course, the best way to handle traffic would be with flat html files, converting your blog to Jekyll/Octopress or similar, like the sibling comments are suggesting.
  - fredsted 13y ago
    If you use WordPress, try this: http://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-super-cache/ http://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-super-cache/ It turns your WordPress blog into static html pages that load fast.
pknerd 13y ago
Just joi hackdesign.org
jasonvolpe 13y ago
Thanks, Karen. This looks like great guidance. There is certainly no avoiding the "learn to draw" step if one ever expects to generate original material.
lquist 13y ago
Perhaps this is a vote for design school? I've always found Exec's design to be terrifically underwhelming.
- binxbolling 13y ago
  That seems unnecessarily rude.
- karenxcheng 13y ago
  Thanks for the feedback. I'm always on the lookout for ways to improve my design skills and going to design school is one of those ways. I wanted to get across - you can get good enough to get a decent job without going back to school, if that's not in the cards for you.
  - jnbiche 13y ago
    Classy response that makes this developer want to work with you, design school or not. And I'm looking for a designer for an upcoming project. I'll take a close look at your portfolio. Is it linked through your blog? HN traffic has taken it down (I'll echo the recommendation of others to look into one of the many WordPress caching plugins such as SuperCache). EDIT: Apologies -- your blog is back up and I see you're not a freelancer, so cancel my presumption that you're looking for contract work. Still a classy response! EDIT 2: Ah, you're the one behind the Exec mobile design that generated all that buzz. Well, now I'm doubly embarrassed.
noir_lord 13y ago
https://iamexec.com/feed https://iamexec.com/feed look at the left and right margins of the items in the center column, they are way off.
- xixixao 13y ago
  https://iamexec.com/mobile https://iamexec.com/mobile the icon is low res on high dpi mobile. But seriously, the post is super encouraging and helpful, however many mistakes there are on their website.
  - wavefunction 13y ago
    Consider if 0.5% of their users are using hdpi displays (unlikely these days, but just consider), maybe not worth the effort if resources are constrained? I dunno, it's easy to point out flaws without understanding the context.
rnernento 13y ago
This is an incredibly well written and useful article and it's a travesty the site is down. Definitely don't discount it because it doesn't load at first.
ineedtosleep 13y ago
Speaking as someone who doesn't design much anymore, I think the key here is: There was one key difference between me and many of the other designers that gave me an edge: I knew how to work with developers. Being able to work with developers and being able to understand how their end of the process works will ultimately lead to much better design and UX (assuming you're working on web/mobile). There are too many designers that keep designing for web/mobile as if it were print and it bothers the hell out of me. EDIT: Formatting.
- yogo 13y ago
  Yes, super annoying. Fixed width is one thing but fixed width and height (easy way to see that a designer comes from print) is absurd.
  - reeses 13y ago
    I love flexible designers who come from print who have adapted to web/mobile/etc.. Getting PSDs with intelligent layout and absolute color references, offsets, etc. are a dream compared to sloppy html, css, and canned javascript that so many 'designers' deliver without validating on anything but the browser they use on a daily basis.
- film42 13y ago
  I've dealt with many people who say they're 'technical' and 'work with programmers' only to have them say, "Hmm.. let's change this module to this side, and then add this functionality." not knowing those small changes will cost several days of work: static changes, backend peeps changing the api, circling through people trying to get things done. It can be a real issue. The best designers I've ever worked with would dive into the code with me and ask questions. On one particular iOS project, a designer would actually make custom views after showing him the basics.. it really helped me, and I can tell he learned a ton about approaching developers/ making sure a design is truly done before implementation. In other words, I totally agree with you, but it's up to a programmer to decide if the designer fits, not the other way around.
  - 13y ago
devilshaircut 13y ago
I hope this doesn't sound "unnecessarily rude" as an earlier poster characterized negative feedback, but I also found the design for Exec to be incredibly pedestrian. To be honest about my position, I do have a degree in design so I perhaps am biased. That said though, I think the analysis is a bit glib. "Learn to draw"; "learn graphic design theory"; "learn how to write" - not really sure how this advice possibly can compare with the huge amount of lessons you accumulate from practicing design in college. The suggestion that reading "The Design of Everyday Things" is a significant step to becoming a practicing designer is overly simplistic. I would never presume that, for example, "Gardner's Art Through the Ages" makes you into a museum curator. The idea that someone could become a designer in 6 months reminds me of things like get rich quick schemes, get ripped in 10 minutes a week videos, or as was cited in the article, "You Can Draw in 30 Days". It reminds me of this comic: http://mccreavy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/owl.jpg http://mccreavy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/owl.jpg You can't draw in 30 days. It is said that professional cyclists don't reach their peak for 10 years. This is also the nature of design. EDIT: Found a better link for the image I was referring to.
- mryundu 13y ago
  You can learn to draw enough to communicate ideas more effectively in 30 days. You can learn to cycle as a transportation option in way less time. You can learn to design to complement your skills for your existing job or to obtain a new one - I think that's the point; to get started on your design career, rather than to have the skills of a senior designer, in a shorter period of time and at less cost.
  - devilshaircut 13y ago
    I hope this doesn't sound pedantic but we aren't talking about a basic competency lesson here; the article seems to purport that one can become a professional this way. I hope this doesn't sound snarky - it isn't intended to - but the site in question looks worse than a WordPress template, design-school-freshman-quality stuff. I don't mean to be mean-spirited - this is just simply my impression of the design level.
coryl 13y ago
Thanks, I enjoyed the post, and I think it reaffirms the idea of controlling your own destiny. People seem to be missing the point just because they can't see past the post title. You can be whatever you choose to be and you don't need anyone else's permission. If you can show an employer that you produce good work and that you are relentlessly resourceful and tenacious, then why wouldn't you deserve it? Nobody discounts the value of a design school or a computer science degree. But there are other paths, as proven many times over by leaders in the field. In 5 years, imagine how good she'll be, and how little anyone else's opinion will have mattered. (Also, shame on you shitheads with your judgement on her work. Constructive criticism is one thing, being vaguely dismissive is another. No jerks allowed.)
rpicard 13y ago
My desire to really learn design has been slowly growing over the past year or so. I love programming, but I feel incomplete without being able to create an product with code, design, and copy that I'm proud of. These tips will come in handy as I start my own design journey.
xweb 13y ago
Really this post helpful and inspiring. As a long time developer/tinkerer who has struggled at times to find good designer help, I'm inspired to spend some time seeing if I can get back into doing my own designs. At the very least, I bought the first book in your list!
dennis_vartan 13y ago
Learning Photoshop mechanics and UX concepts isn't sufficient, IMO. One can be proficient in $DRAWING_TOOL and still unable to compose something that looks good. As much as I appreciate sites like Tutsplus, they teach mechanics but rarely answer the "why." Why do we add this 28% opaque drop shadow in step 37? Knowing why something looks good is essential to being able to create new works. Two books I personally found very useful for "why," both discovered via HN: "The Non-Designer's Design Book" "Design for Hackers"
- seanmcdirmid 13y ago
  Well, you also have to learn Illustrator, which is probably more important than photoshop these days. Knowing what looks good requires lots of experience. Just learn the tools and get started, you'll suck at the beginning anyways.
AtTheLast 13y ago
"A good designer is a good communicator." I'm really glad you mentioned this. To many people view design as making something look cool or pretty.
shalmanese 13y ago
I've known Karen for a while now and just wanted to say that 6 months of learning for her is not the same as 6 months of learning for a normal person. There's a hidden layer of superhuman dedication and focus that made it all possible as well.
at-fates-hands 13y ago
This is a great post. The only thing I would add is to learn to code at some level. I remember a few years ago, I was at a large corporation and we had a large team of developers and designers. Things were REALLY bad, and people were leaving in droves. I had several friends who were designers and they were depressed because they had been interviewing and every single company wanted them to know how to code and understand how code affects design. My two friends were rockstar designers (both had won Webby Awards for their designs) and felt like there was no way out for them. They were stuck at a bad company because companies were now looking for more hybrid designers. It's great to know everything you pointed out, but knowing how to code will give you a leg up on other designers.
rdouble 13y ago
It would be interesting to have a post about how to get a design job after working in another field. What does your portfolio look like? What does your cover letter say? What happens during an interview? Did you know the people beforehand? (#1 way to get any job) What do you actually do the first month on the job? Is it better than your old job?
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]

118 points by karenxcheng 13y ago

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

sp332 13y ago

Google cache https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?strip=1&q=cache:http%3A%2F%2Fkarenx.com%2Fblog%2Fhow-to-become-a-designer-without-going-to-design-school%2F https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?strip=1&q=cach...

karenxcheng 13y ago
Thanks for posting this! I need to find a new host for my blog that can handle traffic better. If anyone has suggestions let me know.
- ixtraz 13y ago
  Try github pages
  - ncarroll 13y ago
    Here is a little love for Octopress. Easy to mess around with the themes and easy to deploy with github or rsync.
- andrew_gardener 13y ago
  If your ok with a static blog that you need to put a little work into you can use GitHub Pages and Jekyll. You have to push updates yourself but its completely free. http://jekyllrb.com/ http://jekyllrb.com/ http://pages.github.com/ http://pages.github.com/
- shadeless 13y ago
  Instead of jumping on another similar host try optimizing your website first, installing caching plugin like W3 Total Cache would make a lot of difference. Of course, the best way to handle traffic would be with flat html files, converting your blog to Jekyll/Octopress or similar, like the sibling comments are suggesting.
- fredsted 13y ago
  If you use WordPress, try this: http://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-super-cache/ http://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-super-cache/ It turns your WordPress blog into static html pages that load fast.

pknerd 13y ago

Just joi hackdesign.org

jasonvolpe 13y ago

Thanks, Karen. This looks like great guidance. There is certainly no avoiding the "learn to draw" step if one ever expects to generate original material.

lquist 13y ago

Perhaps this is a vote for design school? I've always found Exec's design to be terrifically underwhelming.

binxbolling 13y ago
That seems unnecessarily rude.
karenxcheng 13y ago
Thanks for the feedback. I'm always on the lookout for ways to improve my design skills and going to design school is one of those ways. I wanted to get across - you can get good enough to get a decent job without going back to school, if that's not in the cards for you.
- jnbiche 13y ago
  Classy response that makes this developer want to work with you, design school or not. And I'm looking for a designer for an upcoming project. I'll take a close look at your portfolio. Is it linked through your blog? HN traffic has taken it down (I'll echo the recommendation of others to look into one of the many WordPress caching plugins such as SuperCache). EDIT: Apologies -- your blog is back up and I see you're not a freelancer, so cancel my presumption that you're looking for contract work. Still a classy response! EDIT 2: Ah, you're the one behind the Exec mobile design that generated all that buzz. Well, now I'm doubly embarrassed.

noir_lord 13y ago

https://iamexec.com/feed https://iamexec.com/feed look at the left and right margins of the items in the center column, they are way off.

xixixao 13y ago
https://iamexec.com/mobile https://iamexec.com/mobile the icon is low res on high dpi mobile. But seriously, the post is super encouraging and helpful, however many mistakes there are on their website.
- wavefunction 13y ago
  Consider if 0.5% of their users are using hdpi displays (unlikely these days, but just consider), maybe not worth the effort if resources are constrained? I dunno, it's easy to point out flaws without understanding the context.

rnernento 13y ago

This is an incredibly well written and useful article and it's a travesty the site is down. Definitely don't discount it because it doesn't load at first.

ineedtosleep 13y ago

Speaking as someone who doesn't design much anymore, I think the key here is: There was one key difference between me and many of the other designers that gave me an edge: I knew how to work with developers. Being able to work with developers and being able to understand how their end of the process works will ultimately lead to much better design and UX (assuming you're working on web/mobile). There are too many designers that keep designing for web/mobile as if it were print and it bothers the hell out of me. EDIT: Formatting.

yogo 13y ago
Yes, super annoying. Fixed width is one thing but fixed width and height (easy way to see that a designer comes from print) is absurd.
- reeses 13y ago
  I love flexible designers who come from print who have adapted to web/mobile/etc.. Getting PSDs with intelligent layout and absolute color references, offsets, etc. are a dream compared to sloppy html, css, and canned javascript that so many 'designers' deliver without validating on anything but the browser they use on a daily basis.
film42 13y ago
I've dealt with many people who say they're 'technical' and 'work with programmers' only to have them say, "Hmm.. let's change this module to this side, and then add this functionality." not knowing those small changes will cost several days of work: static changes, backend peeps changing the api, circling through people trying to get things done. It can be a real issue. The best designers I've ever worked with would dive into the code with me and ask questions. On one particular iOS project, a designer would actually make custom views after showing him the basics.. it really helped me, and I can tell he learned a ton about approaching developers/ making sure a design is truly done before implementation. In other words, I totally agree with you, but it's up to a programmer to decide if the designer fits, not the other way around.
- 13y ago

devilshaircut 13y ago

I hope this doesn't sound "unnecessarily rude" as an earlier poster characterized negative feedback, but I also found the design for Exec to be incredibly pedestrian. To be honest about my position, I do have a degree in design so I perhaps am biased. That said though, I think the analysis is a bit glib. "Learn to draw"; "learn graphic design theory"; "learn how to write" - not really sure how this advice possibly can compare with the huge amount of lessons you accumulate from practicing design in college. The suggestion that reading "The Design of Everyday Things" is a significant step to becoming a practicing designer is overly simplistic. I would never presume that, for example, "Gardner's Art Through the Ages" makes you into a museum curator. The idea that someone could become a designer in 6 months reminds me of things like get rich quick schemes, get ripped in 10 minutes a week videos, or as was cited in the article, "You Can Draw in 30 Days". It reminds me of this comic: http://mccreavy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/owl.jpg http://mccreavy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/owl.jpg You can't draw in 30 days. It is said that professional cyclists don't reach their peak for 10 years. This is also the nature of design. EDIT: Found a better link for the image I was referring to.

mryundu 13y ago
You can learn to draw enough to communicate ideas more effectively in 30 days. You can learn to cycle as a transportation option in way less time. You can learn to design to complement your skills for your existing job or to obtain a new one - I think that's the point; to get started on your design career, rather than to have the skills of a senior designer, in a shorter period of time and at less cost.
- devilshaircut 13y ago
  I hope this doesn't sound pedantic but we aren't talking about a basic competency lesson here; the article seems to purport that one can become a professional this way. I hope this doesn't sound snarky - it isn't intended to - but the site in question looks worse than a WordPress template, design-school-freshman-quality stuff. I don't mean to be mean-spirited - this is just simply my impression of the design level.

coryl 13y ago

Thanks, I enjoyed the post, and I think it reaffirms the idea of controlling your own destiny. People seem to be missing the point just because they can't see past the post title. You can be whatever you choose to be and you don't need anyone else's permission. If you can show an employer that you produce good work and that you are relentlessly resourceful and tenacious, then why wouldn't you deserve it? Nobody discounts the value of a design school or a computer science degree. But there are other paths, as proven many times over by leaders in the field. In 5 years, imagine how good she'll be, and how little anyone else's opinion will have mattered. (Also, shame on you shitheads with your judgement on her work. Constructive criticism is one thing, being vaguely dismissive is another. No jerks allowed.)

rpicard 13y ago

My desire to really learn design has been slowly growing over the past year or so. I love programming, but I feel incomplete without being able to create an product with code, design, and copy that I'm proud of. These tips will come in handy as I start my own design journey.

xweb 13y ago

Really this post helpful and inspiring. As a long time developer/tinkerer who has struggled at times to find good designer help, I'm inspired to spend some time seeing if I can get back into doing my own designs. At the very least, I bought the first book in your list!

dennis_vartan 13y ago

Learning Photoshop mechanics and UX concepts isn't sufficient, IMO. One can be proficient in $DRAWING_TOOL and still unable to compose something that looks good. As much as I appreciate sites like Tutsplus, they teach mechanics but rarely answer the "why." Why do we add this 28% opaque drop shadow in step 37? Knowing why something looks good is essential to being able to create new works. Two books I personally found very useful for "why," both discovered via HN: "The Non-Designer's Design Book" "Design for Hackers"

seanmcdirmid 13y ago
Well, you also have to learn Illustrator, which is probably more important than photoshop these days. Knowing what looks good requires lots of experience. Just learn the tools and get started, you'll suck at the beginning anyways.

AtTheLast 13y ago

"A good designer is a good communicator." I'm really glad you mentioned this. To many people view design as making something look cool or pretty.

shalmanese 13y ago

I've known Karen for a while now and just wanted to say that 6 months of learning for her is not the same as 6 months of learning for a normal person. There's a hidden layer of superhuman dedication and focus that made it all possible as well.

at-fates-hands 13y ago

This is a great post. The only thing I would add is to learn to code at some level. I remember a few years ago, I was at a large corporation and we had a large team of developers and designers. Things were REALLY bad, and people were leaving in droves. I had several friends who were designers and they were depressed because they had been interviewing and every single company wanted them to know how to code and understand how code affects design. My two friends were rockstar designers (both had won Webby Awards for their designs) and felt like there was no way out for them. They were stuck at a bad company because companies were now looking for more hybrid designers. It's great to know everything you pointed out, but knowing how to code will give you a leg up on other designers.

rdouble 13y ago

It would be interesting to have a post about how to get a design job after working in another field. What does your portfolio look like? What does your cover letter say? What happens during an interview? Did you know the people beforehand? (#1 way to get any job) What do you actually do the first month on the job? Is it better than your old job?

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]