The advice from past students has helped me develop some expectations for this semester – not just my expectations for the course, but for myself as a student and designer. I often doubt myself when it comes to design, and seeing so many reassuring lessons from other students has given me a confidence boost for my future designs.
It’s okay to find inspiration in other publications. I have done this extremely often, either for my intro to graphic design class or when I was designing for fun. I always felt guilty about it, even if I wasn’t copying anything from the design, so this perspective is encouraging.
Content is not just text. When people (including me) think of publications, the first thing that comes to mind is the words on the page, but the photography and design elements are just as essential to fully telling a story.
It’s best to sketch before you design. I think this pairs with the idea that each part of a good design is intentional. I don’t often sketch, but I’ll have to keep this in mind so each aspect of my design has a purpose.
Designs are only as good as your story ideas. This stood out to me because the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. You won’t be able to create interesting visuals if the idea behind them isn’t interesting itself.
Print out very often. I never really print my designs, which is something I’ll definitely have to change this semester. Everything looks different on a high-quality screen than it does when printed on a paper with ink.
