Reflection: Getting back to publication design after a (brief) hiatus

I started working at The Daily Orange as design editor within a week of arriving at Syracuse University. It sparked my interest in print editorial design, and I worked there for six semesters. I was abroad last semester, so this is the first semester I have on campus without any editorial design work in my schedule. When I had a last minute opening in my schedule, I knew I wanted to fill it with Claudia’s course in publication design. My design skills never improved as rapidly as they did in Claudia’s typographic design course, and I know the same will be true for this course.

Now, onto the advice that hit me hardest:

Know your keyboard shortcuts
Learning new keyboard shortcuts is always the most helpful way to cut down on time spent on design software. I try to make it a personal goal to learn a new shortcut every month, but since I’ve been away from designing for a bit with winter break, I want to get back into this habit with this course.

Your first idea will not be your best idea
Throughout other design courses, I have learned this to be more than true. I struggle with giving myself enough time to experiment. This reminder to not just go with your first idea because it comes fastest is so important because I will be so much happier with my end product if I give myself enough time to try out different concepts. In Claudia’s typographic design course, I loved so many of my projects at the end because the process of trying out new revisions and ideas were built into the course. I need to remember that and make sure I apply the same logic to this course.

Make sure to have your ideas fleshed out
There is nothing worse than spending hours pushing pixels around on InDesign or Photoshop. The only way to avoid this is go in with a clear concept. A lot of the past students emphasized the importance of sketching, which goes hand in hand with going in with a fleshed out idea.

I am so excited to dig into this course and get back into publication design, the area of design that sparked my interest in design to begin with!