Back to School Ideas for Designers

It’s that time of year again where everybody is returning to classes or have kids in school. By this time everyone is in full swing here in the U.S. This is a great time to consider upping our design skills and education. Here are few ideas:

Learn something new

If you are a print designer, consider learning more about web design. If you are a web designer, consider video. If you are a interactive designer, consider print or logo design. Many designers do more than one discipline, so the idea isn’t to do more of the same. The point is to stretch our understanding.

Also consider learning something outside of design, like philosophy, history, or psychology. Even though they aren’t building your design skills directly, they can build your design thinking.

Brush up on standards

You may know web design pretty well. But it wouldn’t hurt to keep up with the latest web standards. You never know, you might learn to do something better.

Also consider brushing up on the principles of design, like type, line, form, arrangement, and so forth. It’s basic, but if you’ve been designing for a while, it’s so easy to forget or ignore.

Build your soft skills

Soft skills are intangible personal qualities which include social interaction, attitudes, habits, speaking, and manners . It’s hard to know sometimes what you may need to build. But ask someone who is close to you, and they can probably point something out.

If you are an in-house designer, consider discussing with your boss or manager. They would probably be impressed that you are thinking about improving in this way, and they would like to help you.

Here a few suggested resources to get you started:

• Lynda.com
• Skillfeed.com
• Coursera
• Deeply Graphic Design Podcast
• Your local community college (they often offer inexpensive business courses)

Photo courtesy farmer64 of morgueFile.com