How can a designer improve their skills?

One of the reasons I introduced this question into the series was to get advice on how a designer can round out their skill set. Design (and the business of design) is extremely important, but the surrounding industries are equally important. A given, the more a designer knows what goes into a project, the better they’ll be able to communicate to their clients.

Andy says go for the challenge

You can continuously improve your skills by reading books, going to conferences and learning from your peers. Every project you take on should be an opportunity to face new challenges and learn new skills. If you are not getting this challenge at work, I highly recommend taking on a personal project to stretch your creative muscles.

Andy Budd | Managing Director | Web Designer | Author
Andy Budd::Blogography | CSS Mastery

Anna’s all for practice

I think the best way to improve is through practice! We often do little conceptual projects for ourselves to push forward our own ideas and to keep our skill set sharp. We also refer to other designers for inspiration and aren’t afraid to ask for help or advice if we need it.

Anna Corpron & Sean Auyeung | Interdisciplinary Design Practice
Sub-Studio | sub-studio design blog

Chris advises lifelong learning

Self teach. Go to school. Visit forums. All of the above. I started off with the first two and then began visiting About.com quite a bit and the resource of people with an array of skills is priceless and yet, it costs you nothing. Anyone wanting to venture out on their own with little or no in-house or hands-on experience is in for a ride of a lifetime. I wish I could say its all fun and games, but it’s not even close. If I were given an opportunity to work for others when I started out, I would’ve benefited greatly in starting out my business. As it stands now, I’m still learning and probably will for the majority of my business life.

The only other thing I would add is replace your mouse/pen tablet with a pencil and paper now and then. Any artist/designer remembers how exciting and fun it was to draw when inspiration struck as a kid or young adult. Going back to pencil and paper now and then certainly helps keep those creative juices flowing. The computer and its software is nothing more than a tool too take your sketches to a more finished and creative piece.

Chris Tomlinson | Communication Designer | Printer
Gonink | Gonink blog

Dag suggests the three R’s

The three R’s…Reading, Reasearch and Rendering.

Dagmar Jeffrey | Principal Arche-tech
NO!SPEC Brainstorming Team Member | Arche-BLogGER

Daniel says reading is the key

Designers need to know how to read. That sounds obvious but some designers don’t like words. Reading up on a client’s business is valuable and there’s no specific URL for that. It’s research.

Daniel Will-Harris | Communication Designer
Will-Harris House | Schmoozeletter

Dan’s all for being a design investigator

Explore, learn, look, listen to things away from your comfort zone. Look at why someone did what they did, become a “design investigator.”

Dan Sturdivant | Communication Designer | Editor
TexasDesign.com

Leslie’s informative

Self-assignments. Creative play. Reading. Exposing themselves to other creative media and products. Inform the mind and you improve the work.

Leslie Burns-Dell’Acqua | Creative/Marketing Consultant & Coach
Burns Auto Parts–Consultants | Burns Auto Parts blog | Podcast | Book

Neil has a list

Reading design related books, but also other general business books, as well. Software training workshops are a help. Resources like Lynda.com are great too. I believe it’s also important to find resources to expand on one’s problem-solving skills, marketing techniques and such.

Neil (nt) Tortorella | Marketing Manager
Tortorella Design | The Marketing Mind | Creative Latitude | BoDo Team | Marketing Minute

Roger suggests jumpstarting

The big challenge is not “skills” as much as it is enthusiasm and inspiration. No book, e-book, seminar, or website can be as valuable as the right client, one who asks the right questions, pays promptly, and is willing to learn.

Design is a hard business. There’s endless competition, and the vast majority of prospective clients don’t understand how labor-intensive the whole process is. Most clients don’t understand the value proposition that design can provide. As a result, they’re not willing to pay for it–no matter how well-intentioned or fairly-priced.

When you do find the right client, you’re probably better off becoming indispensable to them–a partner they look forward to talking to–than learning another Photoshop shortcut or Javascript application. A good client comes back, and brings their friends with them.

Good design comes from good motivation and good relationships, and it’s hard to learn how to cultivate this from books.

The most important career jumpstart I can recommend to designers is to explore mastermind relationships. Mastermind relationships exists when two non-competing individuals agree to share their triumphs and their failures with each other. A mastermind relationship results when you and your partner commit to critiquing, encouraging, and motivating each other through scheduled telephone calls.

Mind mapping, based on the teachings of Tony Buzan, is the second most important way designers can jumpstart their careers and their profits. Mind mapping, a process of visually displaying projects and processes, using software programs like Mindjet’s MindManager, is one of the most powerful tools for jumpstarting a designer’s productivity. Maps display the whole, as well as the components parts of a project in as much, or as little, detail as needed. You can zoom out to get an overall view of the land, or zoom in to examine the smallest detail.

Mind mapping’s power comes from the way it helps designers use their resources–primarily their time and marketing budgets– more effectively. Mind mapping helps designers break big projects into simple steps. It helps designers create better proposals, and–most important–become better writers. (Download my free 4-page special report, Mind Mapping for Marketers and Writers)

Mastermind relationships and mind mapping, together, can help designers improve their productivity and strengthen their relationships with their clients and prospects.

Roger C Parker | Designer | Writer | Marketing Consultant
Design To Sell Online | Roger C. Parker Design to Sell Blog | Design to Sell

Summary

Each designer learns differently. Some prefer self study (books, videos, online courses, etc). Others need the energy from those around them, so go for more formal ways of keeping up skills. Which one are you?

Up next is the summary of the designers section of the series, then on to the promised writers section.

until the next
Designers WW,
cat