Best Resources for Learning Graphic Design
Graphic design is very useful thing to know and it can open up new horizons and maybe a new career path. You might want to start learning it as a hobby or maybe your desired job’s description requires it.
If you’ve decided that graphic design is something you want to study but have yet to go searching for a book at the library, take a look at these online resources to help you this amazing journey you are about to undertake.
1. Youtube.com
I’m sure you’ve visited this website more than once and that you are quite familiar with it. But did you know that it’s also a great source for tutorials for all fields?
If there is a particular task in your course material you have having problem with, Youtube is a perfect place to go for help. It offers tutorials showing anything and everything: from the small things like adding an extra layer to your image file or installing the software needed, to more complex challenges…there are few things you can’t find a video tutorial for on this site.
When visiting Youtube, viewer discretion is advised. Try to watch the educational videos and stay away from *that* part of Youtube. If you’re easily distracted, you might end up watching videos of cats for minutes, even hours on end.
2. Lynda.com
This website is a well-known online video tutorial & training platform. Some of their work is also present on the previously mentioned site (Youtube), but for the full experience you will want to sign up with them and get access to their full content. They offer a wide variety of tutorials, from beginner to advanced level on everything you’ve ever wanted to know.
3. Tutvid.com
The site offers a wide variety of tutorials on graphic design (Illustrator and more Photoshop tutorials than you could read in a lifetime), web design, and articles containing interesting news in the field, as well as inspirational articles. If you’re interested in video tutorials, you will get hooked to Tutvid and find it very hard to leave this site.
They have a large collection of videos, SitePoint eBooks and a QA section where you can get answers from experts in your field of interest. It’s a great place to learn and interact with other people with similar interests. Monthly membership is 29$ but you also have the option to buy their courses and books separately.
5. Tutorialblog.org
What initially started as a site meant to provide tutorials for Photoshop users and graphic designers has developed into a much bigger collection of articles and tutorials, ranging from art to business.
They still have one of the best collection of tutorials and articles about graphic designs. Interested in color, logos, print, typography, vector or just looking for useful and interesting links? Make sure you check out their website for all your learning needs.
6. Tutorial9.com
They offer Photoshop, Illustrator and photography tutorials, as well as downloadable fonts, icon packs, UI/vector/texture packs and themes and many other things. Their articles section is also quite entertaining and tackles some interesting topics.High quality reading material and design resources.
7. Websitetips.com
If you’re interested in logo design, you have to visit this place. Tutorials, articles, resources and books about logos. What more could you want? They have a very comprehensive collection of articles on logo design principles. Here you’ll find all you’ve ever wanted to know about logos and more on one single website.
8. Daphne.palomar.edu
A wonderful share by the Palomar College.The Design and Composition program is broken down into five different parts. The text is a version of the college’s lectures (byJames T. Saw), with illustrations and examples. Topics include color, the design process, symmetry and linear perspective.
If InDesign is what you’re interested in learning, you must check out this very nice list of InDesign Tutorials with descriptions and links. The articles listed here are useful to both beginners and intermediate level designers, such as those switching from other design software.
10. Psd.tutsplus.com
List of 50 excellent graphic design theory lessons to help you understand the “Whys”, not just the “Hows”. Typography, grid based design, color theory, design theory, UI and usability, it’s all there. This is a very good list of resources for developing and enhancing your knowledge of graphic design.
11. Skillfeed.com
Skillfeed is a website that provides online courses from instructors all around the world. It’s a good way to learn and practice creative skills such as design, photography, video editing and many more. You can sign up for their 7 day trial and check them out. After the trial, the price for this service is $19 per month. I think you’ll find that it’s a small price to pay for the amount of knowledge they are sharing.
A very nice list of books you may want to consider reading on your journey to learning graphic design. You don’t have to be a graphic design student to learn this stuff. The books aren’t free, but for those who like to get their knowledge from reading these rather than watching tutorial videos and blogs, they are a great purchase.
A wiki-like collection of graphic design tutorial articles hosted by About.com.You’ll find elements of graphics design, principles, guidelines and lots more to read up on. If you’re just getting started and don’t know where to begin reading, this is a good place to be. Browsing through these categories will give you a good idea of where and what you’d like to focus on and where you’d like to start your journey of learning graphic design.
Although it hasn’t been updated since 2010, this site still has a very nice collection of 3D Max, Flash, Html/CSS, Illustrator and Photoshop collection that you may want to check out.
15. Justcreative.com
Another article within my article with more links to articles! Yes, this is an article on the basic things you need to learn about when studying design. It provides you with a list of articles to read on each topic and is an overall very good educational resource. And we just love articles.
16. Usask.ca
Brought to you by the University of Saskatchewan, this page is a short introduction to graphic design theory, explaining the different aspects which are considered when composing a piece or producing a graphic layout in commercial art.
17. Justcreative.com
For those interested in the topic of typography when studying graphic design, this free 27-pageebook goes through the 10 type classifications with a brief history as well as the key characteristics of each type. Download it and have a look!
18. Graphicdesignforum.com
This is a forum for those studying graphics design. Whether you are a beginner on the path of learning the fine art of graphic design or a connoisseur, browsing this forum will answer a lot of questions and offer a lot of resources for your projects. You can ask for advice, find out what software people are using, take a look at their work and ask for feedback. The possibilities are limitless. Where better to learn graphic design than within a community of designers?
19. Math.duke.edu
This an installment based online graphic design course that is hosted by Duke University, a program divided into 39 different parts.
20. Sitepoint.com
Sitepoint is a fast growing online media company and information provider that has something for every web professional, no matter your level of learning. Sitepoint are well-known for their web developer books and online magazine. Sitepoint.com is a wonderful collection of tutorials from this web publisher that you do not want to miss out on.
Now that you have so many resources at your disposal, where will you start? That is after all, the toughest choice. Do you prefer ebooks or videos? Perhaps you prefer old style books. Do you take courses related to graphic design? If so, what are the resources you use to study for them?
Graphics design is a very vast subject to be studying and you want to make sure you use every educational resource at your disposal to guarantee your way to success.
Do you have any other resources you are using that you’d like to recommend to those embarking on this journey? Learning graphic design might not be the easiest thing to do, but it’s a worthwhile task. Good luck studying and remember to have fun and enjoy it!
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Author’s bio:
Andra Postolache is the PR and Editor of Pixel77 and Designious. She enjoys a great vector pack, design tutorials, articles about Marketing and animal prints. Get in touch with her on Twitter and Google+.
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