What’s the most important thing I learned about design?
The most important thing I learned about design in this class is that it is important to be conscious of every aspect of your design. It is important to make sure that what you are doing not only makes sense, but is purposeful and consistent throughout. It’s one thing to make something look good, but making it cohesive at the same time is important too.
What’s the most important thing I learned about typography?
Typography is extremely detail oriented and that can be a little intimidating. However, I learned that it is not good to ignore the little things that other people may not notice (kerning, tracking, etc.). Being aware of all these things will not only make your designs better, but they will also help the reader, even if they don’t realize it.
What’s the most important thing I learned about myself?
I learned that I can be more confident in my own work, and compare myself to others less. Everyone in our class has a different style and I’ve learned to embrace my own a lot more. I also learned that I can go long lengths of time with no sleep!
Now that you’ve been through it, what three pieces of advice would you give yourself if you were just starting to take this course for the first time?
- Start on projects early and get some ideas down. Doing this will not only help you come up with great ideas, but it will also help when you are rushing to finish at the end. Even though I tried to do this, I always found myself spending a lot of time the night before finalizing my work. But this is partly because I could have started earlier and that it is difficult to stop tweaking everything.
- Visit office hours more because talking with a professor in person is very helpful. It makes sure that you and your professor are on the same page. Talking through a design is much more beneficial to just reading a comment. It is never as simple as that, so I think conversation helps.
- Don’t be afraid to show your designs because we are all here to improve. I always dreaded the days our projects were do because I lacked enough confidence in my work. I’m still working on that, but I have realized that we are all in the same situation and that we benefit from helping each other.
