f you want to compete in today’s recession-crippled job market, you
can’t just be good… you have to be great. Otherwise move over, because a
great designer will always be there to snag your dream job.

I disagree with this notion; I believe what
really makes you great is your ambition and devotion to self-betterment,
not your experience. If experience were all that mattered, then older
designers would always be better than their younger counterparts, and
this is far from the case.


Your time in the game doesn’t matter
half as much as how hard you work. While it’s true that becoming a
flawless design god doesn’t happen overnight, the amount of experience
required depends on how hard you work to become better.


There
are methods for accelerating your growth and talent at a faster rate, to
becoming great much faster than traditional knowledge dictates.
You don’t need “five to ten years experience” to become the best. You
just need a clear methodology for consistently developing and finessing
your skill set. The top 10 secrets to quickly become an amazing designer
are:

If you want to be a
great designer, then you should always be on the lookout for great
design. Start a comprehensive design collection for inspiring and
educating yourself. Browse through the design books and magazines at
your local bookstore, buy or subscribe to the ones you love, and start
your own design literature collection.


There’s nothing quite like the
experience of paging through a kick ass design book for the first time.
It is a wonderful and tactile experience and it’s sure to put you in the
mood to create something great.


Of course the internet is a cheaper and more direct resource to look at great design. Follow design blogs, such as:Smashing Magazine, Web Design Ledger, DesignM.ag, The Design Cubicle, Spyrestudios,
where design inspiration galleries are consistently posted. Browse the
online portfolios of artists/studios that you admire. Join and peruse
the popular online communities like Behance, Coroflot, and Deviantart, where you can view the work of fellow artists.


Also,
when you’re out and about in the real world, don’t forget to take
notice of all of the great design around you. It could be the
environmental design of your local movie theater, the amazing wall
signage at the Gap, or a really cool birthday card you just received.
There’s wonderful design everywhere you go, design that’s invisible to
most on a conscious level. As a designer however, you should take notice
of it, analyze it, and scrutinize it whenever you can.


Now that
you’re consistently looking at great design, the next step is start
collecting it. The books take care of themselves, but for everything
else, start a design scrapbook. Cut out and keep all of the great
designs that you find in magazines, brochures and other printed pieces.
For anything you find online, start a digital scrapbook, saving
screenshots of all work that you love. Evernote
is a great tool for this.


It allows you to pull text and images from
anywhere online and store them in an online notebook for later
reference. And when you’re out on the town, don’t hesitate to whip out
the cell phone, and take a snap shot of any design that strikes your
fancy.


Observing and collecting the great design that’s all around
you will help your work stay relevant while inspiring you to get
better.

Now that you have a collection of great
design, the next step is to COPY YOUR HEART OUT! This is one many will
likely disagree with. Many people suggest not to directly copy work, but
instead to be inspired by it, to create something original. After all,
copying is dishonest.


And besides, you won’t learn anything. Right?
Wrong! Ironically enough, when it comes to design and other creative
pursuits, copying is an integral part of the learning process. I’m not
suggesting that you copy all of your work out of a book. That’s absurd.
Use copying, only as a learning exercise for acquiring new skills.




First, choose a design that you absolutely love, and challenge
yourself to replicate it identically from scratch. The purpose of this
exercise is to expose you to new techniques and possibilities that may
not have been on your radar before.


At the very least, you’ll learn some
new Photoshop tricks, become acquainted with a new design trend, or
stumble upon a new keyboard shortcut, as you attempt to reproduce
someone else’s work. Do this multiple times, and you’ll find that you
gain some new technical skills each and every time. After you’ve
successfully reproduced a few designs, begin to loosely copy them
instead, while bringing in some of your own technique. This will help
you understand how to implement these new skills into your own workflow.


Another
great practice is examining how other designers build things. Open up
their Photoshop, InDesign, or Illustrator files, or read through their
code. Another option is to flat-out ask them how they did it.


You
will undoubtedly gain priceless knowledge from replicating other
peoples’ great design, staying current by familiarizing yourself with
the latest trends while adding an ensemble of great techniques to your
own design arsenal.

So you’ve
collected great designs, and you’ve copied them to a “T”. The next step
to becoming great is dissecting those designs. While copying teaches you
technique, dissecting builds your understanding of design theory.


For
starters, choose a piece of work that you really like. Ask yourself,
why is this good? What draws me to it? What aesthetic principles are
employed successfully? What design rules are enforced, what design rules
have been broken? What effect do the colors have on the design? What
artistic style or cultural indicators are used? How about the
typography? Photography? Negative Space?


At first, you won’t
understand what makes it good, or why you like it. You must work to
understand the aesthetic rationale behind the great designs you love.
What components are working together to make this design great? If you
figure this out for each and every great design you see, you’ll have a
solid foundation of priceless knowledge on what works and why.


You’ll
have gained a true understanding of sophisticated design theory, from
which to base future decisions on. You’re one step closer to being
great.

Have
you ever looked at a brochure or browsed through a website and noticed
generic, contrived, and lame stock photography? How did that make you
feel about the design? The major drawback of stock is that (unless
carefully chosen) it can have a cheapening effect on your work.


There’s
no doubt that stock photos and stock art have their place and are often
necessary depending on budget and time constraints. But whenever
possible, you should use originally created materials when designing.
There’s nothing quite like custom illustrations, hand-rendered type, or
original photography.


It generates prestige and authenticity in your
designs. Anything custom-created will always fit like a glove. It will
be exactly what you intended each and every time. The alternative is
trying to retrofit your concepts onto previously produced materials.
Keep your designs warm and authentic whenever possible by using original
materials.

Gone are the
days when niche information was hard to come by. Nowadays, no matter
what your industry is, there’s probably at least a blog or two out there
covering it. In the case of design, there are literally hundreds! The
benefits of following these blogs are endless. News, editorials,
inspirational galleries, resources, tutorials, interviews, are all at
your disposal and available for free! I can’t think of a sweeter deal
than that. So follow the design community online, and start tapping into
this limitless resource to improve as a designer.


To get your
feet wet, get yourself an RSS feed reader. I recommend Google Reader,
but there are many to choose from. Now simply begin subscribing to
design blogs you’d like to follow. Here’s a great list
to start you off. Explore these amazing resources and learn everything
you can. All of this great content is only half of the overall value,
however. Contributing to the community is equally rewarding. Leave
comments on blog posts where you have valuable input, or begin writing
your own guest posts on your favorite blogs. You might even consider
starting your own blog to get your voice out there.


After joining
and contributing to the online design community, you’ll begin making
friends and connections that will benefit you both professionally and
personally. You’ll meet other great designers who have a lot to teach
you, and you’ll have a lot to teach them. You might be able to
collaborate with others on designs and projects, give or receive
references, or provide services to each other. The possibilities are
endless.


Through following and contributing to the online design
community you’ll tap into a priceless collection information and forge
friendships and networking opportunities that will surely help you on
your path to become a great designer.

Although
it is important to embrace the design community and contribute
graciously, don’t forget that you’re also competing with other designers
to pay the bills. There’s nothing wrong with a little healthy
competition. Competition forces you to become better and to push your
boundaries.


Think of someone you know who’s really good at
something. It could be anything: poker, sales, sports, or designing. Do
they take pride in it? If you think for one minute that they didn’t make
a conscious effort to become really good at it, you’re wrong. The truth
is that people don’t just happen to become experts, and it’s not just
natural talent that gets them there either. They got there, because they
wanted to be better than the rest. They made up their mind and were
willing to work harder than others. They simply wanted it more.


There’s
a method for becoming competitively good. First, become determined to
be better than someone else. This could be your classmates, colleagues,
or actual competitors. Make notes of their strengths and weaknesses.



Then learn from them. Once you’ve pinpointed what they do good, make an
effort to do it equally as good. Make sure to keep this goal in
perspective though. Be mindful of competitors, but don’t obsess over
them. If you’re consistently focused on improving, you shouldn’t have
to.


Don’t be afraid of the competition; as they say, “competition drives innovation.”

Having
a “design buddy” or “design mentor” can be a great way to grow and
improve as a designer. Having discussions/critiques with another
designer, collaborating with them on projects, or simply bouncing ideas
and concepts off of each other are mutually beneficial exercises. This
collaboration will help expose you to different ways of thinking. This
person will have their own set of opinions, tastes, and biases, and will
keep your perspective fresh.


It’s also great to have someone
around to hold you and your work accountable. Accountability is
imperative when improving yourself; it helps to keep your ego in check
by keeping an objective eye on your work and ideas.

Many
designers claim that in order to stay competitive, it’s important to
provide the large selection of services typically offered within the
industry. To do this, having a broad range of diverse skills is
necessary. This is certainly true to some degree.


I believe,
however, that it’s equally important to have a core competency. After
all, why is anyone ever going to choose you if nothing that you do is
unique? Specializing in one area or another helps you shine. Play off of
your natural talents and inclinations, and develop your specialty.


For
example, some designers are great at creating playful vector characters
with tons of personality; others are amazing photo-manipulators who
create incredible conceptual imagery. Some designers love playful
hand-drawn type treatments and fluffy ornaments; others prefer a crisp
clean minimalist style.


Own your style. Don’t shy away from it, embrace
it and show it off to the world. Practice and improve on your specialty
constantly. No matter how good you are at something, you could always be
better.


Diversification is important, but why spend most of your
time on something, if you only have the potential to become mediocre at
best? Instead, focus that energy on getting even better at what you do
well. Your specialties are your identity; they’re what make you
extraordinary.

There’s an ancient Chinese
proverb that goes “I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I do and I
understand.” This is so true. No amount of research or online tutorials
is going to make you a great designer. Knowledge alone is useless,
because until you’ve actually applied it, it’s simply an abstract idea
in your head. It’s only after you’ve applied it that you truly
understand it. So then, if you really want to become a great designer,
you have to design a lot!


There’s no reason why designers should
learn all of their skills on tutorials or class projects. Get out there,
and get your hands dirty. Take on real-life jobs, and do them to the
best of your ability. If during a job, you need to know how to do
something new, then simply research it and then do it. It’s as simple as
that! Google is your friend, and there’s not too much information
that’s more than a “Google” away.


The best part of this “learn as
you do” strategy? You walk away from all of your projects, a better
designer than when you began. Now here’s the clincher… do it again, and
again, and again! You’re learning while you make money! That’s a pretty
good feeling.

If you can’t find paying work, do pro bono stuff to learn. Your cousin’s
wedding invitation, a local band’s album artwork, or a website for a
local non-profit, are all great examples. Craigslist
is a great place to start when searching for low pay or charity work
for experience. You’re getting your name out there and building a
reputation for yourself, but the most important thing is that you’re
actually learning and improving! The more you do, the faster you’ll get
better!

It’s easy
to half-ass something to just get it done, especially if you’re under a
pressing deadline or on the verge of an “all-nighter”. But for the great
designers out there, the opposite is actually true. When you take
unwavering pride in your work, it’s hard to deliver something in haste
that doesn’t reflect your true potential. It’s difficult to put your
name on something that could have been much better with a little more
effort.


If you want to be a great designer, you have to develop a
sense of pride in everything you do. Realize that your reputation and
career are at stake, and hold yourself to the high standard of always
doing your best while pushing the limits of your own potential. Be your
own harshest critic. Make all of your work as good as you humanly can,
and then force yourself to do even better. Accept nothing less.


As
you progress, take a look backwards at your older work. If you’re
developing at a steady pace, then progress should be crystal clear. As
an exercise, rip apart your old designs where you see flaws and make
them better. Seeing flaws in your old designs is a great sign, because
it means that you’re learning and improving.


Reference high-end
design work from notable studios or designers whom you admire. Strive to
become as good as these top players. Always put forth your best work
and maintain high standards; it’s essential to self improvement and to
becoming a great designer.




Some people may not agree with this last point because they see
perfectionism as a hindrance. After all, perfectionism can lead to
missing deadlines and scope creep on projects. This much is true. So in
fairness, always do your absolute best within reason. Take into account
any constraints such as deadlines, budgets, and overall importance of
projects. Keep things in perspective, but generally speaking, always try
to do your absolute best by pushing the limits of your potential.

Every
designer has things that they excel at, and other things that they
don’t. For instance, maybe you’re an incredible layout designer in
Photoshop, but frontend coding just isn’t your thing. Or maybe your
illustrations are unmatched in their sophistication and beauty, but your
typography skills are underdeveloped and leave much to be desired.


This
is nothing to be ashamed of. After all, everyone has strengths and
weaknesses; it’s not a bad thing it’s just a fact of life. What is
bad however, is not acknowledging these weaknesses by either ignoring
them, or worse yet denying their existence altogether. Some people deny
their weaknesses because they feel like they lack the potential for
improvement. Or perhaps they’re just being lazy and don’t want to invest
the time and energy necessary for improvement.


Whatever the case
may be, these are ultimately just excuses that get in the way of what
needs to be done. Weaknesses should not be ignored, because other people
do notice and will exploit your weaknesses when competing
against you. Because of this, weaknesses can take a very real toll on
your work and career. They might be pulling-down your self-confidence,
stopping you from winning jobs, or holding you back from getting that
promotion you desire.


Here’s the good news: you DO have the
potential to improve on your weaknesses. You are constantly growing as a
designer and a person and as a result, your self-standards are
constantly being raised. The fact that you’re aware of this means that
you’ve got what it takes to improve. The trick is to focus your energy
where you know you need it most. Take the time to focus on that gaping
hole in your skillset, instead of gracefully dancing around it.


Force
yourself to attempt the skill in question, instead of finding creative
methods to avoid it. The result might not be ideal, but every time you
do it you will improve. By preemptively exploiting your own
weaknesses, you can focus your efforts on strengthening them. You can
turn them into one of your strengths, or at the very least become
adequately proficient at them.


Instead of running away from your
weaknesses, embrace them. Sure at first it will be tough. But if you
think back far enough, I’m sure you can remember a time when what you do
best was tough.



Everything is hard before it’s easy. Make the time to
pursue your weaknesses and you will see a definite improvement as a
designer.

These are some tips on how you can
accelerate your growth and quickly become an amazing designer. I realize
that self-improvement in any area takes time and devotion, but
implement the tips above, and I promise you’ll see drastic improvements
in your own development as a designer.

By Victor Beazzo