• Leading vision
• Colours and moods
• Focal Points
• Golden rule
• Dynamic Photos
• When Does it All End?

“What about leading the viewers vision?”

Leading the users vision can really be taken a couple ways, and I figure I may as well explain both. The first is literally leading the persons vision to where you want it to go. This basically means drawing attention to the focus of the picture. This can be done in a multitude of ways including leading lines, colours, character actions, the landscape, etc. There are literally endless combinations to lead the users vision around a picture and I found some lovely links to explain it better than me. That’s how I roll people.

Things to read:

• Easily the most complex and in-depth version of leading with colour that I could find. Thankfully, it does a very good job of explaining how color use and contrast work together to bring focus.
• A good explanation of how composition works for leading vision. I’m aware that this is for photography but the principles are still the same.

The second way I wanted to explain it is sort of on an unconventional level. That is to say that I’m using this as a thinly veiled excuse to talk about flow. This has more to do with online designers, though I can attest that there are many, many articles on flow for print.

The idea of flow is pretty simple. Basically: “Does it flow?” When you are reading a news article, does it flow constantly? or are there giant, invasive ads every other paragraph? If it does, it probably doesn’t have good flow, or any at all. The idea is for the user to be able to go from start to finish with as little pain as possible. When you dump a large ad, image, or something otherwise unrelated in the way, you interrupt the user. Another example is web forms. When a user is filing out the form, is it easy to read, and do the fields and sections generally lead from one to the other? This is a fantastic article explaining exactly what I’m talking about.

Basically, the idea is that if something flows well the user will have a more pleasing experience. Flow can also be described how well a process works, such as registering as a user, submitting a story, or buying an item. If something has good flow, then the general word attached to the whole ordeal is “easy” or “simple” regardless of how easy or simple it actually is.

Things to read:

• A List Apart recently did an article that explains this fairly well. Hell what am I saying? It’s A List Apart, they know what they’re talking about.
• This whole article is pretty much fantastic, but the parts on flow are what I’m actually talking about in this instance.

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“Oh, and how about how colours affect moods,”

Colours effect moods. This is not up for debate, this is actual fact. Humans are psychologically affected by colours when presented with them. Some people have an active reaction to them, such as having favorites and detesting others. Everyone though, is affected by them whether they realize it or not. Goths wear all black for a reason people! I’m not sure what that is, having never been one… but they do!

The point I’m getting to here is that behind all of your colour choices are the effects of your influences. Why do you think that blue is such a common company colour? It’s a generally safe colour to use, as it doesn’t really bring about offense to people. If you know how to use colour properly and not for just what fits at the time, you will find that you will be able to actively give your images more power. Remember that colours have different meanings in different cultures, so it’s a good idea to keep that in mind when designing.

Things to read:

• A nice overview of colours and their general affect.
• Yet another overview.
• About.com delivers with a whole section on colour psychology.

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“Do you understand focal points,”

A focal point is related in many ways to leading the users vision (scroll up). The focal point or points of something are literally that: points for the user to focus on. I know that sounds a bit simple, but believe me when I say that they are important. Having a strong focal point is like having a solid story for a book. It doesn’t matter nearly as much as to what’s going on in the book so long as the story moves forward clearly. When you lack focal points, you lack focus.

Try and picture it this way: imagine painting a wall black and then painting a white square in the middle of it. Now ask people to look at it. They will focus on the white box, whether they mean to or not. Now granted, it’s a white box and will only hold attention for so long, but it will hold it for as long as a white box can do so. This is your focal point, which you generated using a simple use contrast.

Now picture this: imagine painting that same wall, but this time you just went nuts and splattered every colour you could find on it with out any rhyme or reason, effectively creating a wall of colourful static. Now ask people to look at it. They’ll probably take one glance, and then ask you what they should be looking for.

This is what focal points are all about. Focal points give your viewers something to work from; a sort of base of operations in which they can take the picture in from. If your imagery fails to have focal points, the user will be wandering around the vision aimlessly and then walk away.

The same can be said for any of design, whether its traditional, print, or even digital media. Without focal points your user will become dis-interested and lose interest. This is generally bad, unless it’s all part of some secret plan to get the user to look away and focus on another piece completely. I guess that would be focal points on a grand scale!

Things to read:

• This article deals more with photograph-based focal points, but the idea is still the same.
• This is a solid explanation of how important focal points are.
• Another link for cameras, but I assure that there are so many photagraphy tips from this link relate to focal points that I simply couldn’t pick a single article

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“or how certain positions feel better on a fundamental level? / The Golden Rule”

Ahh the Golden Rule, or Golden Ratio, or Phi. It doesn’t matter how you put it, using this ratio can drastically improve how your user perceives your work. Anyone who is a fan of The DaVinci Code will know what Phi is, but for those who don’t let me elaborate: Phi is pretty. Though there is a bazillion things you can read to explain Phi and its many, many uses (see below) the concept is simple: The human body has many instances of applicable Phi (ratios all over the place) and so people have theorized that because of this we then intemperate this ratio as being naturally ‘good’.

What does this mean? In the most basic sense, using this ratio in your design will make it more pleasing to the end user. Now granted that if you use light gray text and tartan backdrop that shifts through the color spectrum, all the golden rule you apply wont take away the pain.

There are many good examples of how the golden rule has been applied throughout the ages, just go ahead and search it. I can wait. See what I mean? If you didn’t search for it you’ll have to take my word for it.

Things to read:

• Wikipedia strikes again! Seriously this article is huge and encompassing.
• This is a totally mathematical explanation of Phi. It is as boring as it is informative.
• How can I forget to link something to the practical design applications of Phi? I can’t obviously.

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“or how to make photos more dynamic?”

This one’s a bit of a cop-out since “dynamic photos” is really bordering on buzzword territory. What I was implying was simply “do you know how to make your photos as good as they can be?” Unless you’ve been doing photography for a long time like my friend, you probably do not know that much about how to take good photos. Hell, you’re happy if your point and shoot manages not to blur the photo most of the time. There are many ways you can improve your shots but I won’t bother listing them.

I have external links to do that!

Things to read:

• Digital Photography School is a great resource (probably the best, in my opinion) for anything related to a camera and tutorials. This is a solid example of what I’m talking about.
• This is a shameless plug for my photography pal, but as it turns out he really knows what he’s talking about. Have a look at this article on concert photography.

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When Does it all End?

Short answer: never.

Long answer: sometime between never, and never ever. If you are willing to dispute that fact, then either you don’t believe me, or you feel you have indeed seen the end of your design education. If you feel that you have in fact learned everything there is to learn about design, then why are you reading this? I’m no help to you, as you are no longer willing to learn.

You see, it can’t end. Mankind evolves, and as it does so will our ways to express ourselves. We’ll never be out of the job, though our tools will change. If you have stopped learning you have stopped trying. It really is as simple as that. You may find it harder to find new things to learn, and that’s almost excusable and all I can say is that you will just need to look harder.

It’s that drive that keeps people creating.

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This is the sixth part in an ongoing series of articles that depicts my process to becoming a graphic designer. Coming up next: Part seven where I basically link a snot-load of resources.

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three
• Part Four
• Part Five
• Part Six (Currently reading)
• Part Seven

Understanding design is about understanding people.

Table of contents:

1. All the Hard Stuff Out of the Way First
   1. Composition
   2. Contrast
   3. Weight
   4. Spacing
   5. Kerning
2. More to Come

All the Hard Stuff Out of the Way First

Alright, so being the idiot that I was when I started this series (the same idiot that I am now, as it turns out) I asked a whole wack of questions to make you, the reader, think. I did not think at the time that I would actually have to come up with answers to them. Thankfully, I found a loophole: I don’t have to. That’s right, I’m not going to answer anything. The reason for this is that I’d probably be wrong, or explain something incorrectly. What I can do is list those same questions out, give what I think is a good explanation, and link a bunch of sources so that you can draw your own conclusions!

I’m amazingly lazy brilliant. To add to my brilliance, I am going to splice this post into two separate posts. The reason for this is that I tend to write a fair amount, and I don’t think having a one-page novel will be useful to anyone

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“Do they understand composition?”

This one is a little hard to field, because composition can be applied to a whole range of subjects. You can define how a news article is composed, how a photo was composed, or the composition of a magazine spread. The general idea is this: Composition is how you set up something to affect the end-user. In a way composition is an all-encompassing idea of what graphic design is. I’m going to get really lazy here, and site Websters here:

“1 a: the act or process of composing; specifically : arrangement into specific proportion or relation and especially into artistic form b (1): the arrangement of type for printing <hand composition> (2): the production of type or typographic characters (as in photocomposition) arranged for printing
2 a: the manner in which something is composed b: general makeup <the changing ethnic composition of the city — Leonard Buder> c: the qualitative and quantitative makeup of a chemical compound
3: mutual settlement or agreement
4: a product of mixing or combining various elements or ingredients
5: an intellectual creation: as a: a piece of writing; especially : a school exercise in the form of a brief essay b: a written piece of music especially of considerable size and complexity“ source here

I am, in this instance referring to 1,2, 4, and 5. There are many, many sources based solely on the understanding of composition, most of which I will not list here. Google will be your friend when it comes to this one, though I will link the Wikipedia article on Composition to give you a heads up. Seriously, This is like asking “do you understand philosophy?” because in the design sense, it amounts to the same thing and I feel stupid for asking this one.

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“How about contrast?”

This one I can do. Contrast is pretty straight-forward to explain, but harder to achieve without making your design look like hell. What makes more contrast? White text in a black box or black text in a white box? technically they are the same, but what happens when you add the rest of the page into the mix? a white background-based page will make the black box with white text stand out way more. The inverse would also be true (black bg page). Contrast, for all intents and purposes is how much something stands out against everything around it.

Another example is using large, bold text to highlight something. An example I will use is headers in html. H1 is somewhat large, and helps distinguish text from everything around it. This is a contrast through size and weight. It stands out from everything around it and draws the users eyes to it. From what I gather, this is the main (but not the only) purpose of contrast: to draw attention to something/make something stand out (which is the same as drawing attention to it!0

Contrast can be achieved a couple of ways: Colour, White-space (I go into this later), Size, and probably others but I am unwilling to list them.

Resources to look at:

• This is a lovely article written by The Go MediaZine on contrast.
• A good article about contrast on the web by Web Design From Scratch.

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“Weight?”

Another one of those ‘should have specified’ sort of items. Since I didn’t I shall cover two items: font weight, and paper weight.

Paper weight. What’s the point? First off, there is way more science involved in paper weight than I had originally thought. I refuse to explain said science, but I will be extra helpful and link some helpful articles that you can peruse at you leisure to better understand how paper density(weight) is defined.

What I will explain, though sadly I am unable to site any of this and so I am going from what I’ve learned over time, is the effect paper weight has on people. From what I’ve seen at work when you want something on paper noticed, use a different paper. People are very physical creatures, whether we deny it or not. Just like your old school councilors who used to advocate printing your resumé on a different colour of paper, the same can be said for the type of paper that you print it on. A heavier stock will gain you notice right from the get go, and the originality therein will allow your work to be read with at least some amount of interest. Using a heavier stock can also work When you want to give something a cover without giving it a cover, if you get my drift. I’m not saying that you should now print everything of worth off on a heavier stock (which can get tricky) but it’s a good way to stand out.

Font weight can be (and is) used in both traditional and digital print. It walks hand-in-hand with contrast, leading the user, and focal points (actually they all work together, but whatever). Font weight has much to do with how people interpret text. When something is bold or emphasized you will instantly pay more attention, if only because it’s different from everything around it.

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“Spacing?”

Spacing is a whole sub-culture that I could probably write a whole article on by itself. I’m not going to do that though, because I am lazy and pressed for time. Instead I’m going to outsource a good portion of this to PSDTuts.com and their new article: ‘9 Essential Principles for Good Web Design‘.

The points made here basically summarize on the web front how spacing can effect your layout. The third point (White Space) can apply to both Print and Digital designers. Using spacing properly can help create contrast via negative-space and helping to emphasize areas. Utilizing spacing properly will also allow for the user (or viewer) to read text more clearly and will help to direct them where you want.

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“Kerning?”

Ahh kerning. a simple demonstration of a lack of kerning can be seen… basically everywhere on the internet. Any time you see flat text on the internet – and in this case flat text means text NOT in an image – chances are you have seen an example of bad – or in this case, lack – of kerning. Kerning is, in a somewhat simplified sense, the action of adjusting the spacing between type characters. Here is a good visual example, along with a definition! See how efficient I am?

Something you have to realize is that with flat text (flat text in this instance means any text that is not in an image, or is otherwise manipulatable via HTML) cannot really have much in the ways of kerning. I’m not saying you can’t do it, as CSS has properties you can manipulate (see: font-width); but unless you are going to manually edit every paragraph of text, then you’re stuck with what the font does on its own.

If you are doing print or image text – text that is part of a digital image, or otherwise used on the Internet) then you have to make this common practice. I can’t tell you how annoying it is to suddenly be taught about kerning, and then realizing how many creations suffer from a complete lack. If I ever get around to making my new layout, then the logo would be a great example. As for now though, take a look at the title of this page.

“WallOfScribbles”

note how far away the “a” is from the “W” Since this is flat text, I’m kinda boned. If it was an image though, there should be no excuse as to why the W should be so orphaned.

Photoshop and Fireworks both offer workarounds to bad kerning, so pay attention to it!

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More to Come

I’ll post more answers to my own questions in the next installment people. Sorry but there is no way I am writing a one-page novella. No one wants that, and I don’t want to have to sit here writing that.

This is the fifth part in an ongoing series of articles that depicts my process to becoming a graphic designer. Coming up next: Part two (six) where I explain the other half of my many, many design questions.

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three
• Part Four
• Part Five (Currently reading)
• Part Six
• Part Seven

1. Get Your Swag On
   
2. Man the Helm
3. Learn How Not to Suck

Get Your Swag On

First thing’s first, get your twitchy little fingers on your tools of choice. Where to start? Good question. Since I know I’m going to be using a lot of the Adobe family, I’ll be working with them as my example. Don’t be shocked if the program you want has a fully functional free trial available. All of Adobe has this, and I’m sure they’re not alone.

Here is a list of products that Adobe offers that you can get free trails of:

• Fireworks CS3
  This is my program of choice at the moment. It works much more with vectors (though in no way is it limited from bitmap) and is what I am using for my website design pieces. My reasons for this are two-fold. First, it is the program my workplace uses for all of our designing, and therefor is worth learning if only for practicality reasons. Second, It’s gradient/vector happy, and though I feel that 2.0 is a style that is being beaten to death far too fast some of it’s aspects are solid.
  
• Flash CS3 Professional
  It’s flash. I don’t think I need to get to much into this. If you do web development, this is at least worth a cursory glance. There will probably come a time when your customer will want flash in their solution, and you’ll have to do it whether you want to or not. It’s come a long way since I’ve used it (last time Macromedia had just come out with Flash MX)
  
• Illustrator CS3
  Vector drawing to the max. This program is pure vector imaging and works great with type. This is a great tool to have if you are doing print or web, as it allows you to create vector-based graphics which allow for way more flexibility in your reuse library. I have not used it much, and so I cannot give it the credit it is probably due.
• Photoshop CS3
  Who can forget the classics? Photoshop has been around for as long as I have been on the Internet. Countless jokes exist of people “Photoshopping” images and thousands of Internet Memes exist as a result of its existence. Getting past that, Photoshop is a fantastic tool which offers so much in functionality that most people don’t even know it exists. The only limitation with this program is that it is a bitmap-based program. I am sure there is the ability to work with vectors, but I have yet to really play with or even find that. Like I said previously, I use Fireworks for my vector work. I don’t need to sing the praises of this program though, since it’s utter integration into Internet society should state that it does it’s job well enough.
• And a whole list of programs, most/all of which have fully functioning trials.

As for the other listed programs, ArtRage 2 has a free version available, though it is locked down and does not have all the features available. I suggest downloading the free version and trying it out. If you enjoy it, you may as well spend the 25 bucks for the license. (That’s gone up since I last checked. I used to be like, 18 or so. Yay capitalism.) If you really like it, you can get the 40 dollar version which comes with a manual, tutorials and videos.

3ds Max and Maya both have trial versions available, and so If you are going to be using these (I have seen tutorials that do to get some sexy effects) then you can at least play around with them here. I’ve never used them myself, so I don’t know the learning curve but I can imagine them starting off easy and getting progressively more complex as you get into them.

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Man the Helm

Now that you’ve got your weapons of choice selected, it’s time to use them. My personal experience has taught me to open the program without looking at the manual, and just screw around. Learn the controls and see what you can create. It’ll probably look like hell, and that’s okay. Screw around and see what you come up with on your own. The point here is to wet your feet a little, and get a feel for the program. I’m still getting used to Fireworks, and I’ve been using it for at least a month now.

The reason I suggest this is just from my personal experience. I tend to learn better by figuring out the controls myself. Sure I need guidance with the obtuse controls, but I commit things to memory far better when I do it myself. Some people learn better from instruction or reading, and that’s cool too. I am merely pointing out the method of learning which works best for my brain.

Try not to get upset when the programs or the results created therein. Remember that you’ve only just started working with the tool, and no one expects you to be a savant. If you don’t like what you see, ask yourself why and then try and create it again so that you know how to avoid it in the future. Screwing up is only screwing up if you don’t learn from it.

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Learn How Not to Suck

Now that you’ve created some horrible works of art it’s time to learn from your peers, who are in this case most likely your betters in the field. for this, I’ve compiled a small (and in no way complete) list of sites you can go to for a little knowhow.

• PSDTuts.com – This is probably the must user friendly site for Photoshop tutorials I’ve ever found. Throw in the fact that the site is actually pretty stunning to look at, and that certainly adds to the trust level. I subscribed to their feed a while back, and I have yet to even think about regretting it.
• Firetuts.com – This is a brand new tutorial site that works specifically with Fireworks. Since it’s new it lacks in content at the moment, but If they keep it up for a year, they’ll be a reservoir of information for Fireworks users. I don’t see why they need to say that they’re trying to prove it can do much of what Photoshop can do, since the two products are really supposed to be used for two different task-sets… but regardless, they’re off to a strong start and worth paying attention to.
• Fireworkszone.com – Another site the specialized in Fireworks. They cover a couple techniques that are more advanced, and so I have yet to touch them. They seem fairly hardcore though.
• Flash Kit.com – It blows my mind to think that this website has been around for so long. It was old when I was new to all of this. If you have any questions about Flash, this is where to start. Seriously, start here and I doubt you will need to go anywhere else.
• N.Design Studio – Not only is it a stunning-looking website, but it also features many tutorials for Illustrator, Icon packs, and even WordPress Themes. It

And just because I can, I’m going to link GridMaker. It’s not perfect, and doesn’t work across many versions of Photoshop and Fireworks, but any tool you can use to speed up your own production is a good one. I’ve used this myself and it works like a dream. Now I’m using it on Fireworks 8, so I don’t know what happens in the other versions. There is also a Photoshop version, though the functionality has changed from its original.

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This is the fourth part in an ongoing series of articles that depicts my process to becoming a graphic designer. Coming up next: How to realize you know nothing, and not blowing your brains out as a result

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three
• Part Four (Currently reading)
• Part Five
• Part Six
• Part Seven

1. Get a job
2. Chat up your co-workers
3. Don’t screw anyone
4. Snoop around
5. Donate your two cents to a worthy cause: your future

Get a job

This may sound stupid but if you have the chance to land a job where your dream-job exists, take it. Sure you may be the mail room jockey now, but being within a company has two distinct advantages:

1. Companies tend to hire inside first. Sounds silly, but most companies will hire internally before they hire externally. There are a lot of reasons to this to which I can only start to speculate. I know that there’s less paperwork, and you’re already familiar with the company so that means less time spent on training. All that aside, it helps secure employee loyalty and help to provide an environment where one can actually move up in the ranks.
2. Utilizing what are obviously stunning characteristics that you possess, such as charisma and charm, you can chum up with those who are in or are near or influence your dream position. I don’t condone playing office politics and being friends with people only to steal their job, but I know people do that and I know it works. Personally I like the idea of just asking questions and providing input where it’s available. Eventually people take notice of you and start asking you before you have to chip in. It’s not as fast as shmoozing, but it works.

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Ask not what you can do for your company, but ask what your company can do for you

Wherever you work, and whatever you do, see what your company can do to help you do to further yourself. You would be shocked at some of the programs that exist. I found out that my company will pay for school courses, so long as I get over 80% in the course. Not the best of deals, but it’s still something that is offered to me. If nothing is currently being offered, be the trend setter and ask and/or propose your idea. If you’re going to do this be prepared to answer a slew of questions. What’s it going to do for you? What’s it going to do for the company? How much? How long? etc. . If you think you need it, write up a report on how this will assist in your contribution to the company and what the company stands to gain from it. Throw in some pie charts if you know they like them.

The point I’m trying to get at is that many companies will assist in educating you in some way. Usually there are strings attached, such as a mark requirement, or a time-lapse protocol. As always, make sure you read the fine print before signing anything. Companies usually want to help their employees but not without expecting something in return, so be wary.

Make sure to talk to the appropriate people when trying to get ahead. Sometimes asking your manager could end up getting you nowhere. If you’re company has an HR department, start there. They usually have the what’s what when it comes to employee offered arrangements.

What I’m saying is that no matter what company you are in, they are usually willing to assist their employees if they think it will benefit the company in the end. Try and figure out the best win/win for this, and you should be good as gold

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Chat up your co-workers

Though office romance may be frowned upon in the office, friendship usually isn’t. If people like you, they’re usually more willing to answer your questions or indulge your curiosity (or nosiness, whichever you prefer). On top of that, you never know when you’ll need someone to back your character or could provide you with information which could help you move forward. Make sure to note though that people tend to share only what they are willing to give away.

Having made that point, make sure you don’t shoot yourself in the foot with your new-found chummy-ness. Being everyones friend can make you a happier person, but management may frown upon your constant socializing so try and keep it in check. Beyond that, You should make sure that you only tell people what you can afford to. If you’re friends with someone, and you know they have the same career goal as you do, you have to be careful with what you share with them. Sure RSS feeds are fine, even a neat program or tutorial you found is great. Telling them about a job opening you just heard about and are applying for… well that could have adverse effects to your career growth.

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Don’t screw anyone

Again, office romance may be frowned upon, but screwing your co-workers (figuratively), though making you fly through the ranks, will leave you very alone and ripe with the smell of burnt bridges. People hold grudges for far longer than they will admit to, and if you screw someone to get ahead, they jump on any chance to return the shaft. I’m assuming the worst of people here and many may not actually be trying to actively sabotage you. I’m merely stating what could happen and to take heed.

On top of people actually trying to “get” you, you also ruin a very good resource. When you screw people over, you close the door on any information or tidbits they would have otherwise been willing to pass onto you.The more people you screw, the harder it will become for you to pull any favors. Education works a lot better when you have many options in which to pull your resources. If you’re down to three contacts, you had better hope they know everything.

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Snoop around

Don’t use credit cards to open locks. This isn’t 1953, and that never worked that well to begin with. It’s also not what I meant. What I mean is to simply keep your eyes and your ears open. If you’re concentrating so hard on how to get the boss on your side you may miss that memo that was posted on the cork board you walk past every morning. Pay attention to your workplace, and what’s going on around you. Make a habit of checking your internal job postings, if you can. Check online job posting sites to see if your company is looking for anything you could go for. This will also allow you to see what it is they look for in an employee, which in turn can use to stark advantage in adjusting your resumé to be more appealing.

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Donate your two cents to a worthy cause: your future

If you are trying to get into an area, sometimes being helpful can go a long way. I have made it my personal goal to get in on any design conversations whenever I feel I can contribute. Maybe I’m nothing more then another pair of eyes, but at least I’m helping out. Even better when you can contribute something that is taken into consideration and/or use. When I can’t contribute, I’m still listening to what they say and the observations made. If you cannot contribute to the discussion, let others contribute to your mental file-folder. I’ve learned a lot simply by listening and watching. This has allowed the commentary that I do contribute to be both more in tune with what my company wants, and shows that I’m at least slightly knowledgeable in the area.

On that note do not, for the love of God, do not comment all the time. It gets annoying and your “I only wanted to help!” argument will get you nowhere. You have to make sure to pick your battles wisely and spaced-appropriately apart.

This is the third part of an ongoing series depicting my process to becoming a graphic designer. The next article will cover tools and how to use them. Not people in this case.

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three (Currently reading)
• Part Four
• Part Five
• Part Six
• Part Seven

1. Location, location, location
2. The time of your life
3. Facilities are all the rage now
4. Course load reaching critical mass, captain
5. Schools gots’ta represent, yo.. um,G. Slice… dawg
6. Money money money money money money money money money money money
7. The gut factor

1. Location, location, location

This may not seem like a big influence to some, but an opportunity to expand your horizons and experience something new and exotic. Both are very true, but come with a price (which I cover in more detail later) which is literally, the cost of it all. Sure going to a school across the ocean sounds like a great idea, but try and remember it costs money to apply, get a student visa, fly over there and back, living expenses, etc.

If you can get past the cost, try and remember the culture shock involved with it all. Going to a school 5 hours away may not seem like a fair distance, but trust a man who drives 5 hours to see his girlfriend. It is. It can affect your relationships with people, how often you get to hang out with your old chums, and see your family. This may of course be a boon in some people’s eyes. I’m not here to judge, merely to point things out.

Regardless, of if you go to school 5 hours away /fly across the country/ another country/ the other side of the world, you’re going to experience culture shock. From my experience, people take this in one of two ways: they either embrace the new culture and soak it in, or they go half-nuts and deny the alien society. Be careful with where you go and research foods, customs, culture, etc., before you go. You’ll thank yourself later.

Don’t go somewhere just to see it; that’s what vacations are for. Weigh the pros and cons of your locations before deciding on anything.

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2. The time of your life

I’m not talking about the having type, but your literal existence in your own personal time-line. Sure people say that if you wanna go for it, just go for it and be damned to the rest of the world. Though this is a wonderfully romantic notion, it could screw the next 5-10-15 years of your life. Heck yeah! Going to the premium school was a great idea! Too bad you did it without saving any money for it and ended up taking out a student loan that would make the rich weep. Now you’ve got a great education under your belt, and you’re stuck in financial bondage for the next x amount of years in your life. Things won’t look so shiny then. It may have been worth it personally, but you’re lifestyle will suffer.

I’m not saying that you should have every penny paid off before you go, but stop and look at your situation before you embark on the education train. Maybe it would make more sense to go in 6 months? You know, when you’ve saved up at least some sort of slush fund? Try and make sure you have a place to live, something to eat, and a backup plan before you start. That way if everything goes down the crapshoot, you’re not totally screwed.

Taking extra time is also good for you to sit down and really consider your options. Do you really want to go to school for that field? Are you sure? What will it do for you? Is this for personal or professional growth? Will you get anything out of it in the end? These are all questions you should answer honestly to yourself. The answers should be more then one sentence long, and without an exclamation point on the end of them. Criticize your own points to see if they stand up against argument.

Step back and look at your life before deciding on going to school. It’s a drastic change and needs to be approached with maturity.

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3. Facilities are all the rage now

Physically scope out the school. Don’t be surprised when their ‘rustic and natural’ location means they’re in the middle of nowhere and have bear sightings every 18 minutes. Go to the schools you are interested in and walk around them. Walk through them to. Examine the classrooms (if you can). Ask the administration desk if there are guided tours; if the exist then take them. Ask a load of questions and don’t be shy. If these schools wants your blood, sweat, tears, time, and hard-earned money, then by golly they can answer your questions.

Check out the faculty as well. Make sure that they’re up to snuff. Just because they school has award-winning teachers does not mean that they know how to teach worth a damn.

Make sure to ask questions that directly affect you. What’s the parking policy? What sort of computers/whatever technology you need do you use? What hours is the school open? What sort of library do they have? What is the school capacity? etc. etc. Write down your questions before hand and bring paper to jot down the answers if you really need to. Being informed about the school will go a long way in helping you decide.

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4. Course load reaching critical mass, captain

Check out your course load from the schools website or if you’re feeling Luddite, their printed catalog and see what’s in store for you. Most schools will offer similar courses, but the difference is in the fine print. Read the descriptions of all the courses, as well as the expectations and what you should be walking away with at the end of each course. If you’ve gone to school before, see if you have any transferable credits. This can help ease your course load even if it’s only by one or two courses. Not all schools will accept transfer credits let alone from every school known to man. Make sure that the courses are offering what you are expecting. You’d be amazed at what they’ll pass off in the fine print.

Find out the duration of the entire diploma. Sometimes the extra year can make a huge difference for your eventual career. Sometimes it won’t make so much of an impact that you can’t go back at a later date and upgrade. You should weigh these options when deciding on a school. Sometimes it worth not going for the extra year for the moment. Other times you’d be a fool not to. Judge that years courses and compare it to your life goals.

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5. Schools gots’ta represent, yo.. um,G. Slice… dawg

Ask around about the schools you are interested. Asking the school will only allow them to stroke their ego in your face. Ask people who are going there, if you can. Read summaries and critiques others have written about the school. Look for the flaws but don’t amplify them, just make sure you know what they are. On that same note, make sure you know what the school does really well. Not what’s in their mission statement, but from what people have said and accomplished there. I don’t care if you have a professor there that cured AIDS, can they actually teach? It’s fantastic that you’ve got a great gym and health centre! Why do you still have a wing of 386 desktops though?

Find out what the admission requirements were like. Sure they say they only wanted 10 pieces, but what ones are they biased to? Sure you needed an 80 to be considered, but how many people in the course actually had an 80? Just because the school says they need something, doesn’t mean there aren’t strings attached.

Get the dirt on your schools. Maybe you like dirt. Maybe you are, by nature, a dirty person. I have no idea. The important part is to make sure you don’t only pay attention to the sunshine that all schools claim shines from their butts. I’m fairly certain that at least one of them claim to be made up entirely of rainbows and candies as well. Just be informed.

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6. Money money money money money money money money money money money

Ever notice how words lose their meaning when you write them out of context?

I could probably write a whole section on money alone, but I won’t. The fact is that money will play a big factor in your choice of education. Sometimes going to the 50k school for the name on the certificate isn’t worth the pain in the wallet that it will cause. Schooling that forces you to take out big loans to complete will only slow you down once you finish school. If you have to take out loans, find ones that provide student rates, don’t start collecting until you are done school, and then make sure to spend as little of it as possible. If you want to try and beat the system, you could take the money you’re not using, and dump it into a high-interest savings account. At least there it will grow a little and make paying back the loan that much easier.

Compare prices between the different schools, and make sure to ask why there is a difference. Make sure you check to see what “additional” costs they are going to tack on. Some programs require you buy a uniform, or a computer, or other tools that are not mentioned in the advertised price. It’s sort of like buying a car, except you can’t negotiate at all, or trying to bribe the one straight-arrow cop in Detroit (I have no idea how crooked the cops in Detroit are, if at all. I’m just giving an example). If one school is drastically lower or higher in cost, find out why. Sometimes the cost could be worth it (though somehow I doubt this is a common occurrence.)

If you can, save up as much as you can before you go. This will allow you to help pay off bills, tuition, or just pad your pockets while your in the long haul. Having a personal slush fund is just a smart move. You don’t know when you’re car will break down, or when you’ll need to drop a good amount of coin on a project. By saving as much money before you go, you will lessen the pain that you will experience from day to day life.

Having said that, you’ll probably have to learn how to be cheap. I’ll admit that I’m a bad spender when it comes to buying food, which is something I am fixing. I did a little self-study back in the day, and found I was dropping about 300 bucks a month on food alone. This isn’t even grocery food we’re talking about here. This is me simply buying lunch in the cafeteria every day. Maybe throw in a snack too. 10 dollars a day doesn’t seem like much at the time, but it adds up.

A good habit that I found is to spend physical money. It helps you watch as your dollars are flitted away on everything. Stay away from using plastic for your purchasing of smaller items. you’ll quickly start to curb your spending. It’ll also help you become a more critical thinker when it comes to buying anything. It will help develop that little voice in the back of your head that says things like “do you really need that 5th burger?” or “Seriously, watching your buddy eat that month old lasagna isn’t worth twenty bucks … is it?” (I’m going to be honest and say that I would indeed pay money to see my friend eat month-old lasagna. I’m a horrible being sometimes.)

Spend smart, and spend little. Compare school prices and course costs. Aim for low loan interest rates, and don’t be late on any payments. That will very quickly ruin your credit rating.

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7. The gut factor

I know I’ve given a lot of tips and advice here, all of which you can take with a grain of salt. In the end it all comes down to you. If you go to a school and you get a bad feeling don’t ignore it. Man kind has more going on inside then we realize, and trusting our gut instinct is a lost art. After you’ve weighed your options go and search yourself and see what feels right. Going with that option will probably end up being the better choice for you on a personal level. Sometimes going for what feels right will allow you to have a much fuller experience in your schooling over going to the “better” school. Just because it’s better doesn’t mean it won’t suck to be there.

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Trust yourself and you shouldn’t do all that wrong. If however you hear multiple voices, either turn down the headphones, or seek medical help.

This is the second part of an ongoing series depicting my process to becoming a graphic designer. Next up is how you can help yourself get educated at work before you get educated.

• Part One
• Part Two (Currently reading)
• Part Three
• Part Four
• Part Five
• Part Six
• Part Seven

I went to school, graduated, and got a job in my field. That’s great, right? Should be, but as it turns out I’m not as big a fan of coding every day 5-7 days a week (overtime is evil). I enjoy it, I really do, but either you are made to do this day in and out or you not. That’s why many developers move on to project management and consulting. Others revel in it, and good for them.

I am not a reveler. I noticed pretty much from day one that I migrated towards the visual design of every project I’ve had my hand in. The more control I had over that, the more I enjoyed the project. It took me a while to realize that my enjoyment was more then just simple ability or coincidence. Sure I had more HTML and CSS experience then the other coders, but I chose to go for those aspects. As time passed I realized that this was something I wanted to do. I wanted to create smooth websites, ripe with clarity and ability, and still adhere to the rules. The problem is I don’t know what the rules are. At least I didn’t. At this point I think I know about 3% of them.

My first step has been looking into courses and schools. What schools offer, how much it costs, there they’re located, course-load, topics covered, school reputation, and how it will influence my life in the future. I haven’t made any official steps yet, but I’m keeping my eyes open. I’m aware that I’ve already gone through college and completed an advanced diploma in Computer Programming/ Systems Analysis, which is great. I learned loads of useful information that I currently use in my place of work.

For any budding programmers out there, let me just say this. UML, planning, flow diagrams, etc. will make your life easier. They help you translate your ideas to others where words can fail. When done well, they illustrate what you want to do. Ironically this hits another point with design. Clarity of your idea is key, and that translates across any and everything that you can and will do in life.

I’m digressing though.

So step one was looking into schools. That’s great, but doesn’t really do much if you don’t act on it. Maybe you can’t yet (money, point in life, whatever) and that’s cool. It’s a big step and believe me when I say that I’m feeling the pressure as much as anyone else who’s been in this situation. So what have I done to help my situation? Well I started at work.

I forced my way into the design work, the design conversations whenever I can, and made it my business to interact with our designer. I know that sounds cold, and I don’t mean it the way it sounds because he’s actually a truly rad guy and I’m glad to work with and talk to him. What I’m saying is that whenever I can give valid – please God note the valid – input, I do. If it gets turned down, I can at least evaluate why and learn from it. If it’s taken into consideration, that’s even better. By pushing to do more of the design work (in my case, converting the designers works of art into something practical) I’ve gained even more knowledge, and I’ve put myself into a position where I can interact with the tools and people that I need to to educate myself.

This is a key point. Self-education can go a long way in helping you understand design. Hell, even if you want to learn to cook. Get a job at a restaurant, and put yourself in a position where you’re working with the cooks in some fashion. Start as a dish washer, and ask questions about dishes being made, etc.

I’m talking to people and learning some tricks… now what?

Mess around. Get your hands on a copy of your preferred tool and go nuts. Find tutorials on how to do whatever you think looks cool and see how they do it. Find multiple ways to do it and compare effort versus payoff to find the more efficient route. Screw with the tool and see what you can create by yourself. Break it if you can, if only to see what not to do. Basically get a handle on your tools. Sure schools will teach you this stuff eventually, but even the schools can’t teach you every nuance of any given program. On top of that you may find that you hate the tools you are using and wish to find new ones. You may find that you can’t stand doing “this” at all. Better to find out now then 3 years down the road.

Now take a step back and take in everything so far. You’ve looked into education. You’ve talked to people. You’ve screwed around and read tutorials. Fantastic!

Now you’re ready to realize that you don’t know much about design whatsoever.

Don’t freak out. This is the wall that a lot of people hit, and I’ve hit it myself recently. It’s that point that separates people who “know how to use Photoshop” to people who “design with Photoshop”. This is something that many people don’t get. They figure that they know how to do a mess of cool tricks in Fireworks that they’re ready for anything. Are they though? Do they understand composition? How about contrast? Weight? Spacing? Kerning? What about leading the viewers vision? Oh, and how about how colours affect moods, or how certain positions feel better on a fundamental level? Do you understand focal points, The Golden Rule, or how to make photos more dynamic?

If you can answer all of those without looking them up, pulling it out of your ass, or without thinking really, really hard on them… well chances are you know more about what I’m talking about here then I do and are probably reading this to feel wistful or to make yourself feel big. I’m not a designer. Not yet. I know I can’t answer those questions. My education has only just started. If I become really good in the field then I’ll have more questions to ask. I know enough to be able to ask the questions. It shows that I know there is more to design then filters, sexy fonts, and gradients. The extent of my learning has come from the next step.

Read everything.

Leave no stone unturned in your quest for knowledge. Amass RSS feeds on numerous angles of design. Consume the words of your betters ravenously. Scour Digg, Google News, search engines, and every design community for articles, tips, reviews, and examples. The most important part? Read openly and continuously. Read with a clear head and an understanding that these people probably know what their talking about. At the very least they probably know more than you. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t question what you read, but don’t turn it down just because someone else said gave differing commentary. If you’re really confused, ask. Post a question on the blog, submit a question to the forum. Whatever it takes. Just remember to be courteous. You’d be amazed how nice and helpful the blogger community can be.

After you have completed all of this, you’ll probably be at about 30%. To be honest I don’t think there could ever be a designer that is at the 100%, because that would just break my mind. I’m sure people will continue to drive towards that statistical impossibility which makes me happy.

Keep on learning people, keep on learning.

This is the second part of an ongoing series depicting my process to becoming a graphic designer. My next installment will cover what to look for when trying to find a school.

• Part One (Currently reading)
• Part Two
• Part Three
• Part Four
• Part Five
• Part Six
• Part Seven