u/Scary_Bunch6703

Hi everyone,

I'm a 20-year-old graphic design student, and I've been learning graphic design for about a year now. During this time, I've become comfortable with the basics of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and CorelDRAW. I understand the tools and can recreate designs, but now I feel like I've hit a wall.

My biggest question is:

What should I design next?

I don't want to spend all my time watching tutorials anymore. I want to create real projects that improve my skills and help me build a strong portfolio, but I'm not sure where to start or how professionals continue improving after learning the software.

Some things I'm struggling with:

1. How do you practice graphic design once you've learned the basics?

2. What kinds of projects helped you improve the fastest?

3. How do you come up with design ideas instead of copying tutorials?

4. What should a beginner portfolio include if I want to apply for internships or junior graphic design jobs?

5. Are there any daily or weekly exercises that made a big difference in your growth?

6. What skills separate an average designer from a great one?

I'm interested in areas like branding, posters, social media design, packaging, magazines, photo manipulation, retouching, and digital illustration, but I don't know how to structure my learning from here.

I'd really appreciate advice from designers who have been through this stage. If you could go back to your first year of learning, what would you focus on?

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I'm a 20-year-old graphic design student, and I've been learning graphic design for about a year now. During this time, I've become comfortable with the basics of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and CorelDRAW. I understand the tools and can recreate designs, but now I feel like I've hit a wall.

My biggest question is:

What should I design next?

I don't want to spend all my time watching tutorials anymore. I want to create real projects that improve my skills and help me build a strong portfolio, but I'm not sure where to start or how professionals continue improving after learning the software.

Some things I'm struggling with:

1. How do you practice graphic design once you've learned the basics?

2. What kinds of projects helped you improve the fastest?

3. How do you come up with design ideas instead of copying tutorials?

4. What should a beginner portfolio include if I want to apply for internships or junior graphic design jobs?

5. Are there any daily or weekly exercises that made a big difference in your growth?

6. What skills separate an average designer from a great one?

I'm interested in areas like branding, posters, social media design, packaging, magazines, photo manipulation, retouching, and digital illustration, but I don't know how to structure my learning from here.

I'd really appreciate advice from designers who have been through this stage. If you could go back to your first year of learning, what would you focus on?

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I'm a 20-year-old graphic design student, and I've been learning graphic design for about a year now. During this time, I've become comfortable with the basics of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and CorelDRAW. I understand the tools and can recreate designs, but now I feel like I've hit a wall.

My biggest question is:

What should I design next?

I don't want to spend all my time watching tutorials anymore. I want to create real projects that improve my skills and help me build a strong portfolio, but I'm not sure where to start or how professionals continue improving after learning the software.

Some things I'm struggling with:

1. How do you practice graphic design once you've learned the basics?

2. What kinds of projects helped you improve the fastest?

3. How do you come up with design ideas instead of copying tutorials?

4. What should a beginner portfolio include if I want to apply for internships or junior graphic design jobs?

5. Are there any daily or weekly exercises that made a big difference in your growth?

6. What skills separate an average designer from a great one?

I'm interested in areas like branding, posters, social media design, packaging, magazines, photo manipulation, retouching, and digital illustration, but I don't know how to structure my learning from here.

I'd really appreciate advice from designers who have been through this stage. If you could go back to your first year of learning, what would you focus on?

Thanks in advance!