Graphic Designers - advice please!

Get a big book on typography and learn why certain fonts are used for different situations and what each one is trying to convey.

If you look on the back of any vehicle on the motorway, you will notice that nobody out there has the first clue about the effective use of typography.
Get that right and the rest follows.
 
Don't do graphic design work on a laptop - at least not on the laptops' screen. Use a larger external monitor, otherwise it's like painting a picture through someone's letterbox. As people have said, Mac usage amongst designers is from a time 15 or so years ago when it was the accepted norm. There is no need for one.

With regards to what you need to learn, start with the basics, such as colour theory, white space, typography etc.
 
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Is a Mac really necessary for graphic design over a decent i5 or i7 setup and ssave on cost which could be applied to support if the company has to support it?
 
you can get student ps editions or monthly contract software.

there are almost every tutorial you need on youtube.
you can buy dvds that show you the basics but many things are trial and error and learning and take time.

just depends how deep you need to go or how far.

creative mind is more of a challenge than learning. so if you are creative for a start atleast you got a good chance :cool:

you don't need all the top end stuff if you not doing top end work so don't just go buying 30 inch monitors and stupidly expensive pcs.
 
The new versions of Creative Suite are compatible across both Windows and Mac. If you get a file from a Mac, you should be able to open it on Windows.

I see no reason on splashing out on a mac. Certainly not a laptop.

As has been said, working on one versus a desktop solution is laborious.
 
It doesn't have to be a mac, I'm happy with a PC it's just that I don't know much about PC's and what specs to go for etc :o

I know how much of a pain it can be doing design work on a laptop, hence I currently connect my laptop to a 22" monitor at work. Having a laptop just means I have the flexibility work from home if I need to. If I save money by not buying a mac then I could even use the savings to buy an even bigger monitor :)
 
I am a graphic designer by profession, so here is my 2 pence.

Design is more of a natural skill, not something you really learn IMHO.

As you find it is something you enjoy, that is great. Just keep of doing it and you will start to discover that you may actually be good at it. It could be your hidden skill.

Yeah, you can do a course, but that just teaches you the technicalities of design. While not essential to enter the design World, they do give you a good grounding into what design is and how it all works.

I did A-Level Graphics, then a BA Graphic Design Degree. The courses, as I said don't teach you "Design" , but the technical aspects of the craft. I always intended to go into design, so I took the academic route. My degree has not actually benefited my professional life, it is more a formality.

You may find that you do have an eye for designing well, and all you need to do is start creating stuff. At the end of the day if what you do fits what the client want - you are a designer.

Working on a laptop is painful! In my studio I have 3 24" Dells. If you a designer the more work space you have the better!

I also work on a PC, never got on with macs, and don't listen to anyone who says Macs are what designers use & better. PCs actually have more to offer for the price.

Get a subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud and get access to all the tools for a monthly fee.

Get creative, and start working on some designs. Make up a brand. Do a logo, create some literature and see if it looks good or pants.

Just don't get into the trap of "All the gear, no idea"
 
Pinter75 said:
I am a graphic designer by profession, so here is my 2 pence.

Design is more of a natural skill, not something you really learn IMHO.

As you find it is something you enjoy, that is great. Just keep of doing it and you will start to discover that you may actually be good at it. It could be your hidden skill.

Yeah, you can do a course, but that just teaches you the technicalities of design. While not essential to enter the design World, they do give you a good grounding into what design is and how it all works.

I did A-Level Graphics, then a BA Graphic Design Degree. The courses, as I said don't teach you "Design" , but the technical aspects of the craft. I always intended to go into design, so I took the academic route. My degree has not actually benefited my professional life, it is more a formality.

You may find that you do have an eye for designing well, and all you need to do is start creating stuff. At the end of the day if what you do fits what the client want - you are a designer.

Working on a laptop is painful! In my studio I have 3 24" Dells. If you a designer the more work space you have the better!

I also work on a PC, never got on with macs, and don't listen to anyone who says Macs are what designers use & better. PCs actually have more to offer for the price.

Get a subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud and get access to all the tools for a monthly fee.

Get creative, and start working on some designs. Make up a brand. Do a logo, create some literature and see if it looks good or pants.

Just don't get into the trap of "All the gear, no idea"
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Pretty much my experience too, just I did Graphic Design at AS and gave it up at A Level as the course just wasn't offering me anything challenging.

I did Motion Graphics at Uni, it was a formality.

Most of the places I work at are Mac based, and I actually work off a laptop quite a lot for the storyboarding/concept side of design, then usually on a PC for the heavy motion and rendering parts of my job.
 
I'm not a graphic designer, so maybe don't listen to me, but IMO this is a profession for which you either have 'it' or don't.

A bit like photography really. I know someone who studied photography at degree level at uni (and somehow passed with a decent result), and their work is pretty crap, along the lines of what you'd expect from someone having just bought their first DSLR both in terms of subject and technical merit. For this person their qualification far, far outweighs their talent and they've spent an awful lot of money getting to this point.

So, erm, get some skills before you heavily invest.
 
I used to be a mechanic but now make furniture for a living,even I learnt how to put a Hitler moustache on a fish.

Comes in handy when folk ask for photoshop help on these here forums.
 
Lynda.com

Their courses for learning anything is fantastic.

I self taught myself after effects and a portion of 3d design in cinema 4D.

Also digitaltutors.com have actual projects you can work on.

All depends how hard you want to work.
 
As to the spec then I would say i5 2500k processor, or an i7 processor, just bung a load of RAM in there, would say 8GB minimum, decent hard drive, dual monitors.

As to the software I couldn't say I am not really a design person, I struggle with photoshop and have zero creative skills exept for maybe taking the odd picture.

:p

I think you would pick it up well if you applied some thought and effort in to learning how to do it properly, you seem to have the creative edge all you need is the learning and practice.
 
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There's always going to be slightly negative or biased remarks against Apple laptops on here but it's all down to preference, try them out and see what works best - this is particularly important for creativity, I find.

I'm an an agency side lead designer currently in a .NET environment(all windows systems) and there's a major difference in personal performance over running say the 27 inch iMac in my previous place.

Not because of screen size or system performance, windows is horrible to design on, it's not as slick, efficient and the anti-aliasing/rendering is just far superior on the mac. There's a reason it's an industry standard, even amongst the non-apple fanboys(which I'm far from). Most of my work is done on a 15 inch macbook pro, either in the office or off site. The screen resolution is more than sufficient - it's not even retina. I never use my Intuos for work either, it's more of a recreational drawing tool.

So, buy whichever system you feel works for you.
 
eatcustard said:
Have been a GD for more years than I can remember.

I use Quark Xpress, and Adobe CC, all on a Mac, its the standard computer to use.
Better colour management being the main one.

PCs are for word, Macs for design, no ifs no buts.
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Better colour management? You are quite the fan boy with ye olde apple. PC's are so much more than for word, and Macs aren't just for 'design'
 
shifty_uk said:
it's not as slick, efficient and the anti-aliasing/rendering is just far superior on the mac
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Seems like you're going on more about font rendering quality that a platform for using Photoshop. Windows may not look as pretty and colourful but that's not what's being discussed here. In terms of functionality each platform is just as capable as the other bar a few obscure things. Some people say OSX is better for design which isn't true, software like Photoshop is the same on each platform. Either way, it's more about how good you are as a designer/artist that matters more than anything. Be better to invest most in a large display with high resolution and possible even a decent tablet if you want to go down that route.
 
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