1. Plan Ahead

Before starting anything, always think of the end goal you want to achieve. Having that clearly in mind will help you strategize to reach it. Think about the steps you have to take to get there and plan out your journey. If it’s a long-term project, then don’t hesitate to add milestone deadlines to your calendar.

Some good software for planning include:

1. ClickUp

ClickUp allows you the flexibility of customization. You can design your task workflow to be represented in the way easiest for you to follow. With an onboarding video go to get you familiar, ClickUp has many functional buttons to manage each step of your design best. Use it to add in dates to a shared calendar, visually see your tasks in a Gantt chart and brainstorm with spider diagrams. There's even a widget function to highlight your priorities.

2. Trello

With Trello, you can have all your to-do lists in one place. Organize them to work on multiple projects at the same time. The best thing about this software is that you can break down the bigger tasks into manageable smaller ones and work through them more easily. The boards are completely shareable with no user limit, so team members can work on the same project at the same time.

2. Build a Passion

To really excel at what you do, you need to have a passion for it. Without passion, there’s no fuel. Find ways to love designing and be proud of what you create because your passion and sincerity will reflect on your end product. Build your love by sharing your creations through self-promotions. Allowing your work to reach others is a good way to gain recognition and confidence in it.

Here are some good self-promoting apps:

1. Instagram

Instagram is an all-rounded app that allows you to surround yourself with what you love and be part of communities in what you do. It’s a free photo and video sharing platform to share the content you create with a large audience. You can use it to create an online portfolio and network with other designers to gain tips and promotions.

2. TikTok

With the new rise in video promotions, TikTok is the best platform for you if your main content is videography. With an easy-to-use built-in video editor, even a beginner at video editing can create content flawlessly. The algorithm is very straightforward to beat by using trending audio. The music is fully-patented, and video creation couldn’t be easier.

3. Take Inspiration

As mentioned before, surround yourself with what you love. This step will have your subconscious picking up inspiration from designs by others even when you're not consciously sitting down and searching. It allows you to think up ideas and designs not previously done before. With new possibilities building on the passion you've harbored.

Some good apps to find inspiration are:

1. Behance

This app creates an online design community to share content completely free. It allows you to follow your favorite artists and their designs. Search up the things you want to create and follow the step-by-step tutorials to replicate their works. Practicing this step with some of your favorite styles will help enhance your own.

2. Pinterest

Every designer's favorite go-to reference app is Pinterest. With an effective search button and a large database of content, there’s never a shortage of inspiration on Pinterest. After a few uses, their strong algorithm provides you with exactly what you want to see, giving you a reference image and image to follow and create with.

4. Utilise Templates

Templates are always a good place to start. They save you time and the hassle of formatting your designs. With easily customizable features, you can choose to change as much or as little as you want. This option is perfect for beginners who may not be sure how to create professional and sleek designs from the start. You can start by using pre-existing templates whilst giving yourself the space to learn and create designs from scratch. 

The best software for utilizing templates are:

Glorify is a free graphic design tool made to be accessible to everyone. It provides a space to design from scratch and is regularly updated with new tools. The Glorify library has an entire database of templates to use for every occasion, with season-specific designs released every year. They range from simple personal posts to adverts and professional posters. Each template is fully customizable to match the style and color of your brand.

5. Use the right Tools 

Using the right software will make it easier to produce the right standard of graphic and web design you want. With different user interfaces for different levels of users, we’ve put together a few beginner tools for post design and video editing. They’re all free and also compatible with mobile design.  

1. Adobe Lightroom

This tool is available for both desktop and mobile. It allows you to professionally manipulate images to look as you want them to before using them as graphics for your websites or posts. 

The images edited on Adobe Lightroom can then be extracted and used as part of a bigger design through other design tools, such as the aforementioned Glorify. 

2. PicsArt

PicsArt allows you to do mobile graphic design for posters and social media posts, among many other things. They have template options for your designs and an in-built photo editing tool. This app allows you to use layers to organize your work when placing them together for your final graphic. 

3. InShot

This is a simple video editing tool. InShot allows you to use built-in audio that crops to your video. It provides support in speeding up and slowing down your content. This tool is your all-in-one video editing software with options for transitions between videos and timed overlaying text. The interface is super easy and simple to use for anyone at any level of video editing. With this app, you’ll be creating video posts and adverts in no time.  

Practice makes Perfect 

Use the previous tips and keep trying over and over again. As cliché as it sounds, practice does make perfect. The first try might not be the one, nor the second, but don’t give up on experimenting because if you keep at it, you’ll be producing expert graphic and web design in no time.

One good step when starting out is to create imaginary clients and briefs to design for. Critique your work and try again. You’ll notice an improvement in design and professionalism.

To design images like a pro, even without experience, Glorify is the tool that can help you with that. Create a free account and make your designing process much easier.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions 

1. Top tips for beginners at graphics design?

Keep your design simple with a limited color palette, and also keep the graphics and typography cohesive. This will effortlessly pull your work together, even at a beginner level.

2. What makes a graphic design good?

Good graphic design quickly communicates and convinces by drawing the reader’s eye to the key information of the message.  

3. How to get better at graphics design?

First, you should learn basic concepts of graphic design. Read a book about graphic design, our blog, or watch some tutorials to better understand the basics. Plan your task before any execution, and try different software because each of them will teach you something new.

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