Most of your education happens outside of the classroom. You would know this if you've seen Father Knows Less, the third episode in the first season of Boy Meets World. In this episode, Mr. Feeny teaches Cory a lesson about the real world:
"You see Mr. Matthews, education is not about obscure facts and little test scores. Education is about the overall affects of years of slow absorption. Concepts, philosophies, approaches to problem solving. The whole process is so grand and all-encompassing..."
You can't possibly learn everything about graphic design, or about working in a creative field, or about art for that matter—by expecting to learn it all in school. This is obvious and also very relieving. One small way I do this is to be constantly curating inspiration. In order words, get into the habit of making mood boards all the time. This is where Pinterest and Tumblr have really come in handy for me because not only have I started to curate my own style and taste, but I’ve been bookmarking things that could potentially be useful for further projects. It also helps you to stay updated and aware of design trends.
Another thing that’s always fun is going to stores and restaurants. Every time you go out, become critical of the things around you. Be judgmental. Be observant. Ask yourself questions like: How did they do that? How would I do it differently? What specific thing do I like about this? How could I make this better? How does this environment/design make me feel? What’s not working with the design?
Analyzing the world from a design perspective. Everything is designed and so there’s a lot of things out there to think about!
Side projects? I mean I could encourage people to do side projects, but people already know this. Side projects were the thing that allowed me to explore other things that I loved. The cool things about side projects is not having any pressure. You can go at your own pace and you’re not doing it to impress anyone. It’s also a great thing to balance between the work you have to do, being able to take a creative break and till be productive, but focus your energy elsewhere.
Take extra curricular classes that seem interesting like painting, bookbinding, woodworking. Take a writing class. Have other things going on in your life besides design. Travel as much as you can. Design is one of the most fluid professions, that in some way or another affects and influences everything else. You can always know that whatever you end up doing, you'll have design skills in your toolbelt.
