As a graphic designer, you should always be learning new skills. Let's face it: The design industry is constantly evolving, and staying on top of the latest trends is a big part of being a successful graphic designer. The good news is there are plenty of resources out there to help you learn new skills, like Udemy. But where should you begin? In this post, we'll discuss 8 essential graphic design skills every graphic designer should learn in 2022.
Top 8 graphic design skills to learn in 2022
1. Illustration and drawing
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, graphic designers are required to be able to draw both in black and white and color. This means that if you want to become a graphic designer, you should learn how to draw. Drawing is a fundamental skill for any designer because it helps you create logos and other designs, visualize your ideas, communicate them effectively with clients and colleagues, and more.
Drawing also allows your creativity as an artist or illustrator free rein while still giving you time on the clock at work (or school). You can set aside certain days where all you do is sketch out ideas for new projects; this way when those days come along where words just aren't enough—and they always do—you'll have something ready-made waiting in the wings!
2. Graphic design
When you think of graphic design, what comes to mind? A logo, perhaps? A product label or an ad? These are all visual communications produced by a graphic designer. Graphic designers use their skills, creativity, and artistry to create effective visual communication for many purposes, including:
Advertising
Branding
Corporate identity
Packaging design
3. User experience (UX) design
User experience (UX) design is a process that focuses on the needs of your users. As one of the four core disciplines in user experience, it encompasses all aspects of the interaction between humans and technology, including research and prototyping.
User experience designers help users understand their products and find value in them by defining personas, conducting research, creating wireframes and prototypes, as well as testing their designs with potential users. UX design is also an integral part of many other fields such as human-computer interaction (HCI), interactive systems development, information architecture (IA), visual design (VD), product management or marketing communications
4. UI design
As a designer, you will be expected to create a user interface (UI) design that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional.
For example, if you're working on an app for the Apple Watch, your job would be to make sure that the design appeals to consumers and provides them with an intuitive way of using it. This means taking into consideration how easy it is for users to interact with all aspects of their devices' software—not just their screens but also buttons, menus, and any other buttons/menus that may be required for navigating around said device's interface.
5. Photography and visual arts
Photography and visual arts are essential skills for graphic design. It’s not just about taking pictures—you need to know how to use the tools of photography, like camera angles and lighting. And if you want to create graphics that convey your message effectively, they have to be visually interesting. Here’s what you should know:
Photography is not just about taking pictures—it’s a skill that can be learned and practiced at any age.
Photography can help you in all aspects of graphic design, from creating logos and websites to creating ad campaigns for products or services. You can even use it in your advertisements by using photos from stock images (photographs or illustrations) instead of having people model or act out what you want them to!
6. Brand strategy and development
Brand strategy is the process of developing a larger vision for your brand. It’s about defining what you stand for, how that meaning relates to your audience, and how you want to present yourself.
You can use brand strategy as a framework for everything from product design, marketing, and advertising campaigns, website design, and even social media content. The brand strategy provides the foundation for all of these things—and it will help you create designs that are consistent across channels.
It’s an important skill because it helps you think about what's most important: How do I want people to see this? What do I want them to get out of it? What words or images should they associate with my product or service?
7. Marketing, content strategy, and copywriting
Marketing, content strategy, and copywriting are three skills that can help you become a graphic designer. They’re also good to have in your tool kit because they will boost your personal brand, which is essential in the design industry.
Marketing: What is marketing?
Marketing is the process of building awareness for a product or service in order to create sales by communicating value and benefits. This can include things like advertising on social media platforms like Instagram or Facebook using images or video clips of your work as well as attending conferences where you can meet industry leaders face-to-face (or at least through their website), who may then hire you for future projects down the road if they are impressed with what they see.
Copywriting: What is copywriting? Copywriters write the text that helps sell products or services through persuasive languages such as headlines, body copy, and other forms of content such as eBooks and blog posts so that consumers know why they should buy whatever it is being marketed because there's something special about it compared to competing brands offering similar products/services (see "content strategy" below).
8. Motion graphics and animation
Motion graphics and animation are great ways to show off your design skills. Motion graphics involves creating moving images, often using animation and visual effects. It can be used in video production, web design, or mobile app development.
There are many different ways to create motion graphics—and lots of software that helps you do it—but if you want to get started with some basic principles of motion design (and don't have access to professional software yet), here's how we recommend getting started:
Use symbols for assets like text and icons instead of drawing them by hand
Use simple shapes (like squares) as backgrounds for more complex assets like logos and icons
These skills will help you stay relevant as a graphic designer
In 2022, the graphic design industry will be more competitive than ever. As a result, you'll need to learn new skills to stay relevant and competitive. Here are five areas where you should consider investing your time:
Web design. This skill is essential if you want to use Adobe Photoshop as part of a larger team or as part of an agency.
Motion graphics animation (e.g., After Effects). If you’re looking for a career change in 2022 and want more creative freedom, motion graphics animation could be right up your alley!
Digital marketing strategy & implementation (SEM... SEO). The ability to understand how digital marketing works will help set yourself apart from other designers who don't have these skillsets yet still call themselves "web developers" just because they know HTML & CSS coding languages like HTML5 & CSS3
Conclusion
Graphic design is always changing, but these skills will help you stay ahead of the curve. Data visualization and illustration are growing in popularity as people look for ways to make information digestible for their audience. User experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design continue to bring designers closer to their users’ needs by letting them see the world from the user’s perspective. And that connection is more important than ever, as brands work harder than ever before to build a human touch into their content marketing strategies.