A career in the field of design may open up many wonderful opportunities for you. You may be interested to become a visual design artist or a graphic designer. To be successful in any design-related industry, however, you need sufficient preparation by taking the best courses available. Here’s a list of recommendable courses that all design students ought to take to equip them adequately for professional work.
Color Theory
As you’ll be working in the field of visual arts, you need a complete and precise comprehension of the principles of color theory. Courses on color theory will teach you about the essential features of color as well as light perception. Some examples of these are hue, lightness, and chroma. You’ll also learn about understanding brightness and saturation, and how to maximize these as you work on your designs. More importantly, the course on color theory will tackle the psychological side of the visual perception of color. A substantial course on an introduction to graphic design usually includes color theory as one of its topics or modules.
Typography
This course involves making language and letters appear appealing to the viewer, getting the viewer’s attention and keeping it. Typography involves being able to express what you, as the artist, want to show your viewers by using written language as the medium.
At first, it may seem like a course focused on font design, but typography actually involves a lot more than that. As a designer, you should learn how to encapsulate many ideas and concepts into a form of media that is subtle yet striking. These theories and practices may be applied to other branches of art, giving you the ability to express ideas in non-conventional ways.
World Arts and History
Aside from the obvious benefits of learning the different styles of artists from a variety of generations and cultures, learning about world history will teach you about how the world has changed, and how the people have responded to these changes. Knowing how the civilizations worked in each era and analyzing their literature and art, designers can glean valuable insights on how ancient people expressed their emotions and stories through art.
As a design student, you may also be able to derive inspiration from prehistoric and classical artists on how they interpreted the events of their time and on how they used the tools available to them. In today’s digital age, artists may tend to have tunnel vision in terms of producing art and may be dependent on the digital tools at their disposal. Learning about art history can make you as a modern designer explore more avenues of creativity and arrive at more unique and expressive works of art.
Software programs that implement the theories of art
Once you’ve learned all the concepts and theories of design, a key skill that you should possess in today’s world is the mastery of digital tools. Familiarization training with industry-standard software will be beneficial for you when you step into the competitive world of graphic design.
In addition to creativity, speed is essential in manipulating digital software. Efficiency in using such tools will give you an edge and will help you become more competitive in your industry.
Marketing, Economics, and Accounting
Courses on creativity and theories are, of course, greatly instrumental in developing your design skills. However, there are still certain general education courses that will be critical to your future success.
A large percentage of design students pursue freelance careers upon graduating. As such, they’ll need a firm grasp of marketing and economic concepts to be able to sell their services properly and sustain a viable income in doing so. As an artist, you may end up undervaluing your skills and selling yourself short. You may lose to lesser-equipped designers who’ve managed to market themselves effectively.
An intermediate understanding of marketing and financial concepts can boost your future career as a designer, as this will give you the tools to gauge the existing market and how to stay on top of your competitors.
Behavioral Sciences and Psychology
Working in graphic design can get stressful and competitive, especially when you’re dealing with multiple clients and peers. A course in behavioral sciences and psychology can give you the tools to help your clients and co-workers effectively.
For example, you may encounter clients that have a hard time expressing themselves. This may be a big obstacle in their delivering exactly what they want from you as their designer. When you have a firm understanding of human behavior, you’ll have the strength and tactics to probe clients and determine what their actual objectives are. This would be greatly beneficial for logo designs, which involve being able to tell consumers about the essence of a company by using a single logo as the statement.
Conclusion
Enrolling in the right program and courses will give you a great advantage as a future designer. These will provide you with the essential principles and skills that will enable you to serve clients effectively after you graduate. Finding a professional mentor may also help you progress as a design student.