mech1 wrote:

or are you self-taught? I'm self taught. I got into graphics back in 2000 after college. my gf at the time was a graphic designer for a firm in Tokyo. After seeing the stuff she did I was determined to learn the tricks of the trade. I then taught myself how to use Illustrator and Photoshop. I don't do graphics professionally, more for fun, but it's always a learning experience I enjoy. It's inspiring to see what others out there are doing.

Christopher_Jion wrote:

I took a few classes from 1999 to 2001.
But I never really finished the certificate...
I learned what I wanted to learn and then I went off on my own.

I have some stuff published in an artbook now.

mech1 wrote:

think I might take a graphic design course and get certification. I suppose I could just do shit for free and build a resume but there are other software apps I need to learn like QExpress.

damian_carmine wrote:

Quark Xpress is the easiest of the major graphics apps to learn in my opinion. However doing a course to learn about software is one thing. Doing a course to learn about design/visual communication is quite another.

mech1 wrote:

everyone i've talked to who works in the graphics industry says that it's a waste of time.

damian_carmine wrote:

I can't say I agree. This is one of the reasons that there is an awful lot of poor design out there - largely made by people that are tech savvy....

schtel wrote:

It's interesting. I've been doing art since I was very little and at the age of sixteen I was doing an apprenticeship in graphic design. After some time by boss told me I was a lot better than he originally thought and recommended going to art college. I thought to myself what on earth could they teach me. Art is a talent, right? You can either do it or you can't. Boy was I shocked when I got there. I was only there a year but I learned a tremendous amount, and the best times were when I was doing/being taught things I had never done before or even knew existed. I was also luck to have some excellent tutors and they certainly helped me to develop my skills, and broaden my horizons.

Oh, this was back in the late eighties. Computers were very uch non-existent to the average GD. All done by hand back then with a touch of photography. Computers have made things a lot more easy and laid back. But whilst they are able to produce some amazingly wonderful things, I feel some human talent is lost. Everyone can be a GD these days with the right software.



In this modern age it may well be. Although I wouldn't say it is a waste of time, just maybe not as necessary as it used to be. Just like anyone can be a DJ with no apparent talent, anyone can be a GD also. Or a GDJ if you mix the pallette right. :)

onelittle wrote:

I left school and started art college in 1991. Frustrated after my first year, I left and the following year went to uni to study German literature and language. Two years later, I moved to Berlin, and studied visual communication there – tho I probably spent more time in Tresor than college… ;) I designed club flyers and suchlike for friends for fun.

When I returned to London in 1995, I bought my first Mac and started occasional freelancing - something which became a proper career five years later. For me, the theory came first, and the apps were learned later, as tools to facilitate… As far as software goes, I am mostly self-taught (with much help from friends).