Design Web Design Video & Audio Marketing Inside Envato Our Products

Homepage / Design / Checklist of Skil s & Tools Every Designer Should Learn

DESIGN

Checklist of Skills & Tools Every Designer

Should Learn
Whether you create posters, books, websites or mobile apps, you’ll notice improvements in
your work by practicing this checklist of skills.
By Envato Posted 23 Apr 2016

Diving into the pool of graphic and UI design can be stressful. Your work won't be great to start. But
you can get better faster by setting fixed goals.
Most goals have a fixed end point where you can state "I've done it!". Since design is more fluid and
difficult to pinpoint growth, it'l help if you target specific skil s and work on those areas persistently.
But where should you focus?
Here's my top tips for the catch-all skil s every designer should understand. Whether you create
posters, books, websites or mobile apps, you'l notice improvements in your work by practicing these
different areas of study. To get started find the areas in which you feel the weakest and practice until
you've built up confidence.

Early Stage Sketching

I can already feel some of you cringing at your preschool-level drawing abilities, but please bear with
me. There's no denying that digital design work absolutely requires a computer. But the planning stage
is meant to be rapid and free-flowing.
A mouse and keyboard are more "rigid" compared to paper and a pencil. The thing that many
designers fear about paper and pencil is their innate lack of control and poor motor skil s. Unless
you've been drawing since you were a kid, drawing is hard. No doubt.

But you'd be surprised how many people join art classes in their older years and walk away with
incredible skil s. You don't need a proclivity towards art to learn how to sketch. Nor do you need to
master fine art skil s.
The primary benefit of paper and pencil is the ability to sketch your ideas before going digital. You're
less concerned about specifics and more concerned about getting down raw ideas.
A UI wireframe can be sketched with almost no drawing ability whatsoever. And if you stick with it
over time you wil notice an improvement.

The primary benefit of paper and pencil is the ability to sketch your ideas before going digital.

Drawing has fewer barriers between your brain and the final output. On a computer you need to
already have keyboard and mouse skil s, figure out which program to use, then learn that program and
construct your idea. We've all used pencils since school so we're familiar with how they work.
But some designers stil vehemently reject learning to draw, and in many cases their design work stil
looks great. But one common denominator among designers who know both digital & analog design is
that both mediums feed into each other.
So while you may not "need" to learn the basics of sketching, if you do I guarantee your work wil
improve dramatically.

Pixel & Vector Programs

The most popular software is Adobe's Creative Suite with designers primarily focused on Photoshop
and Illustrator. Photoshop is meant for pixel/bitmap work and Illustrator is for vector graphics. Learning
both programs can give you an edge in the design market and the ability to work on various projects.

But there is also something to be said about specialization. For example, a web designer should know
how to create both vector icons and pixel graphics. Think about small pixel-based effects or tileable
backgrounds like a denim pattern, stitching, checkers, and other similar textures.
If you're just getting started then it's a good idea to focus on one program at a time. Learn software
that allows you to create whatever you're most interested in doing. Photo editing for ads or
magazines would be a Photoshop task. SVG animations for the web fall within Illustrator territory.

Also keep in mind there are other programs worth learning based on your field of study. A print
designer should absolutely learn InDesign, but PS/AI also come in handy. Similarly web designers on
Mac could go for Sketch instead of Adobe's programs.
The point isn't necessarily which software you choose, but rather that you master your intended
software and gain confidence that you can build anything your clients might request.

Harmonious Typography
Type designers and calligraphers have a deep passion for text. Many designers choose to specialize in
typography and make a very satiable living. But you don't need to be an expert to stil understand
typefaces and typographic design.
One skil worth learning is how to blend different fonts together. This consists of finding typefaces and
determining which ones look best on any given project. Each design project is meant to convey a
unique message, often relying on great typography.

Your job is to figure out which typefaces work best and how to stack them in a recognizable
hierarchy.
If you need some inspiration, check out some of the excellent typefaces available over on Envato
Elements.

These are just a few of the excellent fonts you can grab over on Envato Elements!
Another part of this skil set is learning about options for customizing type. Size, kerning, and line height
are all variables that play a role in how text is displayed.

Designers who really want to learn about typography may enjoy Thinking with Type. It covers
typographic principles along with some ideas on grid structure and content layout.

Swatches & Color Matching

Color schemes are important whether you use Photoshop, Gimp, Illustrator, InkScape, Sketch, or
whatever new program takes over the market in 2025. Color matching is rather ubiquitous because it
applies to all products from logos to websites and product packages.
The ability to organize a great color scheme comes with practice. You can also build up a library of
ideas by looking at other designs and even creating your own swatches. This is a great reusable
strategy, but eventually you'l want to learn how to pick colors of your own volition.
Unfortunately when first getting into design there are many other topics worth learning before color.
Yes color is important, but a great design should be presentable in B&W too. Because of this I have to
recommend that you focus on other skil s first before becoming a color master (gotta match 'em all).
But in the meantime you can't just design without color. One option is to save work that you like and
build color palettes from those examples. Another option is to use a color matching tool like Paletton.

This is completely free and works just as you'd expect. Input a base color and select one of the
various color modes. Paletton wil output a set of matching colors and other optional colors that could
be used together in a theme. It's not perfect but it's certainly better than nothing.
If you want to learn more about color theory I'd recommend Interaction of Color by Josef Albers. It
offers some great examples and does its best to explain how you should think, rather than rote
memorization of color matching principles.

Compositional Arrangement
Both print and digital designers require a knowledge of composition. This subject can be tacitly
absorbed by studying other great designers, but there's also some benefit to learning about
composition and how it works.
Generally every design is meant to convey a certain mood, tone, or message. The composition is
what you see looking at the whole of the design. It considers everything from rhythm, balance, and
noticeable relationships.

Although this topic is broad, it's actually comprised of various smaller design topics. For example white
space can affect rhythm, balance, and relationships. Tuts+ author Rachel Shil cock wrote an
introduction to composition for web design that can apply to traditional graphic design as well.
The best advice I can offer is to hold composition in the back of your mind at all times. Think about
the smaller pieces but also consider how they affect the bigger picture.
Study examples from your favorite designers and keep a folder of design inspiration. Check back
often and even try re-creating similar effects to see how the composition comes together at varying
stages. Like most areas of design, composition isn't learned from a textbook but rather from a library
of work.

Practice Makes Permanent

I first heard this phrase while studying art and it seems applicable to all fields. Consistent practice is
good, but you also want to make sure that you're advancing instead of repeating the same techniques
ad infinitum.
Design can be considered more of a trade where you learn quicker from actual projects. If you don't
have projects then make up some criteria and build your own stuff. The key is to practice skil s that
make you uncomfortable until you've built up a level of comfort. Design is not easy but with practice
and familiarity it can become easier.

Related Posts

DESIGN DESIGN DESIGN DESIGN

Top 10 Best Graphic Design 4 Mystic Design Trends to Made with Envato: Creating Top 10 Free Design Tutorials
Templates 2021 Conjure for Your Creative Digital Art with Frankie Lee and Courses
Projects Mwah

Quick Links Explore popular categories

Products Sellers
About Us Affiliates
Careers Forum
Blog

Privacy Cookies Press Contact Us Sitemap

© 2020 Envato Pty Ltd. Trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners.