
Are you thinking about a career in graphic design? If you have a creative flair and an eye for style, graphic design is an excellent way to turn your talents into a sustainable career.
A graphic designer is a visual communicator. As a designer, your role is to get across a message, from advertising sales to directing theatregoers towards the exit. Graphic designers work across published, online, broadcast and social media. They’re responsible for the look of so many features of our daily lives, from brand logos to food packaging.
As you can see, graphic design certainly offers variety, so if you want a fast-moving and varied career it’s a good route to go down. It also combines art and tech skills in a way that very few professions do.
Renowned graphic designer Paula Scher is optimistic that given the right attitude and interest, we can all develop our skills in the subject.
“In order to be a designer, you’ll need some sense of creativity, affinity for culture, graphic sensibility, and curiosity – the rest you’ll be able to learn on the way,” she says in her BBC Maestro course.
In this article, we look at how to learn graphic design, along with words of wisdom from Paula Scher herself.
What qualifications do I need to be a graphic designer?
There are various college and degree courses in graphic design. Experience and a strong portfolio count a lot in the creative professions, along with testimonials from your delighted clients. However, when you’re starting out, a qualification in graphic design can help.
You could take a qualification in graphic design itself, or a crossover subject such as art, illustration or communication design. Related studies such as marketing degrees or IT and user interface design courses can also be an advantage. We’ll look more at graphic design courses in a moment.
Do you need specific skills to become a graphic designer? Paula Scher rates the ability to communicate well above hard artistic skills:
“You don’t necessarily have to ‘know’ how to draw, (although everyone can draw) but you will need to be able to express your ideas and describe those ideas to others so they can see what you’re seeing. This is a huge part of graphic design – showing people what you’re seeing and thinking.”
How to become a graphic designer in 12 steps
So where do you start? Committing yourself to learning as much about graphic design as possible and taking every opportunity to develop your experience and skills, is a good start.
Learning how to become a graphic designer is a combination of self-directed study, formal training and practical experience. We’ve broken this down into 12 steps to help guide you through the learning process. Some steps overlap, and you might find that you can skip a stage or two, but it will give you an idea of what’s expected.
1. Have a notebook and a pen
According to Paula Scher, this is where it all starts. As a graphic artist, you’ll start using all sorts of design software – but nothing quite compares to whipping out a notebook and jotting down ideas as they occur to you.
Get in the habit of making notes and sketches of designs that catch your eye when you’re out and about. This starts out as a learning tool but will grow into a useful databank for future inspiration.

2. Be aware of what’s around you
Everything is designed, everything you read is designed, anything that is a sign on the street is designed. They’re designed by somebody.
Paula Scher, Graphic Designer
As Paula Scher comments above, graphic design is everywhere. As you work more and more in the field, you’ll notice every street sign you walk past, every chocolate bar you unwrap, and every badge on every car. Once you switch to thinking about design, you realise just how much graphic designers contribute towards our everyday culture.
You can learn a lot about graphic design by looking at logos. Paula Scher advocates spending time on this:
“Great logos are worth studying so you can learn what elements of logo design are successful and able to stand the test of time.”
Start to look at design more critically. Jot down comments and sketches and begin to evaluate what you’re looking at. It’s amazing how flexing your design muscles like this can help you develop your knowledge and skills.
3. Know your graphic design history
The next step is to learn what’s going on behind the artwork. Move on from just looking at contemporary examples and find out more about the history of design. Paula Scher emphasises the importance of studying the background of graphic design:
“I’d like to stress how much designers learn from history and from each other. Learning from successful design examples is a necessity for all graphic designers, not an option. And this is just a start.”
Look out for exhibitions or see what books you can find on the subject. Search out specific genres, like advertising and information posters. Dive into the study of old railway posters as a way to follow the story of graphic art, with designs by artists like Tom Purvis and Ronald Lampitt.
Follow the development of an old brand like Coca-Cola to see how their look and logo has changed over time. Paula explains why a critical study of branding art history is so important:
“ Seeing the work of others helps you understand why designers made certain choices – especially in the context of time periods and styles – and why other design decisions would have been less successful.”
4. Enrol in a graphic design course
Do you need to enrol on a graphic design course to become a professional designer? Not necessarily, but it is recommended. While you can teach yourself the fundamentals of design, nothing matches the guidance given and the challenges posed by an experienced mentor. Assignments give you a taste of working on a design brief, and you’ll also experience working as part of a creative team with your peers.
You can choose whether to do a full degree course or enrol on something more vocational. If you’re making a career switch and already have a job, check out evening classes, remote courses and part-time study.
What will you learn in a graphic design course? Even on a shorter course, you’ll most likely cover the basics like typography, colour theory, layout and software. You might also look at design history and take modules in related topics such as web design, user experience and marketing.
You can look into specialist areas, even at this early stage. Writing about environmental graphic design (signage), Paula Scher says:
“This niche of graphic design can seem difficult to get into, but it’s very much achievable. Many schools have courses specialising in exhibit or environmental design.”
From museum interpretation boards to icons and emojis, you can start exploring the more specific aspects of graphic design at an early stage. Play to your existing strengths: if you’re making the move from words to pictures, look into editorial design, for example.
A thorough course will also look at how to break into the industry, how to set up in business and how to manage your portfolio. You should also come away with a good grounding in working as part of a team and how to work with your clients – which any experienced designer will tell you how important it is.
5. Learn graphic design principles
At some point, whether in college or through your wider reading, you’ll come across the principles of graphic design.
- Alignment
- Contrast
- Repetition
- Scale
- Hierarchy
- Balance
- Negative space
These are the fundamentals of design that all new artists need to learn, and which will eventually become second nature in your work.
6. Increase your use of graphic design tools
As well as the famous notepad and pen, you’ll need to become familiar with graphic design software. Most designers will use programmes such as Adobe InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop, as well as Figma. Again, a graphic design course will help you get up to speed with graphics packages and apps.
Invest in a tablet and stylus, and a camera is always handy. Even the one on your phone will do to capture quick snaps on walkarounds, or to grab a picture of an inspirational sign or poster.
7. Network with helpful people
Meeting the right people is one of the best reasons to enrol on a graphic design course. As well as the expert mentorship of your tutors, your fellow students will be your peers of the future – they’re potential business partners, colleagues and clients. Attend exhibitions, talks and additional courses where you could meet other designers, advisers and eventually, customers.
Teaming up with creatives from other disciplines can also help you in the future, and your clients will be impressed when you pull a talented photographer, copywriter and web builder out of your hat. LinkedIn is a good virtual networking option or consider renting a desk at a coworking space.
8. Keep refining your skills
Keep drawing, keep thinking and always have your designer’s eyes open when you’re out and about. Sit on the sofa sketching in the evening and drag the family to an art gallery at the weekend to see how the Impressionists revolutionised natural composition.
At the same time, develop your other skills. If you lack confidence in pitching, this is something to work on because designers need to be good at presenting to clients.
This is a good point to mention another valuable piece of advice from Paula Scher: play to your strengths. “I’m not a great salesperson but I’m a good teacher”, Paula tells us. “I can explain to someone why something is good.” What existing skills do you have that you can build on to help your career as a graphic designer?
9. Build a portfolio
How do you build a graphic design portfolio when you’re just starting out? During your graphic design course or degree, you’ll have been producing lots of quality work – this is a great foundation for your first portfolio. If this still feels a bit thin, volunteer to design the graphics for the local am-dram production or a society newsletter.
Remember, your portfolio is a living thing, and it keeps changing as your skills and direction as an artist develop. After a couple of years in the profession, you’ll have replaced your course project work with more recent examples.
A great way to build your portfolio in the early days is to apply for unpaid work experience or an internship. This might even form part of your college or degree course.
10. Look into internships
Towards the end of your study, it’s time to look for professional experience, and for a lot of new designers, this can take the form of an internship. This could even have formed a practical component of your degree or foundation course.
While unpaid work can feel painful, if you can afford time spent working for free, the experience will help you prosper. You’ll gain contacts and upgrade your portfolio, while learning the tricks of the trade. Your voluntary work or internship could even open doors for paid employment within that organisation.
11. Find your first job
There are three main avenues of employment for a graphic designer:
- As part of the in-house team – or in the case of a smaller company, as the entire in-house team. These designers are responsible for all the design output for a single company, from the lavatory signage to the customer newsletters.
- For a design agency – you’ll be one of a team of designers who carry out agency projects for a range of clients. It could be a specialist graphic design agency or a wider agency such as marketing or web design.
- Working as a freelancer – this is often easier when you have some employed experience behind you, as your portfolio will need to be weighty enough to inspire confidence.
Your first paid employment is likely to be at a junior level. This can be a shock if you’ve come to graphic design as a career later in life. But you’ve done it – you’re now a professional graphic designer, one of those talented people who help to shape the everyday world.
12. Keep learning
Finally, never stop learning about graphic design. As we’ve seen, design plays a major role in our culture, so we need to keep adapting, changing, and growing to stay current and get ahead. Paula Scher advises all designers to:
“Immerse yourself in other work and the world, that’s where inspiration comes from. Be informed and broaden your mind by reading, watching, and looking.”
Be aware of popular culture, read trade publications and keep networking with other experts. Go to conferences and exhibitions when you can – and always, always keep that notepad and pen to hand.
How long does it take to become a graphic designer?
A typical degree course takes three to four years, or you could apply for a one- or two-year foundation-type or college course. The time it takes from knowing very little about graphic design to completing your first commission varies.
Starting a new career takes time, and you’ll know when you’re ready to apply for that first job. Then, keep growing and developing as a designer, and you’ll have a long and rewarding career in visual communication.
It doesn’t matter if you begin with nothing but a love for vintage posters and typefaces. As Paula Scher says, you can learn on the way.
“You started out not knowing much but it’s easier to learn a lot when you don’t know anything.”
Do you want to learn more about working as a graphic designer? Paula Scher provides plenty of guidance for potential graphic designers in her in-depth BBC Maestro course, Graphic Design.