Looking for software?!
- Thread starter Pathogen
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sudden0utburst
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i agree... final cut pro for mac
Draconian
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You're going to need to Purchase the Adobe creative suite.
Usually those three words intimidate a lot of people but if you would like to learn Graphic Design it's really important that you learn some of the basic principles of design. I highly -HIGHLY- suggest attending a few classes at your local community college to get your feet wet working with design. The reason I recommend it so highly is because most colleges that offer "communication design" or "integrated media" have a wonderful design community build into them where you can network and make some really great friends who really know how to talk shop!
Taking a class on the subject will not only help you advance amazingly fast, It also makes you eligible for the 80% adobe student discount. I paid 450$ CAD for the entire Creative suite. The only catch with student editions is that you can only have one installation running at a time, the program belongs exclusively to you, i.e. You can't sell it to someone else legally or share your CD key and you can't purchase the upgrades. i.e. Version CS5 -> CS6 500$ upgrade packages.
Realistically if you purchase the new CS5.5 you won't need to upgrade for a long long time. It's a small investment into your new 'potential' personal business. If it turns out to be something you really enjoy doing then you can purchase the full version later on when you're actually working in the industry. Generally employers will provide the Adobe package to you through their office machines, and then you have your personal 'student' copy to work with at home.
The adobe creative suite is your best friend, and if it isn't it needs to be.
If you'd like to be a graphic designer you will NEED to know (at least)
-Photoshop
---> all your Photo editing and graphic rendering
-Illustrator
---> Any text, This program is absolutely imperative for creating Vector Images
.i.e. Logos that are meant to be displayed in a large number of sizes
-InDesign
---> Any and all documents and manuscripts. InDesign is what's used for the layout of everything from your local news paper to high end VOUGE fashion or Photoshop User magazine. You can create some pretty amazing interactive documents here as well.
If you take classes for Graphic design it's likely you will go over all of these programs in detail. Another solution is to purchase a couple months worth of lynda.com tutorials. It's 25 bucks a month and they will take you very carefully through very beginner (understanding the toolbar) to very advanced concepts (3d-rendering).
Remember that Graphic design is an amazing amount of work and has an AMAZING expense behind it. That being said the Advertising industry does very well for itself and many good paying jobs exist within it. It's important that you get your skills to a level where people will be happy to pay you 75$ an hour to sit and design graphics for them.
A few good topics to start with are:
-Basic Design Principles
---> Rule of thirds, Golden-mean +more
-Grid
---> The theory on how all documents should be built to be effective
-Typography
---> How, When and Why to use What font
-Iconography
---> The art of communicating information with a single graphic
I could blather on about this for another 3000 words,I'm not sure of your skill level so I'll stop now.
If you have any other question about Graphic design feel free to ask.
Usually those three words intimidate a lot of people but if you would like to learn Graphic Design it's really important that you learn some of the basic principles of design. I highly -HIGHLY- suggest attending a few classes at your local community college to get your feet wet working with design. The reason I recommend it so highly is because most colleges that offer "communication design" or "integrated media" have a wonderful design community build into them where you can network and make some really great friends who really know how to talk shop!
Taking a class on the subject will not only help you advance amazingly fast, It also makes you eligible for the 80% adobe student discount. I paid 450$ CAD for the entire Creative suite. The only catch with student editions is that you can only have one installation running at a time, the program belongs exclusively to you, i.e. You can't sell it to someone else legally or share your CD key and you can't purchase the upgrades. i.e. Version CS5 -> CS6 500$ upgrade packages.
Realistically if you purchase the new CS5.5 you won't need to upgrade for a long long time. It's a small investment into your new 'potential' personal business. If it turns out to be something you really enjoy doing then you can purchase the full version later on when you're actually working in the industry. Generally employers will provide the Adobe package to you through their office machines, and then you have your personal 'student' copy to work with at home.
The adobe creative suite is your best friend, and if it isn't it needs to be.
If you'd like to be a graphic designer you will NEED to know (at least)
-Photoshop
---> all your Photo editing and graphic rendering
-Illustrator
---> Any text, This program is absolutely imperative for creating Vector Images
.i.e. Logos that are meant to be displayed in a large number of sizes
-InDesign
---> Any and all documents and manuscripts. InDesign is what's used for the layout of everything from your local news paper to high end VOUGE fashion or Photoshop User magazine. You can create some pretty amazing interactive documents here as well.
If you take classes for Graphic design it's likely you will go over all of these programs in detail. Another solution is to purchase a couple months worth of lynda.com tutorials. It's 25 bucks a month and they will take you very carefully through very beginner (understanding the toolbar) to very advanced concepts (3d-rendering).
Remember that Graphic design is an amazing amount of work and has an AMAZING expense behind it. That being said the Advertising industry does very well for itself and many good paying jobs exist within it. It's important that you get your skills to a level where people will be happy to pay you 75$ an hour to sit and design graphics for them.
A few good topics to start with are:
-Basic Design Principles
---> Rule of thirds, Golden-mean +more
-Grid
---> The theory on how all documents should be built to be effective
-Typography
---> How, When and Why to use What font
-Iconography
---> The art of communicating information with a single graphic
I could blather on about this for another 3000 words,I'm not sure of your skill level so I'll stop now.
If you have any other question about Graphic design feel free to ask.
Pretty much what Draconian said-- as a Graphic Designer, I have mainly used Photoshop, Indesign, Illustrator and Dreamweaver. So yes, getting a copy of Adobe Creative Suite is definitely in your best interest.
Taking classes and learning HTML is also a very good idea...these days, being simply a "designer" is not enough. The industry wants you to also know how to code as well as design, as web design is taking over... Also from my experience, if you decide to take classes, don't go to Art Institute, as they sadly did not prepare us correctly for the degree and tend to have a bad reputation as a school... I learned much more through internships and online tutorials than from them...But who knows, maybe your branch is more reputable. Do your research.
Sorry for the spiel there
but definitely at least download the trial version from Adobe and get a feel for the programs and always look for inspiration anywhere you can! Good luck!
Taking classes and learning HTML is also a very good idea...these days, being simply a "designer" is not enough. The industry wants you to also know how to code as well as design, as web design is taking over... Also from my experience, if you decide to take classes, don't go to Art Institute, as they sadly did not prepare us correctly for the degree and tend to have a bad reputation as a school... I learned much more through internships and online tutorials than from them...But who knows, maybe your branch is more reputable. Do your research.
Sorry for the spiel there
but definitely at least download the trial version from Adobe and get a feel for the programs and always look for inspiration anywhere you can! Good luck!- Status
