What Skills Should Designers Have?
Design, at its core, is communication. Designers will use their skills to communicate what a client or manager requests of them. Having a deep understanding of the audience the design needs to communicate to as well as the client that the Designer is working for will be the basis of all of a Designer’s work. Verbal communication skills will be at the forefront of every project. Designers need to be detail-oriented and good at planning. They’ll also need to be able to accept critical feedback and make suggested edits to their work, within reason, regardless of whether that edit is their preference.
Designers will need to be familiar with design thinking and principles, be able to research the audience they are creating for, ask appropriate questions, and keep up with industry trends even when they are not actively implementing them.
Adobe Creative Suite is the toolbox of the digital age. Most Designers will use one or more of these applications for the majority of their work. This might be Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, or Premiere Pro. Some Design professionals will also need tactile design skills like wireframing on paper, making templates, patterns, or stencils, and tangible models or prototypes. Various digital design specializations will also need to be proficient in other softwares like InVision, AutoCAD, or Sketch.
Learn the Skills You Need to Become a Designer
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Graphic Design
Graphic design is the creation of visual content to communicate a message. Graphic design uses visual hierarchy, typography, photo editing, spacial awareness, empathy, color theory, and more to create visually appealing and communicative images. Graphic design can be done with software like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, Figma, and Sketch.
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Web Design
Web design is the process of creating the look and feel of a website. This includes web page layout, content production, copywriting, graphic design, typography, user-flow, and some coding. Web design can be done using tools like a code editor, templates, and photoshop.
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Video Editing
Video editing is most commonly the use of digital software to manipulate and organize video and sound files into a final deliverable. Video Editors use software like Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro, Filmora, and others to create videos that compel, convert, inform, or tell a story.
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Photoshop
Photoshop is a software application created by Adobe for image editing and photo retouching on Windows or macOS computers. Photoshop can be used to manipulate and retouch photos. It can also be used to create compositions, collages, design comprehensives, and more.
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UX Design
UX Design stands for User Experience Design which is the practice of designing software and other applications with the user in mind. This means researching, testing, and designing a product using empathy and end-user avatars.
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Adobe
Adobe is an international software company based in the United States. Adobe is best known for its web software ecosystem Flash but also distributes creative software like Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, Lightroom, InDesign, XD, Muse, Dreamweaver, Spark, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition, and more.
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InDesign
InDesign is a computer software created by Adobe for publishing and typesetting. It can also be used to create posts, flyers, magazines, brochures, newspapers, books, and presentations.
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AutoCAD
AutoCAD is a commercial computer-aided design and drafting software developed by Autodesk. AutoCAD is used to create 2D drawings and 3D models.
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Illustrator
Illustrator is a computer program for design developed by Adobe. Illustrator is used by designers to create and edit vector graphics. It can be used for print, web, applications, videos, animations, and more.
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Motion Graphics
Motion graphics are pieces of digital footage or animation that create the illusion of motion. They are usually combined with audio and used in multimedia projects. Adobe After Effects is the most popular motion graphics software.
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Visual Design
Visual design is a set of strategic best practices used to improve a design or product's aesthetic appeal and usability through the selection of appropriate images, typography, use of space, hierarchy, color, and layout.