How Difficult is it to Learn Design Theory?

Are you curious about learning design theory but worried it might be too hard? The challenges of learning design theory depend on many factors, including how much prior knowledge you have, how quickly you are to master new skills, and how much time you have to devote to learning. Of course, the difficulty that comes with learning a new skill is somewhat subjective.

No matter your current schedule or comfort level with design theory, plenty of tools are available to help make learning easier than you might think.

What is Design Theory?

Design theory is a system that explains how a design works and why it works that way. Every choice that a designer makes has a specific effect on the audience. For instance, a design can communicate, direct, invite, entice, or excite the viewer. Design theory is a way to understand how and why this happens. It gives designers a deeper understanding of how various design choices work together to communicate a specific message. 

When studying design theory, users will learn about design's key elements, including alignment, repetition, contrast, hierarchy, and balance. These elements all have a specific effect on an audience and are an important part of communicating a message in any design. For instance, contrast emphasizes particular aspects of a design or evokes certain feelings in the viewer. Balance can create a feeling of tension or stability, both of which affect the viewer in different ways.

Designers who understand design theory can make better creative choices because they know how these choices will affect an audience. They combine a knowledge of design elements with the specific purpose a design intends to achieve. Thanks to understanding how design works, designers can create a finished product that looks the way they want it to and does what they intend.

Read more about what design theory is and why you should learn it.

What Can You Do with Design Theory?

Design-related careers exist in different industries, and design theory is an essential foundation for many jobs. Designers work in fields like advertising, video editing, magazine publishing, and website creation. They create an array of different products, including advertisements, website graphics, and product packaging. Some designers work on digital designs, such as social media graphics, while others design for non-digital products, like books or business cards.

Almost every industry needs designers, so there will likely be a design job to match every interest. Web design is one popular field that involves creating and maintaining websites. Motion design is another popular design career. In this job, designers apply graphic design principles to filmmaking and video production. Augmented reality design is a newer design field. Designers who work in augmented reality enhance the real-world environment with virtual content, helping to improve the way people interact with the world.

What Are the Most Challenging Parts of Learning Design Theory?

Becoming a designer can be very rewarding, but it is not without challenges. Many design students feel overwhelmed by the time they need to spend learning and practicing design to master it. Learning time management skills is one way to address this challenge. If they learn how to manage their time effectively, students can better juggle the time requirements of classes, projects, and everything else. Many designers say that time management can be particularly important in the field of design because it can be easy to get caught up in the design process and lose track of time.

Another challenge that designers face is learning how to be confident with their own design skills. As a student, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by everything there is to learn and intimated by more experienced designers. One way to build confidence is by starting small and focusing on mastering one specific skill at a time. It’s also important to remember not to become discouraged by mistakes. Instead, students should recognize that everyone makes mistakes sometimes and use their mistakes as a learning experience that will ultimately make them stronger designers.

How Does Learning Design Theory Compare to Other Subjects?

Design theory is about how and why designs work in certain ways. It is not the study of specific design languages or tools like Python or Photoshop. These languages and tools are essential for designers, and there are many ways to learn them. For instance, Noble Desktop offers different bootcamps and classes where students can learn Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and other popular Adobe design applications. 

Design theory classes teach students the effects of various design choices and how they can use design elements to communicate a specific message. However, in contrast to design languages and tools, design theory is a more theoretical field of study. Students of design theory learn the theories that explain how the different elements of design work together to communicate a message.

Things to Remember About Learning Design Theory

One way to make the learning process more manageable is to take advice from people who have already learned about design. Many successful designers are happy to share advice about how they got through their education and became successful in their design careers.

Be Open to New Ideas

Experienced designers consistently advise students to keep themselves open to new ideas. They stress that all designers can benefit from being open to different ideas. Some designers say that it was by collaborating with others that they were able to make their designs stronger. Students should be proud of their ideas and techniques but stay open to new ones.

Always Keep Learning

One thing many successful designers have in common is that they never stop learning. Rather than taking a class and feeling like they are done with their education, they always strive to learn more about design. For instance, some people read design blogs or watch documentaries about design. Others follow current design trends. Another way to learn more about design is to learn new skills through a class. 

Learn Design Theory with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

No matter your schedule or learning style, you can find a design theory course at Noble Desktop. The school runs many different in-person classes at its Manhattan campus, as well as a variety of online courses. Whether online or in-person, all class groups are small and feature instructors who are experts in their fields. In addition, Noble offers a free retake option, where students can choose to retake a course once within a year. Students who opt for the free retake can gain additional design skills without paying for another class.

Design classes come in many different forms. Design bootcamps are one popular way to learn design theory and other design skills and can be a good way for students to master new skills quickly. Graphic Design Portfolio Bootcamp is just one of many different design bootcamps offered by Noble Desktop. In this class, students learn graphic design theory and techniques. For students interested in other types of design, Noble provides a long list of different bootcamps, including a Sketch Bootcamp and a UI Design Bootcamp.

A design certificate can be a good option for those who want more in-depth training. These courses generally run longer than bootcamps and provide a deeper level of design education. Digital Design Certificate is one of Noble’s many certificate classes in the design field. This course is intended to create well-rounded Digital Designers and includes vital design concepts and theory. Like many other bootcamps, it also provides job support.