How do Beginners Learn Design?

As a beginner in design, your learning journey starts with discovering the fundamental principles of the field and familiarizing yourself with the essential tools of your chosen discipline. You’ll explore various aspects of design, from color theory and typography to layout and composition. While free resources like online tutorials and YouTube videos can provide high-level overviews and answers to simple, specific questions, the most effective way to learn is through hands-on practice with expert guidance in live online or in-person courses. These classes offer structured learning paths and real-time feedback, which are crucial for beginners to develop proper techniques and avoid common pitfalls. This article will guide you through the initial steps of your design education, from selecting the right tools to choosing the best learning resources and methods for your goals.

Getting Started with Design

Before diving into design, beginners must ensure they have the right tools for the job. They’ll need a computer powerful enough to run design software smoothly, including ample RAM and a decent graphics card. Once their hardware is set up and connected to reliable high-speed internet, beginners may wish to acquire licenses for industry-standard software like Adobe Creative Cloud, Figma, or the tools associated with the learner’s design discipline. However, learners who plan to enroll in live online or in-person classes may wish to hold off on this step, as these classes sometimes provide learners with access to the necessary applications for the duration of the course. 

Basic knowledge of computer operations and file management are essential prerequisites for learning design, typically listed as the only requirements to enroll in beginner-friendly classes. A fundamental understanding of design vocabulary and concepts can also be helpful before attending any course, which the learner can pick up quickly using free design resources and tutorials.

The First Steps When Learning Design

Whether an individual is learning graphic design, digital design, or another discipline of the field, the first step will virtually always be mastering the core principles of design and how they apply in the specific sector. Beginners will usually start by studying color theory so they can understand how different hues interact, communicate, and affect the viewer’s visual perception. Typography is another essential concept most learn early in their design education, enabling them to select, manipulate, and pair fonts that support effective communication through readability and aesthetic appeal. Layout and composition skills are also helpful foundational tools that allow design students to organize the visual elements of their projects—whether they be logos, user interfaces, newsletters, or title sequences—to create balanced and impactful designs.

Understanding these fundamentals allows novice designers to create cohesive and visually appealing work with the various applications of their sector as they master them. As they progress and learn to use these applications—which will likely be some combination of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, and Figma—learners will apply the foundational principles of design to specific areas like logo design, branding, or web design. Practicing with real-world projects in live design courses will help solidify these concepts and, for aspiring professional designers, provide materials for building the portfolio vital for impressing prospective employers in the design world.

Free Design Tools for Beginners

Numerous free resources and tools are available to support beginners in their design learning journey. Adobe and other industry-standard software companies provide free trial periods for their programs, allowing beginners to explore professional-grade tools without immediate financial commitment. These trials are perfect for hands-on experimentation and can be coupled with free tutorials and online seminars hosted on the websites of software companies and professional training centers like Noble Desktop.

Beyond software trials, several platforms provide free design resources and learning materials that are especially helpful for beginners. Noble Desktop and other design schools offer free seminars on a variety of design topics pertinent to beginners. For example, Noble’s Getting Started in Design seminar introduces newcomers to various design disciplines, helping them identify their areas of interest. Articles like those published by Noble Desktop in their Learn Hub and blog posts published by working designers can also provide significant insights that can help design learners plan their learning journey, answer their questions, and stay abreast of industry news. Design learners may also wish to peruse YouTube, their favorite podcast apps, and their local library for other design resources that suit their learning style. By leveraging these free design learning tools, beginners can build a solid foundation in their skill set before investing in more comprehensive training or professional-grade software licenses.

Live Design Training for Beginners

While free resources are a great place for beginners to begin to explore the topic of design, live design training is a must for those who wish to dive deeper into the skill set—and especially those who aspire to launch a new career in graphic design, digital design, or any other sector of the field. This learning format features a set schedule of class meetings led by a live expert instructor who leads students through a structured curriculum, ensuring comprehensive coverage of the skills included in the scope of the class. Real-time feedback allows students to correct mistakes immediately, cutting frustrations short and preventing the formation of bad habits. Interactive class sessions—whether hosted in-person in a brick-and-mortar classroom or online in a virtual classroom—also foster a collaborative learning environment where beginners can draw inspiration from peers and gain insights from experienced professionals.

Live design courses often include practical projects that simulate real-world design challenges, preparing students for professional work. Additionally, many programs offer career support and portfolio development guidance, which are invaluable for those looking to enter the design industry. Even those whose design learning needs are less extensive than launching a career will benefit from the accountability and structure of a live instructor, set schedule, and proven curriculum to meet their learning goals. Whether a design beginner is looking for a simple introductory short course or a comprehensive career-focused certificate program, Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me tool makes it easy to find a live design class to meet their needs and learning objectives.

The Next Step

As beginners gain proficiency in basic design skills, they can progress to more advanced training. If they choose to enroll in an all-in-one comprehensive career-focused bootcamp like Noble’s Graphic Design Certificate program, then they will have the guidance of a structured curriculum and expert instructor to walk them through learning the intermediate and advanced steps of learning design. These will vary depending upon what discipline of design an individual is studying, though they will typically include mastering the tools of the trade, more advanced techniques, and building upon foundational design concepts to a solid knowledge of current industry best practices, effective communication with clients, and other skills vital for a working designer. However, an advanced level of design training isn’t enough to get a job—or clients as a freelancer—in the world of design. A career-focused bootcamp or certificate program will usually provide students with career support to ensure graduates are able to meet their professional goals, including assistance in building the professional portfolio that is a must for designers for showcasing their skills to prospective employers or clients.

For those who choose to begin their design education in introductory classes—whether they aspire to launch a career as a designer eventually or they are learning design for any other personal or professional reason—intermediate and advanced short courses and bootcamps are likely to be their next step. These can help learners delve more deeply into specialized areas such as UX design, motion graphics, or brand identity development, allowing those whose learning objectives are more limited to choose a streamlined training option more focused on their specific needs than a comprehensive certificate program might be. However, some may begin their design education in introductory short courses before determining whether they wish to invest in a comprehensive bootcamp or certificate program. These individuals will likely find that enrolling in one of these will be more beneficial than attempting to assemble their own training a la carte with advanced short courses, as this path will be more costly, less time efficient, prone to fostering gaps in knowledge, and lacking in career support provided by a comprehensive, career-focused bootcamp.

Learn Design Skills with Noble Desktop

Design and coding school Noble Desktop provides a vast menu of design classes led by live expert instructors whether you choose to attend in-person in NYC or live online from anywhere in the world. Their flexible scheduling options allow you to participate as a full-time or part-time student, ensuring you can meet your learning goals no matter your current calendar. Noble Desktop provides classes in various scopes and design-related topics, from beginner-friendly short courses on tools like Photoshop or After Effects to comprehensive career-focused certificate programs in various design disciplines, including graphic design, web design, UX/UI design, motion graphics design, and video editing. Noble keeps their class size small to ensure all learners can receive personalized guidance and immediate feedback from their expert instructors, all of whom are experienced industry professionals invested in the success of their students. In fact, Noble Desktop’s dedication to helping their students achieve their goals is evident in its many perks, including verified digital certificates of completion, free retakes of all their courses within one year, and one-on-one mentorship in all career-focused certificate classes. 

If you’re interested in learning design skills to launch a career as a Graphic Designer, you may wish to enroll in Noble Desktop’s Graphic Design Certificate program. Students in this course will learn essential graphic design principles and turn them into practical knowledge through extensive hands-on projects, creating projects such as signage, infographics, product packaging, logos, and branded merchandise. Students will be job-ready by the end of the certificate program, having built expertise in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, and they will have a professional quality portfolio ready to showcase their design skills to prospective employers alongside their impressive verified certificate of completion for the program.

Noble Desktop’s Digital Design Certificate program will arm you with the design skills you need to work in digital design, user interface (UI) design, web design, or graphic design. In this certificate program, you’ll learn the core tools of the trade—Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Figma—and key digital design concepts and theory. With no coding required, this program allows you to focus on what matters to you—designing aesthetically pleasing and functional user interfaces, websites, and other digital products. Like all of Noble Desktop’s Certificate Programs, the Digital Design Certificate features one-on-one mentorship for career support, portfolio-building assistance, and a verified digital certificate of completion.

Noble Desktop’s Motion Graphics Certificate program offers practical training in motion graphics and visual effects using Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro, Audition, and Cinema 4D in After Effects. With the help of your expert instructors, you’ll develop skills in motion graphics design, animation, and video production. With career support, portfolio-building assistance, and a free retake option, students will be ready to impress hiring managers looking for a new entry-level Motion Graphics Designer.