12 Free Ways to Learn Design

You don’t always have to spend money to make money. There’s plenty of free information available and it is now possible to learn how to design online. Here are twelve great tips, all at no cost to you.

1. Learn Your History

You might think that design’s path through time is irrelevant, but understanding the cultural and technological shifts that have led to current trends is essential for being the best designer you can be. For a comprehensive look at the history of design, see DesignHistory. For a more pop-cultural approach, try DesignIsHistory.

2. Understand the Basic Terminology

Do yourself a favor and study this. It’s a basic glossary to start familiarizing yourself with the industry lingo.

3. Navigate the Design Blogosphere

You already have a head start on this one. Creative Market is just one of many design blogs worth a read. Take some time and pick out blogs that speak to you and your aesthetic. We recommend DesignTaxi and Smashing Magazine.

4. Follow Your Favorite Designers on Social Media

@psahre is the owner of one of the most influential design firms in the country.

Designers, say it with me: “No”

— Paul Sahre (@psahre) March 5, 2015

@timothyogoodman is on the faculty of the New York School for the Visual Arts
Design Wisdom:

Meetings are the death of creativity.

— Timothy Goodman (@timothyogoodman) April 21, 2015

@jessicawalsh has received multiple awards for her design work.
Design Wisdom:

Note to self: make less pretty crap. Make more with heart and voice. http://t.co/QitahXpj8b

— jessicawalsh (@jessicawalsh) October 21, 2014

These designers post great articles, artwork and inspiring advice. There are lots more to follow on this roundup.

5. Research the Greats

Take some time to understand the minds and perspectives of great designers of the past. There is plenty to learn from the geniuses that have shaped our field, so study them carefully. Start with these movers and shakers: Saul Bass, Paula Scher and David Carson.

6. Study Other Designers’ Work in Online Marketplaces

The internet is the best way for new designers to display their work. Study what is selling and what isn’t, and try to identify why some designers are successful while others remain unpopular.

7. Use Free Adobe Alternatives

If you’ve been around this space for enough time there’s one truth that you’ll eventually have to come to terms with: design software isn’t cheap. Until you can afford the pro tools, use the many free alternatives available. Pixlr is a great Photoshop alternative. Inkscape is closer to Illustrator/InDesign. Snapseed (iPhone) and Snapseed (Android) are amazing on-the-go design tools for your handheld device.

8. Take Free Online Classes

Design school can very expensive. Save yourself some cash by learning to code and design online. CodeHS and Code.org are two great places to learn for free.

9. Watch Great Design YouTube Channels

Great is the operative word here. There are plenty of poorly made design videos that will only teach you what not to do. Seek out the gems, such as TastyTuts or Learn Digital Design.

10. Watch TED Talks on Design

TED Talks are like free mini-master classes, so you should have a basic understanding of the design world before watching. The more you know about the field, the more you’ll get out of each talk. Here is a curated list that we created to inspire you.

11. Practice by Recreating Your Favorite Work

Take a look at some famous graphic design pieces and try to recreate them. As you do so, don’t just trace them. Instead, envision the entire creative process behind the designs: what was this person thinking about when he/she decided to include this? What was the communication goal here? Put yourself in that designer’s shoes.

12. Make Something New

There’s no better way to learn than by doing. Don’t underestimate fun, free projects that take you out of your design comfort zone. No matter how rough or overwhelming it gets, finish these projects. At the end of the day, these are the opportunities that allow you to explore your range and grow as a designer.

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What are you waiting for? Now that money isn’t holding you back, go ahead and get started now. With some determination, patience and this great list of tips, you’ll be designing like a pro in no time.

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Products Seen In This Post:

      

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12 Free Ways to Learn Design

12 Free Ways to Learn Design

You don’t always have to spend money to make money. There’s plenty of free information available and it is now possible to learn how to design online. Here are twelve great tips, all at no cost to you.

1. Learn Your History

You might think that design’s path through time is irrelevant, but understanding the cultural and technological shifts that have led to current trends is essential for being the best designer you can be. For a comprehensive look at the history of design, see DesignHistory. For a more pop-cultural approach, try DesignIsHistory.

2. Understand the Basic Terminology

Do yourself a favor and study this. It’s a basic glossary to start familiarizing yourself with the industry lingo.

3. Navigate the Design Blogosphere

You already have a head start on this one. Creative Market is just one of many design blogs worth a read. Take some time and pick out blogs that speak to you and your aesthetic. We recommend DesignTaxi and Smashing Magazine.

4. Follow Your Favorite Designers on Social Media

@psahre is the owner of one of the most influential design firms in the country.

Designers, say it with me: “No”

— Paul Sahre (@psahre) March 5, 2015

@timothyogoodman is on the faculty of the New York School for the Visual Arts
Design Wisdom:

Meetings are the death of creativity.

— Timothy Goodman (@timothyogoodman) April 21, 2015

@jessicawalsh has received multiple awards for her design work.
Design Wisdom:

Note to self: make less pretty crap. Make more with heart and voice. http://t.co/QitahXpj8b

— jessicawalsh (@jessicawalsh) October 21, 2014

These designers post great articles, artwork and inspiring advice. There are lots more to follow on this roundup.

5. Research the Greats

Take some time to understand the minds and perspectives of great designers of the past. There is plenty to learn from the geniuses that have shaped our field, so study them carefully. Start with these movers and shakers: Saul Bass, Paula Scher and David Carson.

6. Study Other Designers’ Work in Online Marketplaces

The internet is the best way for new designers to display their work. Study what is selling and what isn’t, and try to identify why some designers are successful while others remain unpopular.

7. Use Free Adobe Alternatives

If you’ve been around this space for enough time there’s one truth that you’ll eventually have to come to terms with: design software isn’t cheap. Until you can afford the pro tools, use the many free alternatives available. Pixlr is a great Photoshop alternative. Inkscape is closer to Illustrator/InDesign. Snapseed (iPhone) and Snapseed (Android) are amazing on-the-go design tools for your handheld device.

8. Take Free Online Classes

Design school can very expensive. Save yourself some cash by learning to code and design online. CodeHS and Code.org are two great places to learn for free.

9. Watch Great Design YouTube Channels

Great is the operative word here. There are plenty of poorly made design videos that will only teach you what not to do. Seek out the gems, such as TastyTuts or Learn Digital Design.

10. Watch TED Talks on Design

TED Talks are like free mini-master classes, so you should have a basic understanding of the design world before watching. The more you know about the field, the more you’ll get out of each talk. Here is a curated list that we created to inspire you.

11. Practice by Recreating Your Favorite Work

Take a look at some famous graphic design pieces and try to recreate them. As you do so, don’t just trace them. Instead, envision the entire creative process behind the designs: what was this person thinking about when he/she decided to include this? What was the communication goal here? Put yourself in that designer’s shoes.

12. Make Something New

There’s no better way to learn than by doing. Don’t underestimate fun, free projects that take you out of your design comfort zone. No matter how rough or overwhelming it gets, finish these projects. At the end of the day, these are the opportunities that allow you to explore your range and grow as a designer.

---

What are you waiting for? Now that money isn’t holding you back, go ahead and get started now. With some determination, patience and this great list of tips, you’ll be designing like a pro in no time.

---

Products Seen In This Post:

      

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12 Free Ways to Learn Design

Learn The Trick to Creating Seamless Patterns in Illustrator

We’re teaming up with Skillshare to bring you some fantastic premium design tutorials. In this post, you’ll see an excerpt from Bonnie Christine’s class on surface pattern design. She’ll teach you how to quickly and easily create seamless, repeating patterns in Adobe Illustrator.

If you’ve ever tried to make a seamless pattern on your own, you know that it’s a tricky task. Bonnie’s method is so simple though, you won’t believe how quickly you can make awesome vector patterns.

This is just a small sample of Bonnie’s awesome full course on pattern creation. Head over to Skillshare to view the other videos.

Popular Patterns

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

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Learn The Trick to Creating Seamless Patterns in Illustrator

Learn All The Most Important Typography Terms From One Poster

Ever heard of a tittle? Did you know that a ball terminal was a thing or what a beak looks like? If you didn’t, get this poster. It’s a clean and pretty way to learn typography that shows you all of the different terms in a nice presentation. And hey, even if you do know typography like the back of your ear (see what I did there?), then this can still work as a handy reference guide in a pinch. Just hang it up on the wall in front of your computer so it’s always within view.

Plus, it’s , and who can turn down cool art for under ? Not me, I tell you. Not me.

Buy it now at Pop Chart Lab

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Kevin Whipps is a writer and editor based in Phoenix, Arizona. When he’s not working on one of the many projects in his queue, he’s looking for fun and irreverent things online to share with his friends.
Learn All The Most Important Typography Terms From One Poster

Be: Learn How to Spend Less Time on Each Web Design Project with Pre-Made Layouts

Don’t worry: you no longer have to outsource different parts of your web design projects. You can now transform your client’s project into reality by yourself, without coding, using a multi-purpose WordPress Theme. Focus instead on developing your creative skills. In the end, no matter what you read or others tell you, it’s the front end that counts the most – the design of the website.

Why bother considering it?

Not only does a multi-purpose WP theme save you time and money, but it also gives you the freedom to be creative. Therefore, build a list of productivity habits and put this on the top of your list. Discipline is another thing that you should add on that list. Most if not all successful web designer have a fierce work discipline. Another productivity hack is to construct a set of questions that can be easily applied to any project. Here are some examples:

• What are the tools that I need to complete the project as fast as possible?


• What is the layout that best fits my client’s desired outcome?


• How can I limit coding to the bare minimum?

Case Study: Be Theme

We have chosen Be Theme for our case study. It’s a Multi-purpose WP Theme and Themeforest Top Seller. Be Theme has more than 100 beautiful pre-made layouts that cover every area of activity that you can think of: from sport, plumbing to PR and politics. No matter who your client is, Be has you covered. It’s one of the most versatile WP themes out there.

As it was written above, Be offers a massive amount of pre-made layouts that can be effortlessly adapted to any web design project that you have. Below, we’re going to show you how easy it is to install one and start editing it.

Step 1- After installing Be, click on BeTheme Demo data.

Step 2 – Scroll and select your pre-made layout, then click on “Import Demo Data”.

Step 3- Congratulations, you have now imported a pre-made layout. Go in the Pages screen of your WordPress dashboard and start editing it. You can use Visual Composer or Muffin Builder for the task. You can even use them both at the same time.

To sum up, installing a pre-made layout only required three steps and can be completed in under one minute.

We recommend Be Theme because of the following:

• Be has a visual editor of its own (Muffin Builder) that can help you easily edit and build new pages;


• Be comes with the popular Visual Composer too;


• You can select from 6 different responsive grid layouts – boxed or full width- and 6 header layouts.


• Be is highly recommended for web designers who have little or limited coding knowledge;


• Be’s beautiful pre-made layouts have already done half of the job for you;


• Be also means 6 different grid layouts to save time & money while creating a responsive website.

To sum up, Be theme incorporates the latest design trends, including a balanced mix of functionality and eye-candy UX. It’s easy to use and its pre-made layouts are a gold mine.

Here are some pre-made layouts that you will get with the Be Theme:

As you can see in the examples above, Be provides special layouts for blogs, portfolios and e-commerce websites.

Great front-end editing tools and more than 200 shortcodes

Besides Muffing Builder and Visual Composer, Be Theme comes with other wonderful tools such as Layer Slider. Start turning image galleries, sliders and slideshows into real works of art using Layer Slider. It is a really effective tool with customizable features, which allows you to create outstanding parallax effects. Therefore, impress your clients and make them eager to return to your website later using the latest cutting edge technologies.

For those who have coding knowledge, but limited time, Be Theme offer more than 200 shortcodes from Typography, buttons to cool links and image frames and pop-up. You can find the full list here.

Choose Be Theme

Be makes everything faster and smoother. You have to start somewhere. Discover the benefits of the one-man-show experience and plan your actions in a wise and disciplined manner to get beautiful outcomes. Start using Be Theme today to fulfill your creative expectations and build websites faster and easier. Create a long-lasting relationship with your audience and enjoy working with the latest technologies of web design. Be creative: play and achieve.

Be: Learn How to Spend Less Time on Each Web Design Project with Pre-Made Layouts

Learn To Draw Like Disney With These Awesome Free Videos

There have been lots of animation legends over the years, but the creations designed by Walt Disney and his company stand the test of time. Have you ever wondered how they do the magic that they do? Now you can find out yourself.

Alan Becker is an animator himself, and being inspired by the legendary Disney animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, he decided to put together a series of videos that show the 12 principles of animation. It’s a how-to guide showing you (quite literally) how to create the magic that Johnston and Thomas did for years with Disney, and it’s awesome.

We’ve included the first few videos here, but feel free to check out Becker’s YouTube playlist for the rest.

Squash & Stretch

Staging

Solid Drawing

via Design Taxi

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Kevin Whipps is a writer and editor based in Phoenix, Arizona. When he’s not working on one of the many projects in his queue, he’s looking for fun and irreverent things online to share with his friends.
Learn To Draw Like Disney With These Awesome Free Videos

7 Free eBooks To Learn AngularJS

So you’ve been following this Angular series (if you haven’t, start from the top here) and have come to a point where you are somewhat comfortable with playing with Angular or even building an app with it. For a more complete guideline when studying a project, we can always go to ebooks.

Ebooks give you a structural and organized way to learn a new topic, and it is no different with AngularJS. The best thing about ebooks these days however is that it can be heavily supplemented with practical exercises that can help you strengthen your grasp and understanding of certain aspects.

Let’s explore AngularJS with these 7 ebooks – some comprehensive, some fun, but all educational and won’t cause you a dime when read online.

Recommended Reading: More AngularJS related articles.

1. AngularJS In 60 Minutes

If you have already gone through the video tutorial by Dan Wahlin, titled AngularJS-ish in 60 Minutes, AngularJS in 60 Minutes is a great help. The ebook carries the transcription of the video (done by Ian Smith) with relevant screenshots and the timestamp of when a topic comes up. If you prefer some text to go along with the video, then this is the ebook to get.

2. Recipes With AngularJS

Recipes With AngularJS is written by Frederik Dietz and is available to read online and as an ebook on Leanpub and Amazon. A cookbook of sorts, Recipes is a highly comprehensive book that deals with learning Anuglar in an organized and easy to understand way. Each section carries problems, solutions and discussions that will help guide you through Angular effectively. The code examples shown in the book are available in GitHub.

3. Practical AngularJS

Using real-life scenarios and examples, you will be introduced to building simple applications with AngularJS and Firebase in Eclipse IDE. You’ll also learn how to add control, wire up and create components, inside Eclipse. There are also sections on how to use KarmaJS to test your applications, how to use Firebase, miscellaneous tricks and troubelshooting you can use. Practical AngularJS by Dinis Cruz is available to read for free and to buy on Leanpub.

4. AngularJS Succinctly

Here is another AngularJS book written by Frederik Dietz. AngularJS Succinctly contains 10 chapters of problems, solutions and in-depth discussion to help you grasp the idea of Angular quickly. Learn the basics on using controllers, directives and filters all the way to integrated platforms like Ruby and Node. All code examples are hosted on Github; you can grab them there to practice on your own.

5. A Better Way to Learn AngularJS

A Better Way to Learn AngularJS is a 12-part course that provides insight into AngularJS. It carries plenty of learning materials from multiple sources, from official documentations, videos, other books and plenty of screencast by Egghead. Adopting a gradual easy to advanced way of building simple applications with Angular, this book contains plenty of checklists for you to keep track of what you have learned.

6. Henriquat.re (AngularJS for .NET Developers)

henriquat.re is a continuously updated ebook that contains learning materials about AngularJS from a .NET developer’s point of view. So far, there are 7 topics covered, including Modularizing AngularJS Applications and AngularJS and IE 8. You can follow the writers, Ingo Rammer and Christian Meyer for more updates on the book on Twitter.

7. AngularJS with Ruby

AngularJS with Ruby on Rails is a book by David Bryant Copeland which will help you build a Rails application with AngularJS – in less than 10,000 words. You will need to create a skeleton app, build, test the run features, and before you know it, you have an Angular app powered by Rails. The book contains an introduction, four chapters and a concluding chapter.

Related posts:

1. 15 Useful AngularJS Tools For Developers


2. 5 AngularJS Frameworks to Get Apps Up and Running Quickly

7 Free eBooks To Learn AngularJS

7 Free eBooks To Learn AngularJS

So you’ve been following this Angular series (if you haven’t, start from the top here) and have come to a point where you are somewhat comfortable with playing with Angular or even building an app with it. For a more complete guideline when studying a project, we can always go to ebooks.

Ebooks give you a structural and organized way to learn a new topic, and it is no different with AngularJS. The best thing about ebooks these days however is that it can be heavily supplemented with practical exercises that can help you strengthen your grasp and understanding of certain aspects.

Let’s explore AngularJS with these 7 ebooks – some comprehensive, some fun, but all educational and won’t cause you a dime when read online.

Recommended Reading: More AngularJS related aticles.

1. AngularJS In 60 Minutes

If you have already gone through the video tutorial by Dan Wahlin, titled AngularJS-ish in 60 Minutes, AngularJS in 60 Minutes is a great help. The ebook carries the transcription of the video (done by Ian Smith) with relevant screenshots and the timestamp of when a topic comes up. If you prefer some text to go along with the video, then this is the ebook to get.

2. Recipes With AngularJS

Recipes With AngularJS is written by Frederik Dietz and is available to read online and as an ebook on Leanpub and Amazon. A cookbook of sorts, Recipes is a highly comprehensive book that deals with learning Anuglar in an organized and easy to understand way. Each section carries problems, solutions and discussions that will help guide you through Angular effectively. The code examples shown in the book are available in GitHub.

3. Practical AngularJS

Using real-life scenarios and examples, you will be introduced to building simple applications with AngularJS and Firebase in Eclipse IDE. You’ll also learn how to add control, wire up and create components, inside Eclipse. There are also sections on how to use KarmaJS to test your applications, how to use Firebase, miscellaneous tricks and troubelshooting you can use. Practical AngularJS by Dinis Cruz is available to read for free and to buy on Leanpub.

4. AngularJS Succinctly

Here is another AngularJS book written by Frederik Dietz. AngularJS Succinctly contains 10 chapters of problems, solutions and in-depth discussion to help you grasp the idea of Angular quickly. Learn the basics on using controllers, directives and filters all the way to integrated platforms like Ruby and Node. All code examples are hosted on Github; you can grab them there to practice on your own.

5. A Better Way to Learn AngularJS

A Better Way to Learn AngularJS is a 12-part course that provides insight into AngularJS. It carries plenty of learning materials from multiple sources, from official documentations, videos, other books and plenty of screencast by Egghead. Adopting a gradual easy to advanced way of building simple applications with Angular, this book contains plenty of checklists for you to keep track of what you have learned.

6. Henriquat.re (AngularJS for .NET Developers)

henriquat.re is a continuously updated ebook that contains learning materials about AngularJS from a .NET developer’s point of view. So far, there are 7 topics covered, including Modularizing AngularJS Applications and AngularJS and IE 8. You can follow the writers, Ingo Rammer and Christian Meyer for more updates on the book on Twitter.

7. AngularJS with Ruby

AngularJS with Ruby on Rails is a book by David Bryant Copeland which will help you build a Rails application with AngularJS – in less than 10,000 words. You will need to create a skeleton app, build, test the run features, and before you know it, you have an Angular app powered by Rails. The book contains an introduction, four chapters and a concluding chapter.

Related posts:

1. 15 Useful AngularJS Tools For Developers


2. 5 AngularJS Frameworks to Get Apps Up and Running Quickly

7 Free eBooks To Learn AngularJS