From a Design Amateur to a Professional Designer: My Journey of Learning and Growth

How do you become a web designer? Well, it can be quite a journey. Let me take you back to the beginning of mine, where I first discovered my passion for design. From an early age, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in this field, particularly in interior design. However, fate had a different plan in store for me. Although I had initially planned to study painting professionally, I ended up obtaining my graduate degree in BBA with a major in Accounting from North South University. It may seem like a weird choice, especially since I never intended to become an accountant - but I'm sure many of you can relate to the unpredictable twists and turns of life.

However, you never know in which direction life will pull you, and so I found my calling in graphic design. I am grateful for the opportunity to have started my career as a Junior Graphic Designer at ‘SJ innovation’ in Dhaka Office, where I have been honing my skills for almost two years now. It's amazing how life takes you on a journey, and I'm excited to see where it goes from here onward.

Why I have chosen this career?

Since childhood, I always loved painting a lot! However, unfortunately, I did not get the chance to acquire a professional degree, though I have learned glass painting on my own and am running an online business with my creations! I’ve always had a love for creativity, right from a very young age. My interest in painting made me think of design as a career! After all, how to be a good web designer is an art, a craft.

The year 2020 has changed most of our lives due to Covid-19 and I was in my last semester of graduation during that period. I was very confused about which career path to choose! I always wanted to do something I loved and enjoyed. 

During COVID, I learned about graphic design and did some research on what to do to become a web designer. After completing a professional course on how to become a certified web designer, I understood the whole concept of graphic design and started getting better knowledge of this field! I am a person who doesn’t like to do the same kind of work every day, but I always love to explore and learn new branches of knowledge! The most attractive part of this career revolving around what to learn to become a web designer is that it has a lot of variation and you don’t need to do the same thing every day. 

Designing as a career is a vast field, and every day you will get the chance to know and learn new things that will help you learn how to be a good web designer. New trends and software/tools are always emerging and are always showing you how to become a good website designer!
 

The struggles I faced when I started graphic design as a career:

The struggles of a graphic designer can get daunting, to say the least. Let’s broadly go over a few of them if you want to know how to become a web designer with no experience.

Designing Background:

While it isn’t mandatory, if you want to know how to become a good website designer, coming from a design background is a huge plus. I am not from a design background, so I had to learn how to become a web designer from scratch. You have to know some theoretical knowledge on how do you become a web designer and you have to know how to apply it to your design and artwork.

In the beginning, it was frustrating, but day by day, I am learning and gaining confidence to create good designs. 

Nothing is impossible if you have passion and love for your job; somehow you will learn and find your own way. At the very beginning of my journey on where to start to become a web designer, nobody was happy with my decision, as I was more into accounting and also had amazing career opportunities in this field. As time went on, I found complete support from my beloved family, which made me realize, I was going to achieve something that wouldn’t let my family down! More importantly, I can achieve my dream! You will face obstacles in your quest on how to be a good web designer, but you will find and make your own way to live your dreams, just have faith in yourself.
 

Lack of Creativity

Also, if you’re wondering where to start to become a web developer, you should know that creativity is a must! Although I have loved designing ever since I was a kid, taking up design as a career choice required more creativity. To illustrate, previously I satisfied myself with my creation, though I did not get that much opportunity to practice and show my creativity. 
 

However, now I have the opportunity to think and explore like a designer and show my creativity to keep my clients pleased with my designs, which need more depth, knowledge, and knowledge of the latest trends! Nothing is impossible to a willing mind, so I tried hard, and I think I successfully managed to face this situation. Now, I am much more confident about coming up with creative designs and have good knowledge on how to be a good web designer.

Running with The Trends

If you’re thinking about how to become a certified web designer, it has more to do with creativity and what’s in style at the moment. Knowing what is trending, what to learn to become a web designer, and implementing it in your design to catch the attention of your audience is key. While I design for self-satisfaction, I have always followed the business trend as part of my study! It’s really important to know design trends as they help create eye-catching and trendy designs.
 

Color Selection & Typography

You can learn a lot about color selection and typography if you take courses on how to become a certified web designer. However, practicing and observing the designs of others is also crucial. We can develop our knowledge and ideas in the design world a lot, and sometimes we can even learn a lot about how to become a web designer for free! I never realized that business patterns, a happy mood, travel, occasions, and festivals have different colors/fonts that people can relate to! 

General people consider color/font just for their visual purpose, however, we as designers have to consider each color/font as emotions, communications, status, and more! I have developed my skills in this area as well!

Some of the Lessons from My Journey:

When stuck on what to do to become a web designer, know that there are a few design tips and tricks for beginners to rely on.

Believe in Yourself

Always be your own cheerleader and encourage yourself to go ahead. There are times when you will get all tired and fed up for a lot of reasons. That’s why I’ve personally taken this as a mindset. 

Whenever I feel discouraged, I go back to my archive and cheer on my growth. Others cannot make you believe in yourself; they can only be supportive. Have faith in yourself. If you feel demotivated, take a break and start again. Trust me, nothing is impossible to the willing mind!

Hone your Skills

I always feel lucky and appreciate the work environment at ‘SJ Innovation’ where my design career started. It gave me the opportunity on how to become a good website designer. This opportunity taught me to learn first-hand that honing my skill as a designer is key. There is always something new to learn, and every day I learn something new. SJI always gives me the opportunity to explore and learn new things and tools, which is important if you want to know how to become a web designer with no experience.

I can approach developing my talents with an open mind since I am aware of how much I still don't know. As I continue to learn, I can feel equipped to take on new challenges, new projects, and opportunities that come my way.

Gain Mentorship

A mentor is really important at the beginning of your career, when you want to learn how to become a web designer from scratch. If you have a good mentor, you can grow faster in your career. Mentorship accelerated my growth! And I’m not talking about the “spoon-fed kind of mentorship,” but one in which you are ready to do the work and are proactive on your own. If you know what you want, a mentor can show you the perfect path to take on how do you become a web designer successfully.

Most senior/lead designers are too busy to be running after you. But when you are specific and have a goal, it’s easier for them to guide you. Mentorship empowers you, helps you discover new opportunities, and grants access to professional networking amidst other elements. 

At SJ Innovation, I have two awesome mentors, ‘Mehedi’ and ‘Akash’, who are always ready to guide and help me. They always give me the proper knowledge or information regarding the design and always provide feedback on my designs, which helps me improve my design as well as understand users/clients/ audience perspectives. Whenever I go off track or am left confused, they always show me the right path. I am really grateful to them.
 

Practice and Observe the Designs of Others 

Growing in a design career is work! Do not be deceived. If you want to grow and want to become a good designer, you have to practice and observe others' designs so that you can get ideas and understand design concepts. There are other graphic design tips for non designers you can follow if you are just starting out. 

Trust me, “Practice” is the only key to growth in your design career. I remember creating designs for some of my friends who had businesses then. It helped me practice and learn how to work with people/clients and also helped me understand their thoughts/requirements. If you want to take inspiration, want to observe and understand others' design concepts, you can follow these websites – 

• https://dribbble.com/
• https://www.behance.net/
• https://www.pinterest.com/
• https://www.designspiration.com/

Have a Growth Mindset

A growth mindset is essential because it will help you overcome challenges when you do something different/new. In addition, learn by practicing. You can watch videos, and sign up for classes, but you won’t learn until you get into the act. More so, you don’t know what you are capable of until you get to do the work. 

You have to try to implement what you have learned; otherwise, it’s useless. I also cultivated a reading habit. Design is developing quite quickly; if you want to work in this field, you need to read articles/ books, watch videos about design on YouTube, listen to design podcasts, etc. The more you practice and implement the elements you have seen or learned from videos and articles, the design concept will become clearer to you. There is no end line for learning. 

I have provided some YouTube channels and blog sites that may help you start your career in design: 

YouTube channels –

• https://www.youtube.com/c/tutsplus
• https://www.youtube.com/c/SatoriGraphics
• https://www.youtube.com/c/tutvid
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSpOFP9keSg&list=PLECh3TzKZ9K1iR5TRyOEX4XTA-EsG_s37
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9fcM2CWWPw&list=PLECh3TzKZ9K0Xc6y_KgtOvw-S26sPglLY
• https://www.youtube.com/c/YesImaDesigner
• https://www.youtube.com/c/thefuturishere
• https://www.youtube.com/c/DesignCuts

Blog sites –

• https://www.justinmind.com/blog/
• https://dribbble.com/stories
• https://medium.com/
• https://blog.thenounproject.com/

Show your work

This is another game-changing lesson for me. I have learned this from my “Pixels” team in SJI. My seniors and teammates always share their work with the team. They share their thoughts on why they designed and everyone shares their opinion, offers suggestions, and gives feedback on the sections that can be improved. So, I started sharing a bit of my work, and that helped me a lot to improve my design. I realized that I didn’t have to be perfect or be a genius to put my work out there. 

Showing your work helps you to be discovered/seen, it also helps to discover other designers. Share something small often and tell the stories behind it. There are many Facebook groups for designers, you can share your design and ask for feedback from them. From there, you can also build networks with other designers.

Design is more than pushing pixels; knowing this at the early stage of your career would be beneficial. You need to know this if you want to understand how to be a good web designer. For a designer to be able to explain his work clearly and convincingly, it is very crucial to communicate the ideas and thought process behind the work, be it with the team, the organization, clients, or end-users. These span across written communication through emails and verbal communication through phone calls and in-person, face-to-face conversations. Active listening, time management, creativity, conflict resolution, and persistence are other soft skills you might want to explore.
 

Be receptive to Feedback and Critiques

Learn to not take any design criticism personally if you want to become a great designer. Personal thought processes and creativity should be subject to review by senior designers, clients, and peers at particular phases as a problem solver. Accept criticism and comments, embrace the process, and analyze them. The caliber of feedback varies. Great design feedback will help strengthen and improve your design when well maximized.

Last but not least, “Output Matters”! You can only tell your story when you become successful! So, work hard until you are confident enough to share your struggle with others! And most importantly, don’t give up on your dreams. 

If you have design queries or need assistance of any kind, get in touch with our qualified and experienced front-end designers