I'm about as far away from the design world as it gets and I'm not even sure why yt recommended me this channel, but it's actually become one of my favorites.
Several of the most famous graphic designers I've studied, are of the opinion you only need about 10 fonts for your entire career. A virtuoso designer can use classic fonts like Helvetica, Futura, Gill, Garamond, Bodoni etc.and make them play to very different styles and moods in their projects. I lean towards that sentiment, really knowing some of the greatest fonts really well.
First point: so true. It took me 15 years working as a graphic designer to even develop the confidence to stop adding more details to a piece with the misguided notion that complexity = quality
Before I learned the art, a grid was just a grid. After I learned the art, a grid was no longer a grid. Now that I understand the art, a grid is just a grid.
Love it! It may seem cliche, but design is as much of a culture as it is a career choice. The more you embrace the culture, in all its forms, the more you can pull from for inspiration, reference, what-not-to-do, etc.
I have tremendous respect for this channel, an actual designer turned content creator and not otherwise speaking real industry facts and calling out the bs. You couldn’t get such high quality information even on udemy.
@@StudioPractice1 oy it's true tho, unfiltered truths here, a countertake to the usual phony designer community revolting against the huge market for mediocrity.
When I first watched his video, it felt like he was sharing insights that no one else would dare to reveal. Now, as I watch him again, I feel a deep connection-like we both think in the same way. In this particular video, he emphasized the importance of thinking beyond traditional design boundaries. It reminded me of two posters I created during my career. Both were unconventional, and both sparked major controversies. People heavily criticized me and my work, but I knew exactly what I was doing. Despite the backlash, those two posters continue to be talked about, and to this day, I find myself mentioned in various posts because of them.
I go to a design school in Canada and I love watching these on my summer break to keep up my skills. and from experience this guy is an amazing teacher not everyone has the pure understanding that can be taught to anyone
14:43! Yes, this holds for ALL art of ALL art forms! It is the FORM of a composition that beguiles, excites, annoys, challenges, and arrests us, far more than the content displayed. An incompetent photo depicting the interior of a Romanesque church will almost always fail and pale when compared with a masterful sketch of a full and smoldering ashtray.
I'm an instructional designer (learning and development) coming from a background in education, adult learning and corporate training. I'm always trying to improve my design which I was never formally trained in. This guy is 100% right when he says you need to know your place in the schema of client relations. They already have their content, they more or less already know what messaging they want to get out. Projects always have to start with that thinking process of knowing what is the best way to connect the content to the audience.
I appreciate your comment. I’m 58, and I feel super excited about work (and life)… I think “mid-career” can be REALLY difficult for a lot of people. If one is lucky enough to live long enough, ya go through shit. Career has highs and lows… the game as I see it is consistency over time… falling in love with work. (And of course family). Stay strong!
I'm 58 and been freelance graphicking for most of my life, bit of a struggle currently, truth be told, but appreciating Elliot's unique voice and no-nonsense approach.
I'm in my early 20s and I love this guy. I realized I suck at graphic design but now I'm making progress. I just discovered this channel. It has been a massive help!
I studied Computer Science. It’s the same thing. If you “put the bong down” and concentrate, the whole program can be done in about a year. It is definitely harder than art and design but it doesn’t have to take four years to master the core fundamentals of Computer Science. One year can do it
I'm into programming (20+ years) and really appreciate listening to this. A challang in software and system design is keeping things simple and sticking to core principles.
14:50 You've hit the nail on the head there! Actually I would go as far as to say that graphic design deals with communication. It's not just about creating a beautiful layout or 'interesting' end product full of expression, it's about communication between people and the process of creating something which is appropiate in the context of the 'problem' that you're trying to solve or the message you're trying to convey etc.
Other UA-camrs teach how to make a design look good. You teach us what makes the design look good. You are like a Philosopher in the designer's world. Thanks for this very important video. Subscribed.
bro he's bringing up the graphics live while he speaks instead of adding it in post. that's sick! the evolution of the slideshow. almost feels a bit like a performance.
I produce electronic music professionally but I apply these frameworks to my working process because they are valid regardless of field. I don't need any more musical input (its inevitable), I need input from diverse sources, so thanks for these videos.
Just want to say thank you. I studied design for three years, am a designer and I’ve always recognised how I’ve been let down by the education system. I wish I had you as my educator back then, however, thanks to the internet I have you as my mentor. You are brutal and genuine in the things you’re teaching. Keep swearing at us please 🙏
I never went to design school even though I worked as visual designer for print and web. I was an illustrator who thought "oh, design is easy compared to drawing". Wrong. It might be technically easier, as in fewer lines made in illustrator. But design is way harder because every pixel/point counts. You have tons of wiggle room for composition with illustration, as 80% of the time you're not doing information design (sans illustrations used in a visual design, or comic books with the fancy lines of actions and dialogue placement) So, as a grownup who though he knew what design is, I'm so glad we got folks like you kicking us all in the ass to do better 😊
The last point really resonated with me. That design is about THINKING. + Mindset shift about being a designer. A designer is a person that takes content and makes it an easy way to understand the content (possibly with some goal or emotion in mind) + NOT About the content. its about the WAY it is presented. ----- "They Key to making sophisticated design.. is outside design" My thoughts: - Look at how people consume information - Understanding the psychology of "wanting" and perceived "needs" - Observe how products / ideas are successful if there was no visual design (audio? human interaction? Value? The "content"?) ----- [Notes] Interesting points on: - Rivers. (I personally never thought about this before, I just thought that it was bad to have unevening spacing. Its hard to focus on the content when I can see literal patterns while I'm reading) - going against idea of Grids. Grids for Layouts to make easier design choices, not for infinite options. - Typography, base it on the back of giants. If other people already like it, why not also branch off of them? Why try to try a brand new font that hasn't been tested. ---- I love your content, thank you for making this free for us to learn! Coming from a "hard" engineering field, Design feels felt like it has a lack of distinct steps to make a "good" design. Its not like math where 2+2=4, a good design has good points, but still feels subjective to me. I'm glad that you put your teachings out here for people to learn and gives us a more structured guideline towards what to look towards
Thank you Elliot. You remind me of my fav prof at my design school (u of u) this was like getting a pep talk, it activated parts of my mind that working has caused to slow down. Love it, subscribed.
Freelance graphic designer, fashion & 3D designer here, and I'm about to focus on your content as I continue to progress my career as a freelance artist (AUS) Much appreciated!
Another key to great design is to look at your audience because you, as a designer, is bridging information from the client to the audience. The client has content, the audience has tendencies, biases, emotions, reactions, inhibitions, and everything in between. Know your audience because your design is for them, not for the you or the client.
Man, the phone spyware really working overtime. For once I'm gald about that, I was just talking about how hard getting a design degree is where I live. God bless you for sharing, and thanks Yt you got one right this time! ❤❤❤
Thanks for lesson. If there is a blue and there is a violet lights on your right back and left, it would be a great view of a cyberpunk vibe. Your studio is just perfect.
11:30 The Veracity of Sources concept is excellent. One thing to add to this is that designers can take a method that is appropriate for design-and misapply it elsewhere. A beautiful typeface is "true" for the use of solving a specific communication problem. The error here is to assume that anyone using that typeface must then be therefore on "team good" which means anything they state is factually and morally correct. But anyone can use that typeface and not necessarily be telling you the truth. They might believe they are but have been fooled themselves. (The "C-" problem has implications for critical thinking and moral reasoning sadly.) Sometimes superb designers will echo a propaganda line and seemingly be completely unaware even of the very valid criticisms of it. As often they are in echo chambers and will make no effort to find what's happening outside it directly from those with alternate viewpoints.
Only found your channel a few days ago and I f*ing love your channel! There are so many graphic design UA-camrs that I just can't stomach as there's an air pretentiousness that you simply don't carry. Love the videos please keep them coming! From a recently graduated mature graphic designer, who's a bit at a loss as to what move to make next, due to family commitments complicating things. ❤☮️✌️and all that
Yo… 🙏 ❤️… IMHO: Familia Super Omnia (“Family Over Everything”) - “What does it benefit a man to gain the world, but lose his soul - errr in this case family?” I hate to go so hard on this point, but I think if I take care of my actions to those I love - in the short term I might lose - but in the long term I win. I also believe in the cliche “It’s never too late.” I have a few professional colleagues who STARTED very late in life. 2 of them are now famous designers. (Fame and age are not the important components of the story), the important components are that “maturity” can be a very very good thing. I always felt tremendous pressure to prioritize my career over my family, and yet I did not do this. My commitment to my family is literally the thing that has let me slip the icy grasp of nihilism. Stay strong!!!💪
@@StudioPractice1 Thanks for that, I really didn't expect a response and really appreciate you going out of your way with your words of encouragement and grounding. I will screenshot this and refer back to it whenever I'm feeling a little stuck. Family means a lot to me and they will always come first no matter how difficult or frustrating it can be at times. Thank you I will hang in there and bide my time. ☮️♥️
Paradoxically, simplicity and sophistication is the most difficult to achive. Good design and art looks so simple that it is overlooked by many. Great chanel!
12:05 the rant about fkd up sht fonts! 😂. Oh my, am I guilty. Throughout my career - so guilty. I have been chastised and now I repent and will come to the light! Amen brother 😂
Nahh… chill. Chill. Listen to me very carefully. I assume you mean you’re in college. PAY ATTENTION: College is rad because it’s so easily “gamed.” What do I mean? Spend the four years on the GRIND. Redefine every project around your interests. Oh… and put the bong, and the beers down and get after it.
Would you mind elaborating a bit more on how to learn everything in 3 months? I'd love to read trough some resources you're recommending. I'm currently self-taught, and design on simple principles: -What do I like and what don't I like? I look for inspiration daily and the answers keep evolving further and further. -Create incredibly massive chaos and amount of concepts, which I then try to narrow down to the bare bones, yet keep it's essence. The issue I've got at the moment is that everything's taking me incredibly long time to make - but I'm trying to create unique stuff, unlike the XYZ template designs.
This was fun to watch. But for the first point on engineering I had a different experience. I’m currently at the end of my bachelors program which is a 50/50 mix of Computer Engineering and Interactiondesign and from my experience the design courses were the ones with the highest workload and most stress, while you could sleep trough the less demanding CE courses like Datamanagement and get a good grade anyway. Now I’m heading into my Identity Design Master and all people who were accepted whom i know are powerhouses of workethics. And the typography tipps on the Adobe Fonts saved my current work thank you for that :D
sounds like you live in England... (Oy Bruv)... What were your SAT scores? 1450? Show me a designer that can do your maths. (not happening) LOL ❤️❤️😆 (I gottchu, I gottchu)
@@StudioPractice1 Actually I’m from Germany, Bavaria. Glad that my english got on a level to count as a brit haha. We got a bunch of Courses combining Engineering and Design in the Area. Also we didnt have a SAT score. In Design Programs they take a 3 Rounds Assessment test with a Portfolio with a motivational letter, a qualifying exercise and a personal talk and than you get “handpicked”. Acceptance rates are around 30% as far as I know.
I m not into a design program yet, but seeing how much of the works shown along the video are mostly illustrations makes me wonder If I should really take drawing classes and build a solid base before gettin into graphic design.
Follow up question: How do you know what part of your designs are bad if you are working without a teacher/mentor/community (you're working and learning by yourself)? People can say they "like" a design, but is it really good? My problem is, how do I know what is wrong, and make it better, if no one tells me or there is no authority on it?
Hey. Watch the “how to improve your Thinking Skills video I released last week. It would/should/could help quite a bit. Community - on line or otherwise is important - But my Thinking Skills video in some ways addresses this. I hope this helps
Love the video and your approach (aka attack - piano reference 😆) ! Do you have any tips about how one might select and arrange grids for a single project? Do you choose one and use it all the way through a project? Might one select a variety of contrasting grids in much the same way a song is composed ? Creating interest by adding elements of surprise and tension returning to familiar motifs and structures. Thank you so much. Your insight will help me immensely 😃🫶🏽
I still am trying to understand what's a legit grid all other points make sense. Thanks for the video! - an engineering student trying to teach themselves graphic design
You mentioned that with will, diligence and commitment, a designer can learn the basic foundation of design in about three months. As a self taught and working designer for many years, the idea of obtaining this foundation is very attractive to me as I always feel there are fundamental holes in my work. How can I go about constructing a 3 month course for myself so that I get whats needed without wasting time I don't have? Any advice?
Would love to understand more from you about UI design work and hear your thoughts about it. A lot of the UI design work in corporates is mindnumpingly boring and templatized all the way from grids to typography.
Rivers in type layout are a big issue, I've noticed it with younger designers that grew up doing digital only. For some reason they always want to justify lots of text.
Great video Sir Elliot. I have a request: Can you please release a video on the "Thinking" aspect from your video? It'll be a great help as I often struggle to be innovative / creative in my Design Philosophy of Minimalism often digesting comments like "its boring".
Super helpful video. However, I want to point out that many in my generation, including myself, won't give our money to Adobe because they've lost the trust of up-and-coming artists. Do you have another concrete suggestion for a good source of typefaces? I like how you use typeface makers' websites to look at the rivers as a way to vet a font. That stood out as great practice.
creative market or etsy i think can be helpful. he is right I have noticed how when I use free fonts for some reason I hate how it looks! but this specific person I follow she has the best fonts and its because shes using the best fonts..... shes willing to spend the money to make it look great and that's something I have to accept
Found this channel yesterday, and I'm already binge watching 😅 great work, and precious lessons. My two cents on "rivers": either flush left or "Elements of typographic style" the s*it out of it. Never leave the house without my pal Bringhurst ;)
I’ve had this video on my mind for the last few days just because of the grids segment..I’m working on manuals for my company and thought “yeah I’ll use a grid” but it’s been more annoying than helpful. Spending more time editing the grid than putting stuff on it!
My advice would be to make your grid super simple. Main column, gutters etc… Then enable “base line grid” in in design to make sure your typography is baseline aligned. Frankly i think making sure you use paragraph styles (style sheets) is MUCH more important to whether your work looks well organized than “grids”… grids fuck you up by making you think shit is organized, but in 90% of instances the grid is just too granular… making almost any “positioning” seem logical. It’s a lie.
I'm in art school right now and I'm here because I feel like I spent 2 years with no actual growth. I do the work given and get at least a B point average and yet to me I feel the same as when I started. I understand how important design fundamentals are and now I need to develop them which one half semester wasn't enough for me and that's ok
I cannot be...I absolutely cannot be the only one who thinks the perspective and position of the lights above Sir's head make him look like he has horns.
Hey, I chanced upon your channel a few weeks ago and I really appreciate the sort of content you make. It's the kind of higher order ideas that i didnt find in other "tutorials" and knew i needed to learn from somewhere. I do have a question tho - since there are so many people who make detailed tutorials but are not that experienced themselves (i just saw one of my subscribed channels made a video on how to use grids, the kind you call not a grid), what advice would u have for people who want to learn from these channels. How do i filter out which ideas to take and which to reject.
I find it funny when people think design is an "easy" alternative to engineerining. I did well in school, obtained good grades. When I decided to pursue art/design in college, it became much more difficult. The classes are twice the length of any other major and the end goal is infinitely more ambiguous. Professors also assume the time you spend on homework is propotional to your in-class time (twice as long) so you end up spending twice as much time on homework than other majors.
That’s all fair. You seem to be a highly motivated student. So now if we are being honest - you’re going to tell me that you have not seen a lack of rigor in the culture around design classes? (Many of the students, arrive at class ill prepared for class, having spent little time on their assignments etc…) And please feel free to correct me. If by contrast you’re in a Calculus 2 final exam… It’s possible to score well, without having done the work over the semester? I am genuinely interested in your experience.
This video made me miss my graphic design classes in college so much! I would love to hear recommendations for advanced design online courses from you but if you already have a video with recommendations, where can I find them? Thank you very much!
"Art is easy" or "Everyone can do it" is what you keep hearing. Plus, you are no longer allowed to criticise people's work anymore. Defence argument "What is art and who are you to say what is or what isn't art?" And this includes all forms of art. Digital, traditional, to performance art.
I'd add a couple caveats --> Schools are forced to be less selective due to enrollment issues (or that's an issue within the SUNY system right now as I see), and many schools are trying to decouple from the necessity for standardized test success as a marker of intelligence but are still tied to antiquated notions like the A-F grading system or even the 4 year degree system itself which would require too much infrastructural change to dismantle. The enrollment issue is gonna get really bad from my understanding once we hit 2025, not sure how it is going to effect MFA programs. The point being I don't think you're being a "hater" by saying schools are less selective. If you think about even NY and the art schools there. Some have to be selective to maintain their social cache/perception (idk, Pratt, Cooper) and that leaves a lot of people who are potentially on the cusp of being in those institutions out in the cold and forced to apply to other schools. Training or sensitizing your ability to see/looking at stuff (and maybe this is tied in with "thinking" but I think this oughta come first). Worse than the river issue, I still occasionally am telling senior/junior level undergraduate students to adjust the kerning between A's and V's and other common kerning issues. This has been an issue for me with students, but they're not looking at the design content they're making. They are so tunneled in on a special interest (concept art/sequential art/drawing elves or a furry comic) but are in graphic design because that has a greater correlation with employment/non-poverty-based existence that they do that at the expense of just making their type not be bad. There are good free fonts (Velvetyne is a good example, or many foundries typically have "trial" or "test drive" fonts with a limited character set. I'd argue that much of the "free bullshit" you mention is "fine" if you know you're probably gonna have to deal with no kerning pairs or terrible spacing or have to create outlines and adjust some curves) and any typeface can be free if you have friends/ask.
I think that more than that he is a great COMMUNICATOR, which indeed is a very important skill in design. wouldn't say he's the perfect designer without knowing him and his body of work. cool guy, tho
You mention a 3 month timeline of concentrated study for diligent focused learners to acquire the required skills for competent graphic design. Can you provide some kind of study guide with your recommendations for completing something like this. I would be forever grateful.🙏
15 years into a graphic/information design career my mind has been blown apart by one thing that 99% of designers don't do. Learn how to make work that is effective for the VI community. They are a huge audience that deserve good design.
In the middle of grading 2nd year design projects. How many students 'hear' these rants we give ... I might assign this as mandatory watching at the beginning of every semester, it'll save me the repetition.
I'm about as far away from the design world as it gets and I'm not even sure why yt recommended me this channel, but it's actually become one of my favorites.
Oy Bruv! 🙏 thanks for saying so. That makes my day.
Yeah, me too. You don't find too often someone in youtube who us actually an expert at something and speaks their mind matter of factly
Yup. Business background, mba, etc. love this channel.
Yeah, I'm a librarian at an art school, and this channel really helps me understand our students.
@ccadpackardlibraryinformat2686 rad
I work at a sewage treatment facility but this is the only channel I watch.
For money, or just for love of the work?
I helped build a sewage treatment plant about 25 years ago. There was a hole that went down very deep.
Several of the most famous graphic designers I've studied, are of the opinion you only need about 10 fonts for your entire career. A virtuoso designer can use classic fonts like Helvetica, Futura, Gill, Garamond, Bodoni etc.and make them play to very different styles and moods in their projects. I lean towards that sentiment, really knowing some of the greatest fonts really well.
First point: so true. It took me 15 years working as a graphic designer to even develop the confidence to stop adding more details to a piece with the misguided notion that complexity = quality
“Don’t get some fucked-up free bullshit online typographically and wonder why your design looks like ass.”
Subscribed.
My type of teacher
literally
completly agree hahahaha
it's more fucked up to suggest the only things worthwhile are things that can be bought and sold IMO :/
I'm so glad someone else commented on this because that totally came out of left field lmao
As a freelance grinder in NYC mastering the grid will definitely save your ass.
Freelance gridder
to be fair, I just finished my first year of design school and I never put my bong down lol
That’s fair LOL
👑
this continues to be the most underrated design channel on this platform
My biggest takeaway here is the subtley innovative approach you take to present the slide show.
I agree with you
Before I learned the art, a grid was just a grid. After I learned the art, a grid was no longer a grid. Now that I understand the art, a grid is just a grid.
Full circle moments
you were the grid all along
It's called getting screwed, then unscrewed, and then screwed all over again 😂
Love it! It may seem cliche, but design is as much of a culture as it is a career choice. The more you embrace the culture, in all its forms, the more you can pull from for inspiration, reference, what-not-to-do, etc.
I have tremendous respect for this channel, an actual designer turned content creator and not otherwise speaking real industry facts and calling out the bs. You couldn’t get such high quality information even on udemy.
Oy, Bruv… You made my day.
@@StudioPractice1 oy it's true tho, unfiltered truths here, a countertake to the usual phony designer community revolting against the huge market for mediocrity.
When I first watched his video, it felt like he was sharing insights that no one else would dare to reveal. Now, as I watch him again, I feel a deep connection-like we both think in the same way. In this particular video, he emphasized the importance of thinking beyond traditional design boundaries.
It reminded me of two posters I created during my career. Both were unconventional, and both sparked major controversies. People heavily criticized me and my work, but I knew exactly what I was doing. Despite the backlash, those two posters continue to be talked about, and to this day, I find myself mentioned in various posts because of them.
Where can I see the posters?
@@StudioPractice1 You can check your email now.
Didn't know those were called rivers, but those gaps are freaking me out.
Thanks!
I go to a design school in Canada and I love watching these on my summer break to keep up my skills. and from experience this guy is an amazing teacher not everyone has the pure understanding that can be taught to anyone
14:43! Yes, this holds for ALL art of ALL art forms! It is the FORM of a composition that beguiles, excites, annoys, challenges, and arrests us, far more than the content displayed. An incompetent photo depicting the interior of a Romanesque church will almost always fail and pale when compared with a masterful sketch of a full and smoldering ashtray.
I'm an instructional designer (learning and development) coming from a background in education, adult learning and corporate training. I'm always trying to improve my design which I was never formally trained in. This guy is 100% right when he says you need to know your place in the schema of client relations. They already have their content, they more or less already know what messaging they want to get out. Projects always have to start with that thinking process of knowing what is the best way to connect the content to the audience.
I'm 59 and all your videos motivate me
I appreciate your comment. I’m 58, and I feel super excited about work (and life)… I think “mid-career” can be REALLY difficult for a lot of people. If one is lucky enough to live long enough, ya go through shit. Career has highs and lows… the game as I see it is consistency over time… falling in love with work. (And of course family). Stay strong!
I'm 58 and been freelance graphicking for most of my life, bit of a struggle currently, truth be told, but appreciating Elliot's unique voice and no-nonsense approach.
I'm in my early 20s and I love this guy. I realized I suck at graphic design but now I'm making progress. I just discovered this channel. It has been a massive help!
I'm 3 years old and I'm super motivated! I already learned to read, my dog is typing this
I studied Computer Science. It’s the same thing. If you “put the bong down” and concentrate, the whole program can be done in about a year. It is definitely harder than art and design but it doesn’t have to take four years to master the core fundamentals of Computer Science. One year can do it
Just discovered the channel. No clickbait, no BS. Pure knowledge! Thank You for this.
Thanks for the kind words… i try
I'm into programming (20+ years) and really appreciate listening to this. A challang in software and system design is keeping things simple and sticking to core principles.
14:50 You've hit the nail on the head there! Actually I would go as far as to say that graphic design deals with communication. It's not just about creating a beautiful layout or 'interesting' end product full of expression, it's about communication between people and the process of creating something which is appropiate in the context of the 'problem' that you're trying to solve or the message you're trying to convey etc.
Dude, Elliott... this video goes so hard. Thank you for calling all this BS out. We need more of this!!
Yo… 🙏
Other UA-camrs teach how to make a design look good. You teach us what makes the design look good. You are like a Philosopher in the designer's world. Thanks for this very important video. Subscribed.
bro he's bringing up the graphics live while he speaks instead of adding it in post. that's sick! the evolution of the slideshow. almost feels a bit like a performance.
@@dire666 he probably uses something like OBS.
I produce electronic music professionally but I apply these frameworks to my working process because they are valid regardless of field. I don't need any more musical input (its inevitable), I need input from diverse sources, so thanks for these videos.
I appreciate you
I apply it to cooking
Just want to say thank you. I studied design for three years, am a designer and I’ve always recognised how I’ve been let down by the education system. I wish I had you as my educator back then, however, thanks to the internet I have you as my mentor. You are brutal and genuine in the things you’re teaching. Keep swearing at us please 🙏
I wish I had you as my student
I mean, I could be? Have you got a course or mentor program? I'd love to commit to something like that @@StudioPractice1
I never went to design school even though I worked as visual designer for print and web. I was an illustrator who thought "oh, design is easy compared to drawing". Wrong. It might be technically easier, as in fewer lines made in illustrator. But design is way harder because every pixel/point counts. You have tons of wiggle room for composition with illustration, as 80% of the time you're not doing information design (sans illustrations used in a visual design, or comic books with the fancy lines of actions and dialogue placement)
So, as a grownup who though he knew what design is, I'm so glad we got folks like you kicking us all in the ass to do better 😊
The last point really resonated with me. That design is about THINKING.
+ Mindset shift about being a designer. A designer is a person that takes content and makes it an easy way to understand the content (possibly with some goal or emotion in mind)
+ NOT About the content. its about the WAY it is presented.
-----
"They Key to making sophisticated design.. is outside design"
My thoughts:
- Look at how people consume information
- Understanding the psychology of "wanting" and perceived "needs"
- Observe how products / ideas are successful if there was no visual design (audio? human interaction? Value? The "content"?)
-----
[Notes]
Interesting points on:
- Rivers. (I personally never thought about this before, I just thought that it was bad to have unevening spacing. Its hard to focus on the content when I can see literal patterns while I'm reading)
- going against idea of Grids. Grids for Layouts to make easier design choices, not for infinite options.
- Typography, base it on the back of giants. If other people already like it, why not also branch off of them? Why try to try a brand new font that hasn't been tested.
----
I love your content, thank you for making this free for us to learn! Coming from a "hard" engineering field, Design feels felt like it has a lack of distinct steps to make a "good" design. Its not like math where 2+2=4, a good design has good points, but still feels subjective to me. I'm glad that you put your teachings out here for people to learn and gives us a more structured guideline towards what to look towards
The simplest things are never the most obvious. Yet it’s the best place to start.
Love it. Thank-you As someone with an engineering background I would say you give us too much credit.
LOL!!!
Love your no BS/filter approach, such an inspiration ❤️
Glad you enjoy it!
Thank you Elliot. You remind me of my fav prof at my design school (u of u) this was like getting a pep talk, it activated parts of my mind that working has caused to slow down. Love it, subscribed.
🙏
I may have just found my new favorite channel.
Freelance graphic designer, fashion & 3D designer here, and I'm about to focus on your content as I continue to progress my career as a freelance artist (AUS)
Much appreciated!
My dad taught me about rivers growing up... THANKS DAD!!
6:54 As a 10 year veteran of book design the justification fight is real. But not particularly aggressive after so long :)
I'd love another in depth video on how the grids you showed aren't grids. And how to apply the grids you recommend in practical application.
Full of value. But by far is MOST important is in the last 1 min
I really like your channel and how you go straight to the point. Saludos desde Uruguay
🙏
Another key to great design is to look at your audience because you, as a designer, is bridging information from the client to the audience. The client has content, the audience has tendencies, biases, emotions, reactions, inhibitions, and everything in between. Know your audience because your design is for them, not for the you or the client.
Man, the phone spyware really working overtime. For once I'm gald about that, I was just talking about how hard getting a design degree is where I live. God bless you for sharing, and thanks Yt you got one right this time! ❤❤❤
Thanks for lesson. If there is a blue and there is a violet lights on your right back and left, it would be a great view of a cyberpunk vibe. Your studio is just perfect.
11:30 The Veracity of Sources concept is excellent. One thing to add to this is that designers can take a method that is appropriate for design-and misapply it elsewhere. A beautiful typeface is "true" for the use of solving a specific communication problem. The error here is to assume that anyone using that typeface must then be therefore on "team good" which means anything they state is factually and morally correct. But anyone can use that typeface and not necessarily be telling you the truth. They might believe they are but have been fooled themselves. (The "C-" problem has implications for critical thinking and moral reasoning sadly.) Sometimes superb designers will echo a propaganda line and seemingly be completely unaware even of the very valid criticisms of it. As often they are in echo chambers and will make no effort to find what's happening outside it directly from those with alternate viewpoints.
Only found your channel a few days ago and I f*ing love your channel!
There are so many graphic design UA-camrs that I just can't stomach as there's an air pretentiousness that you simply don't carry.
Love the videos please keep them coming!
From a recently graduated mature graphic designer, who's a bit at a loss as to what move to make next, due to family commitments complicating things.
❤☮️✌️and all that
Yo… 🙏 ❤️… IMHO: Familia Super Omnia (“Family Over Everything”) - “What does it benefit a man to gain the world, but lose his soul - errr in this case family?” I hate to go so hard on this point, but I think if I take care of my actions to those I love - in the short term I might lose - but in the long term I win. I also believe in the cliche “It’s never too late.” I have a few professional colleagues who STARTED very late in life. 2 of them are now famous designers. (Fame and age are not the important components of the story), the important components are that “maturity” can be a very very good thing. I always felt tremendous pressure to prioritize my career over my family, and yet I did not do this. My commitment to my family is literally the thing that has let me slip the icy grasp of nihilism. Stay strong!!!💪
@@StudioPractice1 Thanks for that, I really didn't expect a response and really appreciate you going out of your way with your words of encouragement and grounding. I will screenshot this and refer back to it whenever I'm feeling a little stuck. Family means a lot to me and they will always come first no matter how difficult or frustrating it can be at times. Thank you I will hang in there and bide my time. ☮️♥️
I want a deep dive into grids. Very interesting
Paradoxically, simplicity and sophistication is the most difficult to achive. Good design and art looks so simple that it is overlooked by many. Great chanel!
Thank you! Cheers!
This really helps me level up my understanding of what I don't know. Thanks for the knowledge share!
12:05 the rant about fkd up sht fonts! 😂. Oh my, am I guilty. Throughout my career - so guilty. I have been chastised and now I repent and will come to the light! Amen brother 😂
Pure knowledge, absolutely beautiful, wish i had a teacher like you where i study, please dont stop with the content im hungry for more
I really think you're not being mean at all, the truth is usually harsh. The grid talk is a really high level concept. Nice video!
I appreciate that
I think everything made sense to me, but the grids was an eye opener. Definitely will start utilising more custom grids.
Give it to me. I’m waking up in sweats about being in school. I appreciate your unique perspective.
Nahh… chill. Chill. Listen to me very carefully. I assume you mean you’re in college. PAY ATTENTION: College is rad because it’s so easily “gamed.” What do I mean? Spend the four years on the GRIND. Redefine every project around your interests. Oh… and put the bong, and the beers down and get after it.
@@StudioPractice1 will do boss!
Wowww! I feel like it’s the first time I actually hear something about graphic design. I really beed it to hear that.
That was great. The stuff explained wasnt cliche stuff like so much of other stuff on youtube
Would you mind elaborating a bit more on how to learn everything in 3 months? I'd love to read trough some resources you're recommending. I'm currently self-taught, and design on simple principles:
-What do I like and what don't I like? I look for inspiration daily and the answers keep evolving further and further.
-Create incredibly massive chaos and amount of concepts, which I then try to narrow down to the bare bones, yet keep it's essence.
The issue I've got at the moment is that everything's taking me incredibly long time to make - but I'm trying to create unique stuff, unlike the XYZ template designs.
This was fun to watch. But for the first point on engineering I had a different experience. I’m currently at the end of my bachelors program which is a 50/50 mix of Computer Engineering and Interactiondesign and from my experience the design courses were the ones with the highest workload and most stress, while you could sleep trough the less demanding CE courses like Datamanagement and get a good grade anyway. Now I’m heading into my Identity Design Master and all people who were accepted whom i know are powerhouses of workethics.
And the typography tipps on the Adobe Fonts saved my current work thank you for that :D
sounds like you live in England... (Oy Bruv)... What were your SAT scores? 1450? Show me a designer that can do your maths. (not happening) LOL ❤️❤️😆 (I gottchu, I gottchu)
@@StudioPractice1 Actually I’m from Germany, Bavaria. Glad that my english got on a level to count as a brit haha. We got a bunch of Courses combining Engineering and Design in the Area. Also we didnt have a SAT score. In Design Programs they take a 3 Rounds Assessment test with a Portfolio with a motivational letter, a qualifying exercise and a personal talk and than you get “handpicked”. Acceptance rates are around 30% as far as I know.
I m not into a design program yet, but seeing how much of the works shown along the video are mostly illustrations makes me wonder If I should really take drawing classes and build a solid base before gettin into graphic design.
7:54 I see like 4 rivers in the right example, also how do we feel about hyphenating? That’s another way to combat rivers
I loved the video btw, subscribed.
Thank you 3000!
could you do poster or general graphic critiques?
Follow up question: How do you know what part of your designs are bad if you are working without a teacher/mentor/community (you're working and learning by yourself)? People can say they "like" a design, but is it really good?
My problem is, how do I know what is wrong, and make it better, if no one tells me or there is no authority on it?
Hey. Watch the “how to improve your Thinking Skills video I released last week. It would/should/could help quite a bit. Community - on line or otherwise is important - But my Thinking Skills video in some ways addresses this. I hope this helps
@@StudioPractice1 Thank you for the quick reply and reference to other video!
Love the video and your approach (aka attack - piano reference 😆) !
Do you have any tips about how one might select and arrange grids for a single project?
Do you choose one and use it all the way through a project?
Might one select a variety of contrasting grids in much the same way a song is composed ? Creating interest by adding elements of surprise and tension returning to familiar motifs and structures.
Thank you so much. Your insight will help me immensely 😃🫶🏽
Can you please make a video explaining how grids are to be created and used properly.if you can
Particularly like your take on grids. I'm with you on that!
Love this video. Thanks for saving me the tuition! Would love more.
Thanks… I’ll be posting more (Some of my other 150-ish videos are about similar issues)
I still am trying to understand what's a legit grid all other points make sense. Thanks for the video!
- an engineering student trying to teach themselves graphic design
Thanks for watching!
You mentioned that with will, diligence and commitment, a designer can learn the basic foundation of design in about three months. As a self taught and working designer for many years, the idea of obtaining this foundation is very attractive to me as I always feel there are fundamental holes in my work. How can I go about constructing a 3 month course for myself so that I get whats needed without wasting time I don't have? Any advice?
Thank you sir! Keep going please
Are you able to go over the ending in more detail? Definitely opened up a whole other line of questions for me.
Thank you for the knowledge! Love the typeface selection points!
Would love to understand more from you about UI design work and hear your thoughts about it. A lot of the UI design work in corporates is mindnumpingly boring and templatized all the way from grids to typography.
Rivers in type layout are a big issue, I've noticed it with younger designers that grew up doing digital only. For some reason they always want to justify lots of text.
Great video, summed up my experience in design school, thank you for the wisdom
Excellent as always
Thanks again!
Fuck it. I'm going to turn Rome's urban planning design into my own grid
The irony that he is preaching simplicity but simply cant spit it out.
Great video Sir Elliot.
I have a request: Can you please release a video on the "Thinking" aspect from your video? It'll be a great help as I often struggle to be innovative / creative in my Design Philosophy of Minimalism often digesting comments like "its boring".
Super helpful video. However, I want to point out that many in my generation, including myself, won't give our money to Adobe because they've lost the trust of up-and-coming artists. Do you have another concrete suggestion for a good source of typefaces?
I like how you use typeface makers' websites to look at the rivers as a way to vet a font. That stood out as great practice.
creative market or etsy i think can be helpful. he is right I have noticed how when I use free fonts for some reason I hate how it looks! but this specific person I follow she has the best fonts and its because shes using the best fonts..... shes willing to spend the money to make it look great and that's something I have to accept
Found this channel yesterday, and I'm already binge watching 😅 great work, and precious lessons. My two cents on "rivers": either flush left or "Elements of typographic style" the s*it out of it. Never leave the house without my pal Bringhurst ;)
I’ve had this video on my mind for the last few days just because of the grids segment..I’m working on manuals for my company and thought “yeah I’ll use a grid” but it’s been more annoying than helpful. Spending more time editing the grid than putting stuff on it!
My advice would be to make your grid super simple. Main column, gutters etc… Then enable “base line grid” in in design to make sure your typography is baseline aligned. Frankly i think making sure you use paragraph styles (style sheets) is MUCH more important to whether your work looks well organized than “grids”… grids fuck you up by making you think shit is organized, but in 90% of instances the grid is just too granular… making almost any “positioning” seem logical. It’s a lie.
I'm in art school right now and I'm here because I feel like I spent 2 years with no actual growth. I do the work given and get at least a B point average and yet to me I feel the same as when I started. I understand how important design fundamentals are and now I need to develop them which one half semester wasn't enough for me and that's ok
No joke, I was shown an ad for Full Sail’s art program before this video hahahaha
I cannot be...I absolutely cannot be the only one who thinks the perspective and position of the lights above Sir's head make him look like he has horns.
I do have horns
@@StudioPractice1 My people.
Hey, I chanced upon your channel a few weeks ago and I really appreciate the sort of content you make. It's the kind of higher order ideas that i didnt find in other "tutorials" and knew i needed to learn from somewhere. I do have a question tho - since there are so many people who make detailed tutorials but are not that experienced themselves (i just saw one of my subscribed channels made a video on how to use grids, the kind you call not a grid), what advice would u have for people who want to learn from these channels. How do i filter out which ideas to take and which to reject.
can you do a talk on 3D design?
where's the rest of the video. kind of a cliffhanger ending. what do YOU mean by 'look outside design'?
I find it funny when people think design is an "easy" alternative to engineerining. I did well in school, obtained good grades. When I decided to pursue art/design in college, it became much more difficult. The classes are twice the length of any other major and the end goal is infinitely more ambiguous. Professors also assume the time you spend on homework is propotional to your in-class time (twice as long) so you end up spending twice as much time on homework than other majors.
That’s all fair. You seem to be a highly motivated student. So now if we are being honest - you’re going to tell me that you have not seen a lack of rigor in the culture around design classes? (Many of the students, arrive at class ill prepared for class, having spent little time on their assignments etc…) And please feel free to correct me. If by contrast you’re in a Calculus 2 final exam… It’s possible to score well, without having done the work over the semester? I am genuinely interested in your experience.
This video made me miss my graphic design classes in college so much! I would love to hear recommendations for advanced design online courses from you
but if you already have a video with recommendations, where can I find them?
Thank you very much!
Hi… almost anything on Domestika i have found to be the best online training. Thanks for taking the time to write.
I want to know how to use grids
Watching your video made me feel like I am in one sided relationship with graphic design!
You might be
"Put down the bong" should be on a T-shirt
Alright, alright, you're not attacking me personally. Bur when you said "put the bong down".... I had to lower my joint to act indignant.
Ha!
"Art is easy" or "Everyone can do it" is what you keep hearing. Plus, you are no longer allowed to criticise people's work anymore. Defence argument "What is art and who are you to say what is or what isn't art?" And this includes all forms of art. Digital, traditional, to performance art.
Thank you, sincerely
You're very welcome
I'd add a couple caveats -->
Schools are forced to be less selective due to enrollment issues (or that's an issue within the SUNY system right now as I see), and many schools are trying to decouple from the necessity for standardized test success as a marker of intelligence but are still tied to antiquated notions like the A-F grading system or even the 4 year degree system itself which would require too much infrastructural change to dismantle. The enrollment issue is gonna get really bad from my understanding once we hit 2025, not sure how it is going to effect MFA programs. The point being I don't think you're being a "hater" by saying schools are less selective. If you think about even NY and the art schools there. Some have to be selective to maintain their social cache/perception (idk, Pratt, Cooper) and that leaves a lot of people who are potentially on the cusp of being in those institutions out in the cold and forced to apply to other schools.
Training or sensitizing your ability to see/looking at stuff (and maybe this is tied in with "thinking" but I think this oughta come first). Worse than the river issue, I still occasionally am telling senior/junior level undergraduate students to adjust the kerning between A's and V's and other common kerning issues. This has been an issue for me with students, but they're not looking at the design content they're making. They are so tunneled in on a special interest (concept art/sequential art/drawing elves or a furry comic) but are in graphic design because that has a greater correlation with employment/non-poverty-based existence that they do that at the expense of just making their type not be bad.
There are good free fonts (Velvetyne is a good example, or many foundries typically have "trial" or "test drive" fonts with a limited character set. I'd argue that much of the "free bullshit" you mention is "fine" if you know you're probably gonna have to deal with no kerning pairs or terrible spacing or have to create outlines and adjust some curves) and any typeface can be free if you have friends/ask.
In my state run art academy back in the seventies it was considered normal to drink wine and smoke pot in classes.
Bro is so weird. He’s the perfect designer!
I think that more than that he is a great COMMUNICATOR, which indeed is a very important skill in design. wouldn't say he's the perfect designer without knowing him and his body of work. cool guy, tho
You mention a 3 month timeline of concentrated study for diligent focused learners to acquire the required skills for competent graphic design. Can you provide some kind of study guide with your recommendations for completing something like this. I would be forever grateful.🙏
15 years into a graphic/information design career my mind has been blown apart by one thing that 99% of designers don't do. Learn how to make work that is effective for the VI community. They are a huge audience that deserve good design.
sorry, what's VI?
Visually impaired, I think @@royareyzabal823
In the middle of grading 2nd year design projects.
How many students 'hear' these rants we give ... I might assign this as mandatory watching at the beginning of every semester, it'll save me the repetition.
I run a graduate program… and this is shit a say till I’m blue in the face