# How do I learn graphic design?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-learn-graphic-design/536680>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [April 19, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-learn-graphic-design/536680 "2010-04-19T22:50:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-learn-graphic-design/536680/21 "2010-04-22T16:25:15Z")

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> [@wasson](#):
>
> What I heard over that was “Do people really just learn this stuff by copying?”. No, we don’t… if you really had the appreciation for design that the OP implies, then I don’t think you’d have asked that. If you were being facetious, then I’ll take off my sensitive-slippers and apologize.

I was responding to **BigT** ’s post:

[QUOTE=BigT]  
I’m under the following impression: most amateurs (with sites that look good) just go and find a site design they like online, and copy that.  
[/QUOTE]

I can copy with the best of them, but I want to get better than that.

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**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-learn-graphic-design/536680/22 "2010-04-22T16:42:24Z")

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> [@Athena](#):
>
> And to further clarify - I may have been using some wrong terminology, I’m mostly looking to learn better layout. I don’t expect start designing logos from scratch or create original artwork.
> 
> I do my best to bring a real graphic designer into the mix for any website of any size that I do. But occasionally I do websites for friends or really small organizations that don’t need super-fancy sites and can’t afford to pay much. It’s these situations that I’m looking at improving my own skills for.

And there’s nothing remotely wrong with that. Perhaps a dedicated web design book/course would be the way to go - it might be a little more digestible than Graphic Design From The Beginning, as it doesn’t sound like you’ll be needed much experience in concept work, for instance. Reading up on effective **branding** would be useful for you, however, as it will help you understand how to communicate a consistent message through words and visuals, which is applicable to any design medium.

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