The Curriculum
The Ultimate List of Online Design Learning References
Note: We’ve moved… DesignYear has pivoted to be Optimal Designer (optimaldesigner.com), please update your feeds & links!
Note: The following curriculum is an aggregated list of links from the 1st page of Google Results for “Learn Design”. The source sites are at the end of this post.
Graphic Design Theory
Learn to Draw
- You Can Draw in 30 Days [book]
Intro to Graphic Design
- Graphic design tutorial for beginners | How to learn Graphic design [video]
- 50 Totally Free Lesson in Graphic Design Theory [lessons]
- Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative [book]
- Dribble [inspiration]
Typography
- Thinking with Type [book]
- Helvetica [video]
- Summary of key rules [article]
- A Brief Introduction to Typography [article]
- Typographica [inspiration]
- Typewolfe [inspiration]
- Type for you [inspiration]
Color
- How to Get a Professional Look With Color [article]
- It’s Only Color [article]
- Web Creme [inspiration]
- Click Here to Check Out The Rest of These Linked Resources
Layout
- Making and Breaking the Grid: A Graphic Design Layout Workshop [book]
- Communicating a Message Through Visual Hierarchy [article]
- Layout Inspiration Behance collection [inspiration]
- Click Here to Check Out The Rest of These Linked Resources
Learn to Write
- Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die [book]
- Voice & Tone [inspiration]
Purpose of Design
- Startups, This Is How Design Works [article]
- Design Principles [inspiration]
Tools for Design
Illustrator
- Adobe Illustrator CC Classroom in a Book [book]
- Vector Basic Training: A Systematic Creative Process for Building Precision Vector Artwork [book]
- Creating an Environmentally Friendly Green Type Treatment [tutorial]
- Click Here to Check Out The Rest of These Linked Resources
Photoshop
- Adobe Photoshop CC Classroom in a Book [book]
- Design a Travel Startup Landing Page Using Photoshop [tutorial]
- Graphic Design & Illustration Tutorials by Envato Tuts+ [tutorial]
- Click Here to Check Out The Rest of These Linked Resources
Sketch
- Learn Sketch 3 [article]
- Creating a vector logo in Sketch 3 [tutorial]
- Sketch 3 for iOS App Design Step by Step [tutorial]
- Click Here to Check Out The Rest of These Linked Resources
Branding
- Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities [book
- Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team [book]
- The Crazy Science On How Your Brain “Sees” A Logo [article]
- Click Here to Check Out The Rest of These Linked Resources
User Experience
- The Design of Everyday Things [book]
- Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability [book]
- The UI Audit [book]
- Click Here to Check Out The Rest of These Linked Resources
Web Design
- 9 basic principles of responsive web design (with gifs) [article]
- Create a Clean Magazine & Blog Theme [free course]
- Designing for The Web [free online book]
- Click Here to Check Out The Rest of These Linked Resources
Mobile App Design
- Mobile UI: How to Redesign the Spendometer iPhone App [tutorial]
- Tapworthy: Designing Great iPhone Apps [book]
- pttrns [inspiration]
Extra Credit
- HackDesign [articles]
- Creative Workshop: 80 Challenges to Sharpen Your Design Skills [book]
- Startup Weekend [event]
- Click Here to Check Out The Rest of These Linked Resources
Google Results for “Learn Design”
- How to become a designer without going to design school
- HackDesign
- 55 Hand-Picked Resources to Help You Learn Graphic Design Quickly
- Click Here to Check Out The Rest of These Linked Resources
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.” ― Ira Glass
Note: We’ve moved… DesignYear has pivoted to be Optimal Designer (optimaldesigner.com), please update your feeds & links!
