How to become a graphic designer?

How can I become a Graphic Designer before going to college?

• this question is that how can I learn the basics of Graphic Design, I am so interested in it. I love designing websites and pictures. I want to learn, Can I get advice about being a graphic designer from real people who are graphic designers ! I love art and I love designing.

• Answer:

  Unfortunately, the basics of Graphic Design are probably the most boring set of basics EVER, because you're not actually designing anything... you're learning the tools and theories that come into play, eventually, way down the line. I graduated from design school, and freshman year was filled with: 1) shade studies (painting swatches of gray colors, and making a 12 step gray-scale, and critiquing each others scales, saying things like "the jump between swatch 4 and 5 is too big a jump, while swatch 10 and 11 are too close in tone") 2) line studies (arranging parallel lines of varying thicknesses at various distances from each other, then critiquing each others studies, saying things like "the lines are so close together here that it looks like a mistake when compared to the rest of the lines") 3) color studies (choosing 5 colors, then applying them to the line studies from part 2, then critiquing each others studies saying things like "the colors are aesthetically pleasing, but they don't fit with that particular study") 4) form studies (using only a circle and a triangle, make several compositions where the two shapes interact with each other on a square layout, then critiquing each others studies, saying things like "I like the tension between the circle and the triangle, how the triangle is pointed at the circle, and the circle is slightly off the page, as if it's running away from the circle") The foundation of being a designer is 1) understanding how to talk like a designer... like how to describe why you chose colors, for reasons other than "they looked nice together" and how to describe why you dislike someone else's work. 2) understanding extremely basic concepts such as "horizontal lines are easy on the eyes, while vertical lines require more work for the eyes to take in and understand" 3) understanding how things interact with each other in compositions, and the underlying feelings and thoughts the interactions provoke. The difference between a college-educated designer and a non-college educated designer is not that one can design prettier than the other, but that the college-educated designer often has deeper understanding of why the designs are effective and understands the underlying rules of the human brain as it relates to the visual world. There are TONS of books on design, and if you're looking to pursue a college-like education in design I'd encourage you to find one that's all about the basics... don't go for the ones that have complete designs in them, go for the ones that have black and white shapes with simple compositions, explaining the basics of composition and theory. It's so boring, but it makes so much more sense when you've got a huge website to design and can make educated design decisions about it. Books that I read in college: http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Color-Johannes-Itten/dp/0471289299/ref=pd_sim_b_3 http://www.amazon.com/Design-Form-Course-Bauhaus-Revised/dp/0471289302/ref=pd_sim_b_2 http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Type-Critical-Designers-Students/dp/1568984480/ref=pd_sim_b_5 http://www.amazon.com/Making-Breaking-Grid-Graphic-Workshop/dp/1592531253/ref=pd_sim_b_1