When you hear the words graphic design, what comes to your mind first? Only the names of the industry relevant software or maybe just learning how to create posters, logos, social media posts and advertisements?
Yes, these tools are important but the main question is…Can knowing the tools alone make you a good graphic designer?
The answer is “NO”.
Before learning the tools as a graphic designer you will need to understand different people, their behaviour and how they think. This is the sole reason why you need to learn psychology. So, in this blog we will be learning why learning psychology is really very important in graphic designing before learning any design tools.
Graphic design is about People, Not Just Pictures
A graphic designer does not simply make something look beautiful. A designer creates something which communicates a message and along with that it also influences the people.
For example, you are designing an advertisement for any food brand. You can use different colours, attractive fonts or maybe a great picture. But if the design does not make people feel hungry, curious or interested in the product then what is the point?
This is where 3 things are needed:
l Design psychology
l Behavioural science
l And consumer psychology
As a graphic designer, you will need to understand:
l How colours create emotions?
l How typography affects perception?
l How visual hierarchy guides attention?
l And how different design elements influence decision making?
Even something as simple as a “dot” should have a purpose.
l Where you place it
l How big it is
l And what it is placed next to can affect
l And how the viewer looks at the entire design
Good graphic design is not about adding more things. It is about knowing why every element is there.
Tools Can Be Learned, But a Designer’s Mind Needs Training
Knowing how to use tools does not automatically teach you how to think like a designer. This is why Red Apple Learning’s graphic designing course focuses on building students as professional graphic designers, rather than simply training them to operate industry relevant tools.
The learning journey takes students through various transformative tunnels where students explore :
l Psychology
l Metacognition
l Behavioural science
l Visual perception
l Cognitive thinking
l And creative problem solving
Metacognitive learning is especially important because it helps you understand how you think, how you learn and how you approach a creative problem.
Instead of simply asking “Which tool should I use?”, you start asking better questions like:
l “Who am I designing for?”
l “What should they feel?”
l And “What action should this design encourage?”
This exact shift in thinking can completely change the way you design.
The Real Goal Is Commercially Viable Design
Graphic design is not only about making something attractive. In the “real world” design needs to be commercially viable.
A business uses design to:
l Communicate
l Attract attention
l Build trust
l And ultimately encourage its target audience to take an action
It can be anything, be it about… buying a product, downloading an app, visiting a website or choosing one brand over another.
This means a professional graphic designer needs to understand:
l Target audiences,
l Consumer behaviour
l Communication strategy
l Visual psychology
l And marketing principles
So, before you become someone who knows design tools, become someone who understands why design works.
Because when you understand psychology, behaviour and communication then industry relevant tools also becomes more efficient. It becomes more than a drawing tool. Each and every colour, font, shape, image, space and even every tiny dot starts having a purpose.
And that is the difference between simply using design tools and actually becoming a professional graphic designer. So, if you want to become a successful graphic designer, don’t waste time, learn from an advanced 1:1 course, Red Apple Learning’s graphic designing course will be helping you in getting into the industry as a skilled professional. For a free professional demo-class you can call/ Whatsapp: 6289690050. All the best!
