How Do You Hack Web Design Learning Process?
When you say hacks or life hacks, it’s usually about shortcuts or the easy way out. These are the tricks and techniques you use in everyday life to make things easier.
In education, however, there are simply no shortcuts. Or isn’t there?
There might not be in getting a degree in university, but there are techniques to gain necessary skills and education in web design that will be beneficial to your practice and business.
Tomas Laurinavicius, founder and editor-in-chief of Despreneur, tells his secret and his experience about learning web design, developing your skills, becoming at the top of your game, and entrepreneurship through self-study.
Theory and Practice
Tomas taught himself web design when he was in high school. Later, he invested more and got a formal education enrolling in classes which combine business and design. However, he found the classroom lessons boring and continue to self-taught himself by getting resources from the Web.
So which strategy really works? Or which path should you go?
Deciding whether to get formal education or learn by yourself is a choice which depends on your end goal.
For Tomas, his interest shifted on the business side of web design – he wanted to become self-employed doing his passion. And he have observed that learning the business side in the classroom isn’t enough because it doesn’t provide him the skills and experience he needs to become an entrepreneur.
On the other hand, if you want to aim for a top position in a big agency, getting formal education is a must. Once you’re there, however, you need to focus on a certain niche and become an expert on that.
On Charging Clients
One of the greatest dilemmas web designers face, especially if you are self-taught, is when to start charging clients.
The answer is simple – If you want to add value to yourself, you have to start charging unless you are doing a project for a non-profit.
But before reaching that place, self-discipline is a very essential element. You need to have discipline to develop certain skill sets and knowledge needed as a web designer.
Developing your creative thinking skills is also a must. You need to continuously see patterns in designs and reinvent them so it would become appealing to a certain culture or group.
On the other hand, if you want to focus on the entrepreneurial side of design, you also need to gain confidence by starting to work with real people and real clients. There would be mistakes but you learn how to communicate with them and get to solve their problem.
Getting Out of the Comfort Zone
Developing your self-confidence also means getting out of your comfort zone. One of the best way to stretch your self-confidence is to constantly put your work online. This exercise breaks the mindset that people might laugh at or criticize what you have place because you think it isn’t good enough.
Contrary to that, however, is that as much as there are people who don’t really care what you share online, there are also those who take notice.
Travel can also take you out of your comfort zone because it exposes you to cultures different than your own. It also forces you to talk to people and do things you don’t normally do.
Conclusion
Learning is indeed an ongoing process. However, learning isn’t limited within the four corners of a room, nor it is confined in a certain place. Learning is everywhere and anywhere. The most important thing is you have to get out of your comfort zone to learn and try new things.
Watch the video and hear more how to hack web design learning process, and don’t forget to share and spread the love.
