What is your process for staying current with graphic design tools and resources?

Here are a few ways: 1. Follow top designers on their social media. They usually try out some of the new tools and explore new trends. 2. Browsing platforms like Pinterest or Behance helps a lot for knowing worldwide trends.

Staying up to date with new releases for the graphics programs you use is always helpful. Talk with other designers about things you are doing, and see if they have any shortcuts or tips to help you do things more easily.

I think finding the best people in the industry will make a stunning effect on your career. You can find them by Behance and follow their works!

1. Follow experts in the same industry. Usually, they have access to more information and tools. It's so easy to get the right updates from them. 2. Subscribe to design blogs that give updates on design trends.

For me, I am teaching courses to high school students who are constantly checking their phones so I think because they are so immersed in technology it would be silly for me not to encourage them to find new trends and designs that they'd like to simulate. This way when they find something that they like or want to try, they share it with me, I learn and then we learn together. This constantly pushes me to stay with the trends and of course, learning new tutorials through Adobe is always very useful. Don't be afraid to seek inspiration from others. Also, as others have said, join online groups to see what other people are doing and maybe ask for guidance. Who knows when inspiration will strike?!?

I agree graphic artists should engage with the production side of print media, not just focus on aesthetics. My experience in clothing design has taught me that understanding scaling, placement, print type and other factors are crucial for creating designs that are both visually appealing and functional. Getting hands-on experience—like visiting printing units and learning the basics—is essential. While deep technical knowledge isn't always necessary, having a strong foundation in production processes is key to growth and ensures designs work seamlessly in the real world. When the basics are solid, it opens the door to creativity and innovation, resulting in designs that both look great and work flawlessly.

Keep talking to fellow creatives about creative processes, not just designers. I find this makes me find a way of achieving whatever results I'm looking for, despite design tools(and their limitations). So be more driven by the desired results rather than being guided by the tools themselves. Also always keep an eye on the latest design thinking by reading, looking at what's out there.

Continuous Learning: Taking courses and tutorials. Industry News: Following design blogs and magazines. Networking: Joining professional groups. Tutorials: Learning from online resources. Conferences: Attending design events. Experimentation: Trying new tools and features. Software Updates: Keeping software current. Online Courses: Earning certifications. Trends: Following design trends closely.

Joining forums is a great idea. Believe it or not, Adobe forums is a vibrant community. I've gotten excellent help from people on there with complex software issues or figuring out how to do advanced things (for example, scripting and mapping things onto 3D objects). People there are glad to help!

Part of your business is making time for training. That means taking some time when you would normally be working on a project...use it to stay up to date and learn something new. Experiment. Download new software. Take a course. Learn something new. That's how you build your business over the long term.

Training is very important! As always I suggest Youtube in first state and then Udemy & Coursera. I myself started everything from Youtube . It helps you a lot in this generation!

Lynda.com which is now LinkedIn Learning is a great resource. There are a lot of courses on there that you can use to up your game. For example, I went through Matt Murphy's course on using GREP search in Adobe InDesign. I was able to use that knowledge to make scripts that automatically cleaned imported copy instantly, which streamlined my workflow!

Online courses might help a little bit for those who need more structure in their learning. But a really valuable resources is following design tutorials on YouTube. Check their upload dates and view count to help determine which ones that are current to watch and follow along with.

Checking Design websites can really be helpful, finding fonts and being aware of what’s new in the industry will help you a lot!

This is totally true. You need time to play with and experiment with new tools. The best way to tighten those skills up is to use them.

There’s something about finding balance in our creative process. Part of the search for inspiration and mixing human and Ai brains together can be a challenge ! But personally I try to make it fun as well, or the pressure of learning new tech takes over and breaks the process! Stay organized, respect the steps and guides as well. Nothing is to old and nothing is to new! It’s up to us choose how we work and in which path and steps will be! Depending on our ability to listen to our stakeholders and clients as well!

For the most part, you can't really break the software that you'll be working with. So you can just play with it. Don't be afraid to experiment or make mistakes. I just experimented with Adobe Firefly and the new Ai features in the latest version of Photoshop. IT was a lot of fun. I was also amazed by the possible application for those tools. Just jump right in and try it out. There's nothing to lose and all to gain!

Running automation tools within design programs such as Photoshop's Actions or InDesign's Scripts can do wonders in optimizing your creative workflow by performing a huge variety of production tasks. I'd recommend not only experimenting with them yourself, but also researching how other designers utilize those tools in their own process via Youtube and LinkedIn posts. It can take time to tailor these tools and have them run properly by trial and error, but once they work, it saves you so much time in the future.

Events and workshops are ok sometimes to get feedback from like minded peers, however most of your time should be spent researching and creating; Make a big body of work to show off.

In my modest experience take every opportunity to keep learning, be that in your own time or through courses and webinar’s. Most of the practices and tools I use are self taught and I take advantage of free tools and programs to try and refine my skills and pick up new ones where possible. There are always ways to learn something new even if it is just downloading a new program and spending a few hours seeing what you can achieve with it

I try to expand my skills. I follow new courses, for example on ‘sign making’ to understand how big signs are actually created and placed. I can use this knowledge in my designs afterwards