“Everything is designed. Few things are designed well.”
Brian Reed
Just because you’re not studying a program involving design doesn’t mean there aren’t important skills that you can take away from that sector.
In this digital world, you have to learn how to be seen online as a competitive candidate by using basic design skills that will make you stand out. Here are IGNITE’s basic design skills that students in any program should know.
1. Basic colour theory
Are you creating a vibrant colourful PowerPoint? Or do you have to put together a professional outfit for a job interview? Knowing some basic colour theory tips will help. The Futur Academy has some great tips on learning basic colour theory.
2. Basic formatting/typography
When creating a resumé you want to choose the most professional fonts and ensure your formatting is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Formatting and typography play huge parts in an employer’s first impression of your resumé, so make it count! Our number one tip? Keep things simple.
Make sure your fonts are something timeless like “Times New Roman” or “Ariel” and make sure you adjust boldness and font size to have your strongest points stand out.
3. Basic branding
Branding yourself to employers is so important and you are your own self-marketer! One of the best ways you can brand yourself is on LinkedIn. And you’re in luck! IGNITE has 5 ways to improve your LinkedIn profile. So, get branding!
4. UX Design
If you know anything about design, you have most likely heard of UX Design. UX Design stands for User Experience design and is a combination of elements that consist of market and user research, ideating and prototyping and testing to create the best user experience (whether it be creating an app, a website or a product).
You want what’s best for the user; this knowledge can be applied to your own program by ensuring everything you produce is accessible to the receiver. You can do this by applying all of the above design skills to all your assignments.
That’s all! We hope you can apply these skills to your school or work, as design skills can be applied anywhere!
Internship season is approaching! Learn how to make your resumé stand out.
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