Three Design Myths I Believed

I was the kind of kid who got lost for hours in art and paintings at the Kimbell art museum. It’s still one of my favorite art museums to visit today! I always felt like a grown up when wandering down these hushed halls and taking in all the exhibits. Later I realized it wasn’t just art that caught my eye but design.

Design intrigued me even before I knew what it was. Design is an umbrella which many industries I was interested in thrived. The main ones that interested me were graphic design and web design.

I could have started experimenting and learning about these interests years ago but a few things were holding me back. These beliefs were all myths in one way or another and stopped me from pursuing creative passions and projects sooner.

I want to break down these misconceptions so others don't fall for them. Here are 3 design myths I used to believe that stopped me from pursuing a design career sooner.

You need to know how to draw

The origin story for this one is pretty wild. Let's go back in time to the dawn of reality TV in the early to mid 2000's. The Real Housewives universe are just getting started.

These shows intrigued me because they were different and I could basically turn off my brain while watching them while doing my homework. I was in high school and college when these shows started getting popular.

One day watching the Real Housewives of New York I saw Alex making a logo for Bethenny. It grabbed my attention because graphic design interested me but I was too intimidated to try it out. She started sketching out the logo and making revisions.

My brain jumped to, "Oh you need to draw to be a graphic designer. I can't do that so it won't work out for me."

My desire to learn graphic design was stamped out and forgotten.

Jump to about 10 years later, I'm bored in my full time office job. I enjoy the work but it's monotonous and data driven so not a lot of room for creativity. My first impulse is to quit but it took me so long to find this job I decide against it.

Instead I decide to revisit creative hobbies and interests that I put aside when in school because I was too busy. One of these was graphic design. I look online for tutorials and tips and I'm instantly overwhelmed but still interested.

Next I look for any relevant design Meetup groups so I can learn and meet other designers. As luck would have it one was starting up near me. I decide to check it out and this started my design journey.

You need a design degree

Most jobs with exceptions, engineering and medical come to mind, don't really need degrees anymore. I had a lot of fun learning and meeting people in college but there isn't anything I learned in school that is necessary for my current job.

Design is a field with tons of people in it and lots of people think you need a degree to stand out. But like many jobs in tech schools and universities can't keep up with the fast pace of changes. You're usually better off finding an online course, YouTube channel and learning on your own.

People learn skills outside of school every day.

I could tell you all the places to learn design and graphic design but this post would be never ending. Using Google or your favorite search engine will be your helpful guide to finding free and paid resources for this.

One of my favorites is YouTube. In general this a great resource for anything that requires visual learning. The Futur YouTube channel which is geared towards creatives is more focused on the business side and they have paid resources on their website.

Skillshare is another good one. In general you can find tons of classes here but there are lots of design and graphic design specific classes for almost anything you want to learn or try. All the classes on Photoshop are super valuable.

Another resource for graphic design which I haven't tried but think looks promising is The Brief Collective by Kenzi Green Design. I found her videos on TikTok and her online design school looks really comprehensive. It's definitely bookmarked for me to check out later.

Check these out if you want to know what web design classes I took or if you’re just getting started with web design as a beginner. Taking free or low cost classes, lessons or seminars are a great way to see if your creative passion or hobby is something you want to transform into a business.

The market is saturated and competitive

When learning about the world of graphic design it seemed like were already so many designers already. Instead of taking the amount of designers as a positive, if there’s that many designers there must be a lot of projects, I assumed there wouldn’t be enough work to go around. One way to validate that there is plenty of work is to check out freelancing platforms like Upwork to see that even if there are a lot of designers the demand is there for even more designers.

One of my friends from the graphic design Meetup group worked as a designer full time and freelanced on the side. She was always creating logos and brand concepts for clients. The demand was always there when she had the free time for it.

I briefly joined AIGA and participated in a design thinking seminar which was fun. It seemed like the issues other designers would bring up a lot was finding a full time job. This led me on the path of freelancing and doing passion projects since I knew this would make more money and give me more creative fulfillment.

While this is true it shouldn't keep anyone who enjoys creating from going into the design field. The variation of what you can do in design and the types of design you create is what will make you stand out.

Final thoughts

If you want to go into design or another competitive and creative field don't let limiting thoughts or beliefs stop you. Many things you might assume are facts might not be true. You may have even believed some of the myths I just busted for you.

If you're ready to jump into a new hobby or passion project definitely start taking steps to get there even if they are small at first. You never know where the journey might take you.

Inspired to check out more design work? Check out my favorite inspiration sites for mood boards or follow along on Pinterest.