When starting out, a good way to deal with problems is to replicate. It sounds counterintuitive, but it's a great way to notice things that the untrained eye can't hide. Find your favorite designs from sites like Dribbble, any site, any shot.
Take a good look, then close the view. Open the program of your choice and get to work. For the most part, try to remember as little as possible, giving it a look to remind yourself. With reproduction, the idea is to reproduce what you see as closely as possible.
What this teaches you is:
Observe the details. Fonts, colors, spacing, elements, shadows, shapes. All the little elements.
Apply the basics. You can't remember all the telephone number list spacing in pixels, so you have to "get it right" yourself, applying design basics. Usually, it is the same as the original designer.
There is more practice. That way, you won't be held back by a lack of ideas.
You won't be overwhelmed by all the other decisions a designer has to make.
All but the fundamentals are great. You will most likely lack this knowledge when you are just starting out. But don't worry! There is time for everything. Just Google it for anything that piques your interest. The best way to remember and understand is when you practice. Then apply it. Better than simply reading. This has its benefits, but we'll discuss it again.
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This process can last a long time. At least until you're happy with the re-creation. It can also continue with other steps of the journey! You can choose more complex designs and graphics and focus on other aspects that have never been seen before.
Understanding Design Fundamentals
We've touched on the telephone number list basics several times. Let's give them a full section because it sounds important. Design foundation, art foundation are all intertwined. In order to put them into practice, you must have a solid understanding. This is a helpful book because it guides you through the basics and then builds on them in a structured way.
There are plenty of books to read and lots of checklists to classify them as good or bad, but chances are you won't misread the following:
Revised, Updated Universal Design Principles: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach Through Design
Visual Grammar (Design Summary)
Design Elements, Color Basics: A Graphic Style Manual for Understanding How Color Affects Design