Learn Design with Abhinav

Guide to building a design career from scratch. #10kdesigners

Playlist: ​Learn Design with Abhinav on YouTube

Discussion: ​Facebook group

Basics
✓ Before you start: what, why, frequently asked questions
(​https://youtu.be/WZQYt5HZ0-E​)
✓ Steps in a design process (​https://youtu.be/oSz5KTdKW88​)
✓ Design terms like UI, UX, IA, VD (​https://youtu.be/omKQsOPAjjk​)
✓ What tools do I need to know? (​https://youtu.be/omKQsOPAjjk​)
✓ How to develop intuition and an eye for design (​https://youtu.be/T4BvVOC_J_k​)
✓ Going from zero to your first screen in Figma (​https://youtu.be/RKILkYOHRXk​)
✓ The best way to practice design (​https://youtu.be/pBgufXz2lbU​)

My story
✓ How I got into design (​https://youtu.be/i9GGt7c8Law​)
✓ My first 3 freelance projects with actual screenshots (​https://youtu.be/E_l3DTbnsGo​)
✓ Five years of projects on Dribbble (​https://youtu.be/frIJxqPVi4E​)
❑ Why I wrote a book about freelancing (Pyjama Profit)
❑ My experience working with startups
❑ My experience managing a team

Visual design (VD, UI)

✓ Fundamental principles of visual design (​https://youtu.be/gSCJMTLrW6Y​)
✓ Sketch vs Figma vs Adobe XD (​https://youtu.be/bUFjEPOO488​)
✓ Basics of Figma (​https://youtu.be/RKILkYOHRXk​)
❑ Alignment
❑ Spacing
❑ Lighting/Shadows
❑ Grids
❑ Colors
❑ Consistency
✓ Basics of typography (​https://youtu.be/C-AACoESJa88​)
✓ Picking & pairing fonts, working with photos (​https://youtu.be/iEVwissdKZY​)
 ❑ Responsive design
❑ Accessibility considerations
❑ Dark interfaces
❑ Material Design guidelines
❑ iOS Human Interface Guidelines

Research
❑ Finding and using design inspiration
❑ Finding what users want online
❑ Find out how many downloads any app gets
❑ Find out how much traffic any website gets
❑ Conducting user interviews: in person
❑ Conducting user interviews: questionnaires and surveys
❑ What are user personas and when do you need them?
❑ What is journey mapping?

Information architecture (IA)

❑ Making flow diagrams
❑ Understanding navigation
❑ Primary and secondary navigation
❑ Navigation patterns on mobile

User experience (UX)

❑ Patterns and guidelines
❑ Ten principles of interaction design
❑ Login and signup
❑ Navigation
❑ Onboarding
❑ Coach marks
❑ Device permissions
❑ Cards vs lists vs grids
❑ Empty, loading and progress states
❑ Error states
❑ Notifications
❑ Content creation
❑ Search, filter and sort
❑ Chats, messaging and communication
❑ Audio and video
 ❑ Stories vs Feed
❑ Gamification
❑ Chat bots
❑ Modals and pop ups

Prototyping
❑ What it is and why you need it
❑ What tools do I need to know?
❑ Marvel App
❑ Principle App

Handoff
❑ Basics of development
❑ What you need to know about programming
❑ How to collaborate with developers

Process
❑ Testing your designs with users
❑ Basics of analytics
❑ How to ask for feedback (​https://youtu.be/glxUCeecrk4​)
❑ How to give feedback
❑ What is A/B testing?
❑ Designing with real data
❑ Repetition and iteration
❑ How to present your work
❑ Arguing for design from a business perspective

Practice
❑ Designing an app
❑ Designing logo and branding
❑ Designing social media posts
❑ Designing a website landing page
❑ Designing stickers and t-shirts
❑ Designing a book cover
❑ Designing album artwork
❑ Designing illustrations
❑ Making GIFs
Community
❑ Sharing what you know
❑ Engaging with other designers
❑ Five websites to hang out and meet other designers
❑ Are local meet-ups worth it?
❑ Benefits of co-working places

Freelancing
❑ Building a portfolio
❑ What clients want
❑ Communicating right
❑ Finding clients inbound and outbound
❑ How much should you charge
❑ Contracts and invoicing
❑ Building a personal brand
❑ Finding clients on Instagram
❑ Finding clients on Twitter
❑ Finding clients on Reddit
❑ Finding clients on LinkedIn
❑ Finding clients on Upwork
❑ Finding clients on ProductHunt
❑ Finding clients through Dribbble and Behance
❑ Finding clients through cold emails

Job hunting
❑ Preparing a resume
❑ How much do designers make in India?
❑ Do you need a design degree?
❑ Do you need to know programming?
❑ Making a portfolio
❑ Startups or big companies?
❑ How to get noticed

Side projects
❑ Why you need them
❑ First step to becoming an entrepreneur
 ❑ Passive income ideas for designers
❑ My last five side projects (with screenshots)

Designer to Entrepreneur
❑ Why designers are best suited for entrepreneurship
❑ Funded startup vs a sustainable business
❑ Finding a co-founder
❑ What can you build?
❑ (more to be added)