A grounded understanding of media theory and media history is the best way to grasp good design.
This can be obtained by looking at the story of media back to the Gutenberg printing press. Look through historical documents, old magazines, brochures, etc. and ask "why did they do it this way?" This gives you a plethora of reasoning and inspiration that you can pull from and reapply throughout your career.
Web design is mutable and loose. Graphic design software is very distant from users and reason. Without grounded thought, your software will do muh of the design for you. The result will be inconsistent and inferior to design with classical uderstanding.
Look to western art history back to the Gutenberg printing press at least. Get more particular in the 20th century and hunker down on Bauhaus influence and mid-century advertising. Learn about Engelbart and hypertext theory and any associated interests of yours.
I find more and more that actual good designers know where their designs come from and reference that understanding in their application of them.
This can be obtained by looking at the story of media back to the Gutenberg printing press. Look through historical documents, old magazines, brochures, etc. and ask "why did they do it this way?" This gives you a plethora of reasoning and inspiration that you can pull from and reapply throughout your career.
Web design is mutable and loose. Graphic design software is very distant from users and reason. Without grounded thought, your software will do muh of the design for you. The result will be inconsistent and inferior to design with classical uderstanding.
Look to western art history back to the Gutenberg printing press at least. Get more particular in the 20th century and hunker down on Bauhaus influence and mid-century advertising. Learn about Engelbart and hypertext theory and any associated interests of yours.
I find more and more that actual good designers know where their designs come from and reference that understanding in their application of them.