Tutorial #1: Adobe Illustrator for Beginners: Get Started in 10 Minutes
Format: Youtube Video
This video is a quick and fairly easy tutorial to follow. In 10 minutes, he describes what vectors are and walks you through Illustrator from opening the app to how to use individual tools. He even supplies some “bonus tips” that may not be readily known such as how to duplicate an item easily. This tutorial was published 10 months ago so all of the information is accurate and up to date with the version of Illustrator that I currently use. The creator of this video is a graphic designer named Andy who has over 10 years of experience. He is a member of the Adobe Community Experts Program which is a worldwide group of professionals in Adobe. He has a lot of great tutorials for a variety of skill sets, mainly focusing on Adobe Illustrator. This video in particular has over 14 thousand likes and 300+ positive comments. After watching the video, I understood everything he explained and have no doubt a beginner would be able to easily follow. I would definitely reference back to this for the basics of Illustrator and I recommend any beginners to watch this video and use Andy as a reference.
Tutorial #2: A Beginner’s Guide: 10 Tips for Graphic Designers
Format: Blog
Although this blog was published over a year ago, the information is timeless. The authors have included 10 steps for successful designing and every point is applicable for any type of design. The authors of this blog post are known as “Team Pepper” and they write for the Pepper Blog. The Pepper Blog is a well-known blog that gives tips mainly on marketing while also touching on a variety of topics including graphic design. Their post included quite a few infographics which I believe adds to their credibility as it shows that the advice they are giving is proven from other sources as well. This blog does not have any features for commenting or liking. This post was the 3rd link when I looked up “Tips for Graphic Designers” so I believe they are a common blog for designers. It is a very easy to follow. The format was the same for all 10 points, subheading with the point, bullet points with information and most also include a graphic explaining the point or tip. I probably won’t use this as a reference in the future just because it is very basic information and I don’t necessarily have a use for it at this point in my education. I would recommend it to newcomers in graphic design.
Tutorial #3: Is Ai Killing the Graphic Design Industry?
Format: YouTube Video
This video was posted 2 months ago and it is a very relevant topic in today’s design world. The topic of Ai is a hot-button topic in many fields, especially graphic design and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. The creator of this video, Will Paterson, is a graphic designer who has owned a logo design company for over 10 years. On YouTube, Will has over 834 thousand subscribers. This video in particular has over a thousand likes and close to 200 comments that are all positive. This video moves very fast. It has more technical jargon that beginners or people who aren’t graphic designers may not understand. There is not a clear line of conversation or obvious main idea. It is more of a random FAQ session about Ai. I agree with many of the things said however, it is harder to follow. He breaks up his information with a good about of examples and graphics used to enhance his points. I probably would not use this video in the future as it is more of an opinion piece and watching it once is all one really needs from the video.