Are you a designer looking to improve your craft? Creating digital products and services designed for humans requires a deep understanding of your purpose, bringing users into your process, and utilising design methods to create delightful experiences. But the learning doesn’t stop there.

As a designer, it’s important to maintain a curious mind and continue to absorb knowledge from those around you. Embrace other perspectives and question everything you know to be true.

There are many ways to continue your education, from expanding your references and sources to connecting with other designers and finding a mentor. Keep learning and growing, and let’s see what incredible creations you’ll make next.

Set the goals

• Think back to when you defined what design is to you and your dream job. How has it changed?

• What you have been learning about design can be applied in many ways, beyond a traditional design job. Reflect on how you want to apply what you learned.

• Define your career goals. What type of projects do you see yourself working on?

• What kind of design role might help you achieve that?

Build community

• Find people around you who are also learning, working in design, or working in a related field. Team up with them and find ways to support each other on your journeys. some networking skills.

• Find online meetups and conferences to join.

Find a mentor

• Create a high-level outline of what you want to ask and learn from a design mentor.

• Reach out to designers you admire.

• People might be busy or take a while to respond, so it’s good to reach out to a few people. To make the most of the opportunity, after finding a mentor, focus on what you can learn from them before contacting others.

Keep learning

• Reflect on all you learned in the past classes. What topics are you curious to learn more about? What are the ones you struggle with the most?

• This class was just the beginning of your journey. Decide how you want to keep learning! There’s plenty of content out there for you to take in.

• Before signing up for a specific course or program, find people who have gone through it before and ask how their experiences were.

Keep practicing

• Design is thinking and making. Both require practice. Don’t rush to find a job in designing or to publish your portfolio; focus first on learning and finding your voice in design.

• Go beyond what you’ve done so far. Find more exercises, examples, and practices beyond the ones listed here.