“Don’t get some fucked-up free bullshit online typographically and wonder why your design looks like ass.” Subscribed.

I'm about as far away from the design world as it gets and I'm not even sure why yt recommended me this channel, but it's actually become one of my favorites.

I work at a sewage treatment facility but this is the only channel I watch.

Before I learned the art, a grid was just a grid. After I learned the art, a grid was no longer a grid. Now that I understand the art, a grid is just a grid.

Several of the most famous graphic designers I've studied, are of the opinion you only need about 10 fonts for your entire career. A virtuoso designer can use classic fonts like Helvetica, Futura, Gill, Garamond, Bodoni etc.and make them play to very different styles and moods in their projects. I lean towards that sentiment, really knowing some of the greatest fonts really well.

I have tremendous respect for this channel, an actual designer turned content creator and not otherwise speaking real industry facts and calling out the bs. You couldn’t get such high quality information even on udemy.

this continues to be the most underrated design channel on this platform

As a freelance grinder in NYC mastering the grid will definitely save your ass.

bro he's bringing up the graphics live while he speaks instead of adding it in post. that's sick! the evolution of the slideshow. almost feels a bit like a performance.

to be fair, I just finished my first year of design school and I never put my bong down lol

I'm 59 and all your videos motivate me

First point: so true. It took me 15 years working as a graphic designer to even develop the confidence to stop adding more details to a piece with the misguided notion that complexity = quality

Love it! It may seem cliche, but design is as much of a culture as it is a career choice. The more you embrace the culture, in all its forms, the more you can pull from for inspiration, reference, what-not-to-do, etc.

I go to a design school in Canada and I love watching these on my summer break to keep up my skills. and from experience this guy is an amazing teacher not everyone has the pure understanding that can be taught to anyone

Didn't know those were called rivers, but those gaps are freaking me out. Thanks!

Thank you for the knowledge! Love the typeface selection points!

I'm into programming (20+ years) and really appreciate listening to this. A challang in software and system design is keeping things simple and sticking to core principles.

Dude, Elliott... this video goes so hard. Thank you for calling all this BS out. We need more of this!!

Particularly like your take on grids. I'm with you on that!

I'm an instructional designer (learning and development) coming from a background in education, adult learning and corporate training. I'm always trying to improve my design which I was never formally trained in. This guy is 100% right when he says you need to know your place in the schema of client relations. They already have their content, they more or less already know what messaging they want to get out. Projects always have to start with that thinking process of knowing what is the best way to connect the content to the audience.

Great video, summed up my experience in design school, thank you for the wisdom

I never went to design school even though I worked as visual designer for print and web. I was an illustrator who thought "oh, design is easy compared to drawing". Wrong. It might be technically easier, as in fewer lines made in illustrator. But design is way harder because every pixel/point counts. You have tons of wiggle room for composition with illustration, as 80% of the time you're not doing information design (sans illustrations used in a visual design, or comic books with the fancy lines of actions and dialogue placement) So, as a grownup who though he knew what design is, I'm so glad we got folks like you kicking us all in the ass to do better 😊

Just discovered the channel. No clickbait, no BS. Pure knowledge! Thank You for this.

I really like your channel and how you go straight to the point. Saludos desde Uruguay

I may have just found my new favorite channel.

Love your no BS/filter approach, such an inspiration ❤️

The simplest things are never the most obvious. Yet it’s the best place to start.

Thank you Elliot. You remind me of my fav prof at my design school (u of u) this was like getting a pep talk, it activated parts of my mind that working has caused to slow down. Love it, subscribed.

My biggest takeaway here is the subtley innovative approach you take to present the slide show.

Love this video. Thanks for saving me the tuition! Would love more.

Full of value. But by far is MOST important is in the last 1 min

Love it. Thank-you As someone with an engineering background I would say you give us too much credit.

The last point really resonated with me. That design is about THINKING. + Mindset shift about being a designer. A designer is a person that takes content and makes it an easy way to understand the content (possibly with some goal or emotion in mind) + NOT About the content. its about the WAY it is presented. ----- "They Key to making sophisticated design.. is outside design" My thoughts: - Look at how people consume information - Understanding the psychology of "wanting" and perceived "needs" - Observe how products / ideas are successful if there was no visual design (audio? human interaction? Value? The "content"?) ----- [Notes] Interesting points on: - Rivers. (I personally never thought about this before, I just thought that it was bad to have unevening spacing. Its hard to focus on the content when I can see literal patterns while I'm reading) - going against idea of Grids. Grids for Layouts to make easier design choices, not for infinite options. - Typography, base it on the back of giants. If other people already like it, why not also branch off of them? Why try to try a brand new font that hasn't been tested. ---- I love your content, thank you for making this free for us to learn! Coming from a "hard" engineering field, Design feels felt like it has a lack of distinct steps to make a "good" design. Its not like math where 2+2=4, a good design has good points, but still feels subjective to me. I'm glad that you put your teachings out here for people to learn and gives us a more structured guideline towards what to look towards

I just like to make things. I'm trying to understand what graphic design is and how to do it. But I also just want to do what I want lmao. Idk. I like these videos, maybe I over-complicate things out of fear. I realized what it is..I DON'T LIKE LEARNING. Or I'm not all that interested in understanding the learning processes of the things I'm interested in. It's hard for me to be TRULY BOTHERED to do it. You said 3 months approx. right? I HAVE THAT TIME. YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I'VE SAT DOWN AND WAS LIKE "I'm going to try to learn about design today". Only to drop it, then pick it up and then drop it. Like a damn hot potato lmaoo. That's my vibe rn, but w discipline I'm sure I can become a great learner. I'm creative as fuck, I do not doubt my ability to visually communicate a specific thing to someone.

That was great. The stuff explained wasnt cliche stuff like so much of other stuff on youtube

Paradoxically, simplicity and sophistication is the most difficult to achive. Good design and art looks so simple that it is overlooked by many. Great chanel!

Wowww! I feel like it’s the first time I actually hear something about graphic design. I really beed it to hear that.

I really think you're not being mean at all, the truth is usually harsh. The grid talk is a really high level concept. Nice video!

Pure knowledge, absolutely beautiful, wish i had a teacher like you where i study, please dont stop with the content im hungry for more

I think everything made sense to me, but the grids was an eye opener. Definitely will start utilising more custom grids.

My dad taught me about rivers growing up... THANKS DAD!!

Man, the phone spyware really working overtime. For once I'm gald about that, I was just talking about how hard getting a design degree is where I live. God bless you for sharing, and thanks Yt you got one right this time! ❤❤❤

Another key to great design is to look at your audience because you, as a designer, is bridging information from the client to the audience. The client has content, the audience has tendencies, biases, emotions, reactions, inhibitions, and everything in between. Know your audience because your design is for them, not for the you or the client.

Freelance graphic designer, fashion & 3D designer here, and I'm about to focus on your content as I continue to progress my career as a freelance artist (AUS) Much appreciated!

this video has inspired me so much. thank you.

14:43! Yes, this holds for ALL art of ALL art forms! It is the FORM of a composition that beguiles, excites, annoys, challenges, and arrests us, far more than the content displayed. An incompetent photo depicting the interior of a Romanesque church will almost always fail and pale when compared with a masterful sketch of a full and smoldering ashtray.

You’re hilarious, and so real 😂 i love it

Thanks for lesson. If there is a blue and there is a violet lights on your right back and left, it would be a great view of a cyberpunk vibe. Your studio is just perfect.

The irony that he is preaching simplicity but simply cant spit it out.

Excellent as always

Thank you so much for this gem ✏️

15 years into a graphic/information design career my mind has been blown apart by one thing that 99% of designers don't do. Learn how to make work that is effective for the VI community. They are a huge audience that deserve good design.

So so so good!

I studied Computer Science. It’s the same thing. If you “put the bong down” and concentrate, the whole program can be done in about a year. It is definitely harder than art and design but it doesn’t have to take four years to master the core fundamentals of Computer Science. One year can do it

I want a deep dive into grids. Very interesting

I produce electronic music professionally but I apply these frameworks to my working process because they are valid regardless of field. I don't need any more musical input (its inevitable), I need input from diverse sources, so thanks for these videos.

Found this channel yesterday, and I'm already binge watching 😅 great work, and precious lessons. My two cents on "rivers": either flush left or "Elements of typographic style" the s*it out of it. Never leave the house without my pal Bringhurst ;)

Only found your channel a few days ago and I f*ing love your channel! There are so many graphic design KZfaqrs that I just can't stomach as there's an air pretentiousness that you simply don't carry. Love the videos please keep them coming! From a recently graduated mature graphic designer, who's a bit at a loss as to what move to make next, due to family commitments complicating things. ❤☮️✌️and all that

Love the video and your approach (aka attack - piano reference 😆) ! Do you have any tips about how one might select and arrange grids for a single project? Do you choose one and use it all the way through a project? Might one select a variety of contrasting grids in much the same way a song is composed ? Creating interest by adding elements of surprise and tension returning to familiar motifs and structures. Thank you so much. Your insight will help me immensely 😃🫶🏽

Very good content!

Just want to say thank you. I studied design for three years, am a designer and I’ve always recognised how I’ve been let down by the education system. I wish I had you as my educator back then, however, thanks to the internet I have you as my mentor. You are brutal and genuine in the things you’re teaching. Keep swearing at us please 🙏

I still am trying to understand what's a legit grid all other points make sense. Thanks for the video! - an engineering student trying to teach themselves graphic design

I'd love another in depth video on how the grids you showed aren't grids. And how to apply the grids you recommend in practical application.

Would you mind elaborating a bit more on how to learn everything in 3 months? I'd love to read trough some resources you're recommending. I'm currently self-taught, and design on simple principles: -What do I like and what don't I like? I look for inspiration daily and the answers keep evolving further and further. -Create incredibly massive chaos and amount of concepts, which I then try to narrow down to the bare bones, yet keep it's essence. The issue I've got at the moment is that everything's taking me incredibly long time to make - but I'm trying to create unique stuff, unlike the XYZ template designs.

Great video Sir Elliot. I have a request: Can you please release a video on the "Thinking" aspect from your video? It'll be a great help as I often struggle to be innovative / creative in my Design Philosophy of Minimalism often digesting comments like "its boring".

"Art is easy" or "Everyone can do it" is what you keep hearing. Plus, you are no longer allowed to criticise people's work anymore. Defence argument "What is art and who are you to say what is or what isn't art?" And this includes all forms of art. Digital, traditional, to performance art.

I m not into a design program yet, but seeing how much of the works shown along the video are mostly illustrations makes me wonder If I should really take drawing classes and build a solid base before gettin into graphic design.

God damn man, you'r a gold mine

6:54 As a 10 year veteran of book design the justification fight is real. But not particularly aggressive after so long :)

This was fun to watch. But for the first point on engineering I had a different experience. I’m currently at the end of my bachelors program which is a 50/50 mix of Computer Engineering and Interactiondesign and from my experience the design courses were the ones with the highest workload and most stress, while you could sleep trough the less demanding CE courses like Datamanagement and get a good grade anyway. Now I’m heading into my Identity Design Master and all people who were accepted whom i know are powerhouses of workethics. And the typography tipps on the Adobe Fonts saved my current work thank you for that :D

Alright, alright, you're not attacking me personally. Bur when you said "put the bong down".... I had to lower my joint to act indignant.

Hey, I chanced upon your channel a few weeks ago and I really appreciate the sort of content you make. It's the kind of higher order ideas that i didnt find in other "tutorials" and knew i needed to learn from somewhere. I do have a question tho - since there are so many people who make detailed tutorials but are not that experienced themselves (i just saw one of my subscribed channels made a video on how to use grids, the kind you call not a grid), what advice would u have for people who want to learn from these channels. How do i filter out which ideas to take and which to reject.

"Put down the bong" should be on a T-shirt

Give it to me. I’m waking up in sweats about being in school. I appreciate your unique perspective.

11:30 The Veracity of Sources concept is excellent. One thing to add to this is that designers can take a method that is appropriate for design-and misapply it elsewhere. A beautiful typeface is "true" for the use of solving a specific communication problem. The error here is to assume that anyone using that typeface must then be therefore on "team good" which means anything they state is factually and morally correct. But anyone can use that typeface and not necessarily be telling you the truth. They might believe they are but have been fooled themselves. (The "C-" problem has implications for critical thinking and moral reasoning sadly.) Sometimes superb designers will echo a propaganda line and seemingly be completely unaware even of the very valid criticisms of it. As often they are in echo chambers and will make no effort to find what's happening outside it directly from those with alternate viewpoints.

That's a really nice jacket.

I find it funny when people think design is an "easy" alternative to engineerining. I did well in school, obtained good grades. When I decided to pursue art/design in college, it became much more difficult. The classes are twice the length of any other major and the end goal is infinitely more ambiguous. Professors also assume the time you spend on homework is propotional to your in-class time (twice as long) so you end up spending twice as much time on homework than other majors.

12:05 the rant about fkd up sht fonts! 😂. Oh my, am I guilty. Throughout my career - so guilty. I have been chastised and now I repent and will come to the light! Amen brother 😂

literally doing my final homework assignments for typography this semester as im watching this ahahah

Would love to understand more from you about UI design work and hear your thoughts about it. A lot of the UI design work in corporates is mindnumpingly boring and templatized all the way from grids to typography.

In my state run art academy back in the seventies it was considered normal to drink wine and smoke pot in classes.

No joke, I was shown an ad for Full Sail’s art program before this video hahahaha

"Put down the bong" dAmn bro called me out 😂😂😂

I'd add a couple caveats --> Schools are forced to be less selective due to enrollment issues (or that's an issue within the SUNY system right now as I see), and many schools are trying to decouple from the necessity for standardized test success as a marker of intelligence but are still tied to antiquated notions like the A-F grading system or even the 4 year degree system itself which would require too much infrastructural change to dismantle. The enrollment issue is gonna get really bad from my understanding once we hit 2025, not sure how it is going to effect MFA programs. The point being I don't think you're being a "hater" by saying schools are less selective. If you think about even NY and the art schools there. Some have to be selective to maintain their social cache/perception (idk, Pratt, Cooper) and that leaves a lot of people who are potentially on the cusp of being in those institutions out in the cold and forced to apply to other schools. Training or sensitizing your ability to see/looking at stuff (and maybe this is tied in with "thinking" but I think this oughta come first). Worse than the river issue, I still occasionally am telling senior/junior level undergraduate students to adjust the kerning between A's and V's and other common kerning issues. This has been an issue for me with students, but they're not looking at the design content they're making. They are so tunneled in on a special interest (concept art/sequential art/drawing elves or a furry comic) but are in graphic design because that has a greater correlation with employment/non-poverty-based existence that they do that at the expense of just making their type not be bad. There are good free fonts (Velvetyne is a good example, or many foundries typically have "trial" or "test drive" fonts with a limited character set. I'd argue that much of the "free bullshit" you mention is "fine" if you know you're probably gonna have to deal with no kerning pairs or terrible spacing or have to create outlines and adjust some curves) and any typeface can be free if you have friends/ask.

I was getting yelled at for 16 min but I needed to hear that

could you do poster or general graphic critiques?

as a professional this is great

i love your enders

Are you able to go over the ending in more detail? Definitely opened up a whole other line of questions for me.

Rivers in type layout are a big issue, I've noticed it with younger designers that grew up doing digital only. For some reason they always want to justify lots of text.

CCS student here, thanks for the content and for the illustration w/ the critique method. Massimo Vignelli is busting out of his black funeral unitard rn to defend the unigrid.

10:17 "...we want to stand on the backs of giants..." 🔥🧐 & then out of nowhere 10:20 😅🤣💀 refreshing...i'm officially a subscriber! 🙌

Bro is so weird. He’s the perfect designer!

You mentioned that with will, diligence and commitment, a designer can learn the basic foundation of design in about three months. As a self taught and working designer for many years, the idea of obtaining this foundation is very attractive to me as I always feel there are fundamental holes in my work. How can I go about constructing a 3 month course for myself so that I get whats needed without wasting time I don't have? Any advice?

Well said.

Thank you, sincerely

I cannot be...I absolutely cannot be the only one who thinks the perspective and position of the lights above Sir's head make him look like he has horns.

ty for the class

thanks for the video

This video made me miss my graphic design classes in college so much! I would love to hear recommendations for advanced design online courses from you but if you already have a video with recommendations, where can I find them? Thank you very much!