Ways to improve

Ways to improve as a graphic design:  This will help me with my action plan on ways to improve. I found this article very helpful.

http://www.wikihow.com/Improve-As-a-Graphic-Designer

Become a collector. Each time you see a design that inspires you, collect it, bring it home and file it away. You can stack them in boxes or folders, allowing you access to them. They're a great resource of inspiration when needed. Even Starbucks gives out creative weekly mini-newspapers. 

Buy books. Having an extensive book collection is essential to learning. Try to buy a new book at least every few weeks. Look for a range of inspirational, educational, fun, and technical topics.

Read design-related blogs. You will learn a lot by reading other designers' blogs. The web in an invaluable resource of information -- take advantage of it and actually use it.

Look out for tutorials These will teach you new techniques, and will expose you to new methods and useful tricks. Work through them and then apply the learned techniques to your own designs. There are a lot of great tutorial sites out there. You can also find some on personal blogs. Constantly improve your skills by looking for tutorials and completing them.

Start a design blog. Starting a blog will make you more aware of the design community and make you more analytical toward your own work. If you blog well enough, you may also attract attention in the community.

Take lots of photos. Photos solve the problem of not being able to take home designs you like. Camera phones are great for this. Just snap a photo and file it away for later. You can use Evernote for this type of thing; pictures of building designs, textures, shapes of shadows on walls, etc. Take photos of anything that interests you from a design standpoint.

Create sample projects whenever you find free time.Create a fake brand for a company. Design logos, stationery, brochures, websites, the whole nine yards. It’s good to do this once in awhile because it keeps design fun and lets your creativity run wild without limitations. It’s often easy to get caught in a rut when clients start dictating and your work no longer remains "yours".

Redo your old designs. It is important to keep your old work. It will help you see if you’re moving forward and improving your skills. Instead of throwing away or deleting old projects, try reworking them.

Visit exhibitions of visual arts and graphic design.

Travel. Experiencing new cultures and seeing their artwork opens your mind to a whole new world. It is good for inspiration.