I feel so motivated and focused whenever I design for either personal, work or leisure purposes. I'm no expert, but it feels like an accomplishment to make a work of art. Is it just me or is graphic designing therapeutic?

I self-taught designing through practice with PicMonkey in my mid-teens, then proceeded to learning how to use Photoshop CS6 last year. From then on, graphic designing has been one of my favourite jobs as well as pastimes. Yes, jobs. I was the yearbook editor last year and now I am the public relations representative for my scholarship programme. It's really fun actually.

I gained useful skills and developed a personal style every time I came up with an original design. I'm proud to have satisfied the people I worked with this year and have been given more and more oppurtunities to design.

Much experience. Such exciting.

So as a self-taught designer who indulges for leisure and destressing, I thought of laying out the simple Do's and Don'ts when it comes to Graphic Designing for you fellow readers. (Just in case you need basics for a society or for leisure.)

Before the real work, it's always good to brainstorm. Whether you are with a team or going solo, get some scrap paper and get drafts done. Alternatively, you could just begin playing around with your designing software and piece a graphic design together. I recommend this option for more experienced users. If you really have a creative block, there's always Pinterest.

Google Images and Pinterest will be your new best friends. They are your buffet of digital materials. Let it be clip arts or backgrounds or textures, MAKE USE OF THEM. Be as creative in searching images as you are typing out hashtags for Instagram. Something you absolutely need in your design is bound to appear at some point.

One thing I always do when given a task is to over prepare. Not too much though, one extra design is my limit. Unless you are publicising on a big scale, I suggest keeping your scope to 1-2 different designs only. Besides, you can always vary designs for big scale publicising by mixing up arrangements, which brings me to my next point.

Variations come with enlarging some parts of your design or rearranging the layout. Whatever it is, be open to testing out different arrangements before deciding which one is the most aesthetically pleasing. As for fonts, find new ones online that suit your theme of design to give you new options. I always visit Behance.net, Urban Fonts and Da Font to source out my fonts. Like I said - it is best to over prepare.

Don't copy a design entirely, it's an ammateur move. What I used to do as a beginner was find designs for similar causes and surveyed the arrangement, input, etc. From there, I would develop my own style into my design yet consider what to include to make my design stand out. It definitely shows if you plagarise, because it does not exhibit YOUR personality and YOUR input.

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." - Leonardo DaVinci

Best to keep your designs slightly minimalistic with a sorted colour scheme. Find colours that do not clash and create a vibe to your design. With practice you will find this problem easier to avoid.

If you are designing solo for a cause, it is always best to seek opinions. Only ask two peers - your department head and the boss. You can show people outside the committee as well, just to see how the public eye will react to it. Too many opinions will make it hard for you and no opinions at all will cause miscommunication.

MY T-SHIRT DESIGN FOR THE ANNUAL PRODUCTION IN MY COLLEGE