Designers also keep an electronic and/or print file of anything that is interesting or well done.
A personal file of such samples can be useful to look through for ideas to build on.
Subscribe to Graphic design magazines and plan to save all the back issues.
The Internet is also an excellent source of good design. For example, the AIGA Web site shows thousands of award winning designs .Never simply lift another
designer's solution; that is unethical. Looking at how someone else solved a particular problem, however, is part of your education.
Designers are expected to build on the work of others. We do not create in a vacuum, but are influenced and inspired by the thousands
of samples of good and bad design we are exposed to every day. Your challenge as a beginning designer is to expand your visual vocabulary.
Use that vocabulary to build new designs . This is similar to an author using a word vocabulary developed over time. An author does not have to create
a new alphabet or a new language in order to create an original piece of literature. He or she needs to combine these elements in an original fashion.
As part of the research stage, search for a creative approach to your design problem in as many ways as possible. Build your
visual and conceptual vocabulary.
Try looking up a dictionary definition of your topic. Look in an encyclopedia for additional background. Search the Internet for information on the topic.
Use a thesaurus. Make a word-association list of everything you can think of that is associated with your topic. Save personally significant visuals and collectibles.
Approach a design as both prose and poetry. Be both logical and intuitive.

Graphic Designers