I make heavy use of software like Photoshop and Illustrator. These are highly-sophisticated tools for creative work. I've never had time to learn all there is to know about much of the software I use, let alone keep up with the new features they build into tem year-after-year. Even if I did manage to read all the manuals and take all the courses that are offered to learn these software, I would probably forget most of what I learned soon afterward. So what's a dedicated design professional to do?

Lately I've become addicted to tutorials. I have found tons of great tutorials on the Web. I notice that Daniweb has many excellent tutorials right here on this site. As I'm working on a project, I look at tutorials to find the kind of graphic elements I'd like to have in the design. I save these tutorials on my computer and spend a couple of hours on them each night. These go into many in-depth features and I learn how to make great use of the software. I can apply these to me work and rapidly create the kinds of things I want overnight.

Often I have to go back into the files and modify the work. I may have forgotten how I made the work to begin with, but since I've saved the tutorial, all the steps are right there as a handy reference.

Sure, I still experiment with software and have had many wonderful discoveries along the way. I still try to learn as much about the basics as I can, but tutorials have become a big part of my ongoing quest to achieve excellence in design.

By making good use of tutorials I can quickly learn what I need to know to do the thing I need to do when I need to do it.