I graduated from a 4-year art school in 1993. (Yes, I’m old. But I’ve spent the last 20 years as a working designer.) We learned paste-up (on physical boards! with a waxer!) The computer lab had Macintosh’s for desktop publishing (Illustrator, Pagemaker and Photoshop) and Amigas for computer animation (anybody else remember those?). Needless to say, there was no web design or internet classes.

So was those four years a waste? NO! I also learned color theory, typography, 2D and 3D design, advertising, copywriting and art history. I learned how to stay up until 2:00am 5 nights a week to get all my homework done. I learned how to take criticism, and give it. I learned that there are always going to be designers who are better than you, and that’s okay. These are the things that will stay with you.

Technology keeps changing. If you want to be a designer, you have to become a life-long learner. I think formal classes are a good place to start, but if you’re not self-motivated, you’re not going to make it in graphic/web design. But if you love this stuff, it’s not going to feel like work, and you’ll go to your office every morning with a smile on your face.