What young designers need to know:

"Focus on your portfolio, not your grades, that’s the thing that will get you your dream job. Learn your practice. No matter how much you think you know about design there’s always more to know. Know your typography in and out, and upside-down, it's the building block to any good design. Learn how to use your computer programs properly but before that, learn how to design without them. Spend all of your free time looking for inspiration but dont expect to find any because it always blindsides you when you least expect it. Take any design related jobs you can and do every single one to the best of your ability. Even if it’s just a birthday card for a friend, who knows it might end up as a portfolio piece."

This advice is from designersof.tumblr.com, a place where designers can share their work with the blog's 22,000+ followers, get tips, advice, network, etc. I agree with all of this, especially the bits about typography, learning how to design without computer programs, and always looking for inspiration. I am a huge fanboy of typography and type design and far too often I see great designs that would be even better if they didn't lack typographic quality. Kerning is my biggest obsession. I could kern for days so when I see designs with sloppy kerning I just want to scream. Having a vast knowledge of typefaces is essential as well. Helvetica is great but everyone and their sister knows that, branch out.

Designing without computer programs is something that I think is becoming an afterthought more and more with young designers (myself included). I'm guilty of jumping right into Illustrator, inDesign, whatever program it may be, and tinkering with a project from beginning to end without spending much time on sketching or processing outside of the computer. It's something I need to work on and I know a lot of my peers need to work on it as well. We are the digital generation so it's easy to go straight to the computer and plug away but your ideation process will lead to stronger results if some sketches and other non-digital drafts are a part of it.

Inspiration is key and finding as much inspiration as possible always helps with creativity. I try to find inspiration in anything and everything around me, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Like the quote said, look for it often but it will always blind side you. I find that driving is a great time to think of ideas and work things out in my head. Some of the best ideas have come to me out of nowhere during my commute. Always surround yourself with as much inspiration as you can but don't be discouraged if it doesn't come to you right away.

If you're on Tumblr I recommend following designersof.tumblr.com. It's a great outlet for displaying your work, getting feedback, and seeing what other people are creating all in a less formal setting.