Personally, I learnt graphic design from a variety of books, YouTube channels and tutorials. In this topic I will discuss only about the most helpful sources, the ones that take time and effort to be found.
Learn from lynda.com
From where I stand, the best resource for picking up graphics design is lynda.com. I say this simply because the lessons contain recordings with exercise files created by Deke McClelland, the one who wrote the first versions of the books ‘Photoshop for Dummies’ and ‘Illustrator for Dummies’. Moreover, the Graphic Design courses from this website help you to better understand the user interface of the graphic programmes, show you how to use all the tools in an effective manner and most importantly they suggest ways of organising your graphics so as to work more productively.
Learn from Phlearn
Another great material for starting to learn graphic design is YouTube. My first lessons for Graphic Design were tutorials posted on youtube.com. To be honest, I cannot remember the channels from which I picked up the first tips and tricks about Photoshop, but I definitely remember the channel that appealed to me the most, namely `Photoshop Tutorials by PHLEARN`.
Learning Steps
I suggest all Graphic Design beginners to start with Photoshop using the beginners` tutorials available on YouTube. Alternatively, I recommend the tutorials on lynda.com to more experienced graphic designers, who are willing to pay for learning everything about how to use graphic programmes.
On the other hand, the design part regarding print and web materials can be studied freely from tutorials and e-books. From my perspective, sheer experience is better than mere theory, so I recommend singing up on 99desgins.com, where freelancers can find jobs and see what other designers had created. Nevertheless, the book called ‘The Digital Advertising Guide 2nd Edition` is free on the internet and it is great for learning web advertising. Furthermore, the most comprehensive book that exists on the market is called ‘Principles of Marketing’ by Philip Kotler and Garry Armstrong, the book that I studied at the Faculty of Marketing.