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Design is a fascinating skill that has been around from the early days of man, and even to this day, it is very important.
As a student or a full-fledged designer, you might not be aware of the benefits you stand to receive from learning a new language, as at first, the two don’t seem related.
However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In this article, we discuss 5 reasons why you might be interested in learning foreign languages as a designer.
5 Reasons Designers Should Study Foreign Languages
As a design student, you might find it interesting to know that there are similarities between design and the study of foreign languages.
In this section of this article, we will be going over what these similarities are. So, here are 5 reasons designers might want to study foreign languages:
1. It Helps to Develop One’s Empathy
One attribute that designers need is empathy. As a designer or a design student, when you try to come up with a design for a particular audience, you have to think of how they might view it and what their preferences might be.
Studying foreign languages can help you develop empathy. Learning a foreign language requires you to learn the culture of the people who speak it, as learning a language goes beyond understanding grammar and vocabulary.
For students to successfully learn a new language, they must strive to be open-minded, learn to not force their own opinions, and dig deep towards understanding the culture of the people.
A design student aims to develop an understanding of the users’ preferences, and the path toward understanding this will require the designer to learn without forcing their opinion or any personal bias. This approach to learning is critical in learning a new language and design.
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2. It Cultivates a Curiosity of Other People
One of the main driving forces behind the desire to learn a new language is to find out more about a certain group of people and their culture.
By learning a new language, you can interact with even more people than you used to.
This is a great opportunity to expand your mindset. Web designers, for instance, often look for website localization ideas so that they can reach a wider audience.
This desire to learn about people is a shared passion, even in the world of design. A designer aims to create solutions that are meaningful and impactful in the lives of their users.
In order to achieve this, they have to take time out to research the interests of their audience. Having a deep curiosity for people is important and is an attribute you will learn from studying foreign languages.
3. You Learn Patience and Develop Observation Skills
Whether you are a designer or a student learning a foreign language, you need to be patient and have strong observational skills.
For you to learn a new language, you need to take out time and observe native speakers; however, it can take time to learn the intricacies of the new language, which is why some people with strict deadlines to meet choose TheWordPoint to help translate their documents professional certified translators will handle your document with ease and efficiency.
Just the same way you need to observe people and patiently learn to improve, the designer also needs to have keen observational skills and a patient attitude.
A designer has to learn things that the user might not even tell them through observation. The process of learning meaningful information can take time as well, meaning the designer has to be patient to reap meaningful rewards.
Aside from that, the creative process of designing is not always a fast process. At times, it might be difficult to find inspiration, so patience is definitely an attribute the designer will need throughout their career journey, so learning a foreign language can be very useful.
4. It Helps with Creativity
People who are bilingual tend to be more creative than those that are monolingual. The process of learning a new language requires you to learn the vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, and expressions.
This might be significantly different from what you are used to. To learn and understand this will require you to have a different perspective on how things are viewed. This can help improve your creativity and, as a designer, can be very useful.
A designer must come up with solutions that at times exceed the expectations of their audience.
To achieve this, you must have a creative mindset. Hence, designers will most certainly improve their creative thinking by studying a new language.
5. It Can be a Confidence Booster
It isn’t easy to learn a new language, as you are bound to make mistakes during the early stages. Most people are afraid of mistakes because of the pressure it brings at times.
The same thing can be said of designers. At times, even the most successful designers find themselves creating solutions that are not positively received. However, this shouldn’t discourage you.
A student learning a new language will make a lot of mistakes, but as time goes by, they tend to become less afraid of making mistakes and more interested in learning from them.
This tends to boost their confidence as they move on in their language learning journey. A designer can appreciate this, as they need to be confident to show their creative side.
Conclusion
At first, design and studying a foreign language might seem unrelated. However, these two activities have definite parallels. The soft skills you develop when learning a new language are vast.
These skills will prove valuable in your career as a designer, so you might want to consider taking a language class or two in your spare time.
Author Bio:
Michael Carr is a digital design enthusiast, and a content writer who speaks more than 3 languages. He enjoys traveling, working out in the gym, and hanging out with friends. When he isn’t working, you’ll find Michael volunteering at a local shelter.
