Graphic Design & Page Layout

I'm a self taught designer, and had one of the earliest copies of Adobe's Creative Suite. The first time I designed for a client I sat with the printer for an hour asking hundreds of questions, and left feeling certain the project would be a failure. I'm a minimalist when it comes to design. I believe the content should speak for itself, and try to avoid unnecessary decoration — with plenty of negative space to let the content breathe. Sometimes tight leading, careful attention to tracking, and minimal kerning are all that's needed (along with some great photos) to get your message across — something I'm still learning how to do.