one thing about not having gone to design school is randomly learning the fucked up history of design things. all of a sudden you learn a font or pattern or whatever was used by nazis AND is still being used today. and no one tells you!
Design’s history—and the history of art in general—is one of propaganda and social manipulation. Check out the Italian Futurismo movement, toulouse-lautrec’s advertising work, Hockney’s Secret Knowledge, and Hitler’s watercolors if you’re curious about more history.