Reddit reviews Designing with Light

FrostD makes a good point.

There are some standard textbooks that you might look into (with the accompanying knowledge that they will carry textbook-like price tags). I've found them more useful than websites, mostly because I had a lot of trouble finding any websites that did a broad overview of stage lighting.

Shelley's A Practical Guide to Lighting the Stage is a pretty well known one.

Personally, I learned a lot from Gillette's Designing with Light. But I also encountered it after I'd had some experience with the actual lighting instruments. So I remember it as a great introduction to "how do I design," but I can't remember if it covers any of the "this is a fresnel, this is a par" things.

If you want to learn how to program cues, I'd look into tutorials (or at least manuals) relating to whichever board you are likely to work with. If you don't know which board you're most likely to work with, there's a decent chance you'll end up behind an ETC Express [citation needed].

While I'm recommending texts, if you want to figure out how to draft a light plot (likely a further-down-the-line thing in your education), Hillmar's Light Plot Deconstructed is a pretty good way of learning how to make a plot in Vectorworks.

But really, the best way to learn is to do, or at least to be around people who do. If you're going to school, check out if the theatre program (if it exists) would like an extra set of hands on the next load-in/strike. Or if they need a board op (which was one of my favorite ways to pick up on lighting design without needing a lot of prior knowledge or experience).

If you're not going to school atm, see if there are theatres nearby who might want help. Often, even small places (high schools, churches, restaurants that host live acts) will have their normal "lighting guy/gal" they could put you in touch with. Most should be willing to at least point you in the right direction, even if they don't end up wanting/needing a hand with things.

This isn't by any stretch a complete guide, but hopefully it's enough to get you started in some direction or other.

Books I recommend / see commonly recommended.

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    Show Networks and Control Systems
    
    This is a great book all about how modern lighting networks work using sACN and other protocols. John Huntington is a great speaker if you ever get a chance to see him speak. He should be doing a session or two as USITT this year. He is also a professor at CUNY and has a great program there.
    

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    Electricity for the Entertainment Electrician & Technician
    
    Another great book by another great speaker. I got to see a panel with Richard Cadena a few years ago at USITT. I was very impressed with how he spoke about stage lighting and some of the practical experiments that he has done and shared with us. I haven't read this book, but I've heard great things about it. A big topic of conversation at that panel was inrush current, and he gave some really great and easy to understand answers. I suspect that his book is more of the same.
    

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    Designing with Light
    
    A classic. Very very well respected book. It will probably be the text book for your first lighting class in college, if you choose to study lighting in college.
    
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    [Light Fantastic: The Art and Design of Stage Lighting] (https://www.amazon.com/Light-Fantastic-Design-Stage-Lighting/dp/3791343718)
    
    My favorite lighting book. Covers a huge array of topics, addresses lighting history & color, shows and demonstrates some really really interesting designs.
    
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    A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting
    
    I see this book recommended most often. It's another great book. The title holds true, it is a very practical guide to stage lighting. How to do paperwork. How to write a contract. How to talk to people. Some nuggets of lighting knowledge. I didn't really get as much out of it though, as I am not trying to become a professional lighting designer.