Get Program Info
Because Your Future Won't Wait
Graphic Designer Job Description
If graphic design seems like the job for you, then the possibilities are virtually endless. Graphic design has become a part of our lives. You live it--look at the curves and colors of the chair you sit in; breathe it--ever noticed the way the logo on that perfume bottle you just sprayed yourself gleams?; even eat it--stop yourself for just a moment to admire the way the fonts and shapes come together on your cereal box. It's not a stretch to say that the graphic designers responsible for our day-to-day artistic encounters and have the power to shape the world we live in.
Your job as a graphic designer will give you the ability to showcase your work to the world in any number of ways. Perhaps the most attractive aspect of a career in graphic design is the flexibility that it offers you--just as a great design becomes a part of the space it inhabits, so a great designer can make their interests meld seamlessly with their work. If you love cars, you can hire yourself out to a local auto shop and create a design for their new posters. If you're a bookworm, then make a living designing book covers, maybe even under your favorite author. If your hobby is redecorating your apartment in your spare time, then collaborate with an interior designer and create a fabulous new line of plates and towels.
Whatever job you choose to pick up as a professional graphic designer, there are certain steps you'll have to go through to move from initial concept to final product.
Brainstorm and sketch out concept
Present idea to client
Repeat steps one to two as necessary, depending on how well you conceptualize your client's needs
Create design, usually involving a digital aspect that requires knowledge of software
Hand design over to your client to produce, or produce it along with your team of marketers, developers, printers, etc.
"Somewhere in the world is the world's worst doctor. And someone has an appointment with him tomorrow." - George Carlin
And somewhere out there is the world's worst art school, but we won't guide you there. At Find Your Art School, we serve those who aspire to be the best. We'll get you there. We know that the top photography schools with the highest job placement rates and strong business community relationships. We know the best interior design colleges from Naples to Los Angeles. If your passion is fashion, go somewhere hip, somewhere urban and cosmopolitan, where they live and breath style. Just check out our top fashion design schools, and you'll ge there. We're located in California, and we know the value of connections and what makes the best film schools. Will employers respect your education? At our list of top graphic design colleges they will. And what are the best performing arts schools? Even when the economy is down, firms are hiring from the top architecture colleges. Our location in San Francisco gives us a lot of insight into the best game design degree programs - there are many graduates from those schools swarming the streets here.
This process used to be the same one that almost all budding graphic designers went through, since most choose to enter a successful design firm after graduation. After a portfolio and reputation have been well established, many people choose to then move on and either open their own firm or freelance. Both possibilities allow for handpicking the types of commissions that you feel the most comfortable working with, as well as the possibility of increased income. Though you wield more power and influence over your work if you choose to become self-employed, you might have to add a few extra tasks to your schedule.
Advertise your services and/or firm
Find job opportunities and discuss prospective jobs with customers
Organize and command a team of employees
Manage the production process
Nowadays, however, there are an ever-increasing number of graphic designers who choose to skip the first step and move directly into independent work. And rather than catering specifically to a client's needs, these new designers are thriving on nothing more than their own creative impulses. How does it happen? They take advantage of the online phenomenon; a cool design up for sale on arts and crafts websites like Etsy, if picked up by the right websites, can bring on a flood of popularity-and a subsequent flood of sales. Graphic designers who work in the virtual arena follow a much shorter list of steps
Brainstorm and sketch out concept
Create design
Produce design and any related products
Sell it online (advertising an option)
Whichever pathway you choose, graphic design allows you to put all your creativity and your passion for clean lines and sleek color combinations to good use. Best of all, your work ends up where hundreds, thousands, perhaps even millions of people have an opportunity to see it. If graphic design sounds like the career path for you, then get started right now. Find your graphic design school today!