Types of Graphic Designers

Being a graphic designer means knowing how to make the right kind of images for a particular project. Sometimes, these images are as large as tarpaulin advertisements on freeways and sometimes, they are as small as mobile ads on your iPhone 5.

Are you thinking of becoming a graphic designer? What sort of jobs are out there for you? We have compiled what we believe are the 4 most interesting job types for artists or graphic designers.

 

 

Job #1: UX designer

A designer focusing on how a user interacts with a website or application – from discovery to registration, logging in, playing or viewing pages to exiting the site, is called a UX or User Experience designer. Apart from creating attractive elements like buttons and images, it is also your job to:

•    Make sure elements are viewable from all platforms (mobile, tablet, desktop etc.)
•    Create an easy experience for buying or viewing the site (whichever are the goals of the site)
•    Design a smooth flow from one page to the next
•    Make sure there are no dead ends or errors in terms of page flow

Job #2: Entry-level graphics

Entry-level graphics are popular these days since they are affordable and can be tasked to do simple and yet important things like creating icons, cleaning up photographs, laying out images for publishing etc.

These types of graphics work can apply to the following industries:

•    Print and traditional media
•    Digital ads
•    Web design and development
•    Illustration houses
•    Schools and universities
•    Consumer goods and marketing teams


Job #3: Art or Creative director

For those wanting leadership apart from doing creative work, you can try being an art director or a creative director. What is the difference between the two?

•    Art director – focuses on graphical elements like fonts, overall layout, design flow and branding
•    Creative director – covers even the copy content (text), musical scoring and video production

So this means you are not just working on your own work now, you are responsible for a cohesive and compelling campaign for a product or brand.

Job #4: Digital advertising artist

A digital artist specializes on creating mobile and web images – making sure they are optimized for quick loading, follows web standards and are easily used by the web development team. This involves the following skills:

•    Optimizing file sizes without compromising on image quality
•    Using sprites to minimize repetitive files for a site
•    Using web fonts for maximum browser compatibility
•    Understanding mobile display requirements and standards

There are many options for a career in graphic design and there is no better time to start learning than today.

Why Being a Graphic Designer Rocks

Graphic designing is one of those professions that offer great flexibility and fulfillment both in a creative and financial sense. Here we give you nine reasons why being a graphic designer rocks.

                 Image From: http://www.empire-media.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/outsourcing-graphic-design.jpg

•    More room for creative freedom

Being a design artist allows you to unleash your creative prowess while creating decent revenue. In fact, it is much easier to make a profit out of the graphic design jobs than any other fields in fine art. If you love both fine arts and computers, then this job just might suite you.

•    Choose your medium

There are a variety of art mediums for you to choose from while working, with web and print being the most prominent. Web tools are intensive and using them will allow you to harness programming potentials along the way, including HTML, PHP and CSS – all of which are sought-after skills in both web-based outfits and offices (thus making you more marketable).

•    Wide client reach

Almost every business in the world requires graphics – be it an advertising firm or a clerical office. You’d have wide clientele options, all waiting for someone to fill in their marketing collateral needs.

•    Be able to do work at your own pace and place

There are plenty of online job sites out there like O-Desk and Elance where you can get freelance work from clients who are looking to outsource labor. This allows you to generate revenue within the comfort of home and according to your own timetable.

•    Establish your own operations

If you’re not too keen about being an employee, then you can opt to take the DIY course and run your own graphic art studio. Not only will you be able to extend your customer-base to bigger brands and attain better brand exposure, the ROI is bigger too!

•    An easy career to launch

Contrary to other professions where you’d have to finish a 4- year degree in school and take licensing exams,  it is pretty easy to establish. All you need are a working PC or laptop, the appropriate software tools, stable Internet connection and your bagful of designing and networking skills, and you’re good to go!

•    Can be self-taught

While there are schools offering short courses, this is not really a job requirement for most companies or contractors. In fact, the best ones are completely self- taught. There are tons of tutorials and books available that can help you on learn on your own. Be sure to practice regularly as much as you can, though.

•    Minimal expenditure

Doing freelance work creates huge savings on transportation and gas, clothing expenses, and other things that are required when working in the office. Web expenses such as domain and web hosting are necessary particularly for showcasing your online portfolio, but compared to an average employee’s expense, this comes out as nominal.

•    Greater success for digital marketing

When you have a web-based job, selling your skills to potential employers is easier too. Online communities are vital to establishing your presence and widening your reach, and the Web is brimming with them: forums, blog rolls, organizations, among others.