Graphic designers work with a large variety of communication mediums like CDs, books, magazines, movie credits, TV ads, posters, catalogs, and websites.
Graphic Designers' Tasks
Graphic designers usually perform the following tasks:
- Interacting with clients and identifying their needs
- Collecting relevant information about products/services and their users
- Brainstorming and planning design ideas
- Deciding the most effective ways to visually convey messages
- Presenting probable ideas, along with budgets and schedules, to clients
- On approval, adjusting designs to suit clients' needs, and, if need be, incorporating their suggestions
- Preparing sketches and layouts and illustrating their visions for designs
- Developing the sizes and arrangements of different elements on a page or screen
- Selecting colors, sounds, illustrations, artwork, photography, animation, styles of types, and other visual elements for designs
- Using computer software to execute designs
- Working with printers, programmers, developers, or other technicians to help complete assignments
- Submitting final designs to clients or art/creative directors for approval
- Acquiring the latest knowledge in the field
- Supervising assistants' creations
- Devoting a substantial amount of time to develop new business (applicable only to designers who work on their own)
To excel in a competitive field like design, professionals need to possess the following skills:
- Artistic sense and creativity
- Ability to synthesize client's business needs with design elements
- Verbal and visual communication skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Ability to produce quality design ideas and execute them within work, time, and budget constraints
- Ability to use design software and graphic tools like InDesign, Quark XPress, Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator
- Solid understanding of the corporate world's needs
