Duties of the Job
There are many variations and options that one can take into consideration and look into all of the different types of jobs that are available in the field of graphic design. Graphic design is not a new field of work; however it is one that is progressing more and more rapidly as technology grows and develops. With the large amount of mediums available to use in order to send and push your message, you will want to be able to find a designer who will have experience and a background in the mediums you are going to use. The person will in all likelihood have experience of some sort with the type of outlet you will be using. In many cases before someone can be offered a job they will need to have some sort of background and/or education in the field of being a graphic designer. Graphic design is now actually a major at many colleges and universities with different types of media and methods receiving exposure and being used in a hands-on way so as to better prepare the students who will be entering the workforce.
What a Graphic Designer Does
Essentially the jobs of someone in the field of graphic design will vary based on what it is they have been asked to design and what tool or tools they will be using when they are doing the design job. The type of product the design is representing, when and where it is going to be used, and the target audience are all factors in the design. These are all different items that people need to take into account when they are doing this job. Not only will they need to be able to think like the group that they will target, but they will need to be able to use the resources available or provided by the person who is in need of the product design. It is about what the company is in need of and how you will be able to design the item necessary to use as a vehicle for promotion or for shipping.
So the graphic designer will need to be both technically savvy and have an open and imaginative mind to be able to do the job. Remember, just because you are able to design something does not mean that you will be able to sell it. So you in essence will need to market yourself as well.
How to Get a Design Job
There are many design jobs out there for people and designers to take advantage of. Of course, just because a company is in need of someone who can come up with a design, this does not mean that you will be able to get a job right away. As many people are aware, there are jobs to have in the field of design. However, if you do not have experience in the field, it will be very hard to actually be able to land one of these jobs. The problem is actually being able to get the experience that is required to find success in the design field. Many times education is not even enough to be able to get your foot in the door for one of these jobs. So the question remains: how do you get experience if no one will let you? One of the best suggestions is to mentor someone who is doing these jobs. You may have to start below the bottom rung, but in order to obtain any relevant design experience and to be able to learn how things will actually occur outside of a classroom , you may need to work for minimum wage, or for free, in order to obtain this type of experience. This is said by many to be the best type of experience and they learned many invaluable lessons from mentoring or shadowing someone in order to learn about the job.
So essentially, the job of a graphic designer is to use the mediums available and provided to make the requested advertising and packaging possible. It is a field that requires a lot of experience, both in class and from the real world to be able to succeed and to allow for the different types of media to be in use and experienced. It is much more than drawing layouts and designs and then handing the project off to someone else; it involves being able to see the job through from the beginning to the end. Using all of the tools that are available to you to be able to gain experience and knowledge are the two biggest keys to success in landing jobs in the field of design.
