A graphic designer is one of the most popular and prestigious jobs. It is surprisingly mobile (it was always possible to work remotely, and now it is even welcomed), and specialists in this field earn well both working in companies and freelance. And graphic designers are also engaged in highly profitable creativity.
It would seem, what could be better? Let’s find out what graphic designers and what do they do, and how to become one.
What does graphic design in general?
Graphic design is a means of visual communication. Simply put, it is the expression of ideas, meanings, and values through images, images, fonts, videos, etc. The most interesting modern specialization.
What does graphic design entail? Graphic design solves many different problems with the help of colors, shapes, images, compositions, and typography. It is impossible to solve any task with one method or tool, so there are several types of graphic design. Usually, designers specialize in one type, but today you need to be flexible and delve into all areas of the field.
What do graphic designers make?
The task of a graphic designer is much wider than just drawing beautiful pictures. His work is aimed at increasing the trust and loyalty of the user to the product or brand and the implementation of the target action.
What can a graphic designer do?
The responsibilities of a graphic designer begin with the preparation and coordination with the customer of the technical task for the creation of design objects. At this stage, there is a preliminary study of sketches, and stages, and terms of work are discussed.
Then the graphic designer begins the artistic and technical development of the design project. He studies the necessary work. Determines what compositional techniques and stylistics will be used in work on the project.
Then the graphic designer draws a design layout and agrees on it with the customer. After approval, the design layout and graphic materials are transferred to the printing house or other company, depending on what object needs to be produced.
Sometimes the duties of a graphic designer may include the task of checking the quality of production of graphic products and preparing conclusions on the results of the inspection. Most often, these duties are performed by in-house designers who work in large companies.
Where do graphic designers work?
A graphic designer has two ways to do his job. The first is hired work in a web design company, such as LoungeLizard. The second way is freelancing. After all, a graphic designer can complete projects without leaving home and accept new orders remotely.
Who do graphic designers work with? A graphic designer can get a good job in the following organizations:
– Design studios;
– Branding and advertising agencies;
– Publishing houses;
– Printing houses;
– Any private enterprises and state firms;
– IT companies.
How to work as a freelance designer?
Here are four key steps that are extremely important for any aspiring freelance designer to take:
Step 1. Answer the question, who are you, what is your USP (unique selling proposition), and why does the customer need to work with you?
To be entrusted with the work, you need to be better than your competitors either in your narrow specialization or in systematic design thinking. Or – to be more mobile in order to quickly convey your offer to customers. Or better, both.
Step 2. Understand who your customers are, how many of them are, and where they are. Conduct targeted research and make a map of customer presence, describe the nature of typical requests, “pains”, and needs. When you understand where your customers are and how you can communicate with them, it will be easy for you to provide knowledge about yourself.
Step 3. Register and properly design your profile and portfolio on freelance exchanges, and in professional groups on social networks. It should be convenient and safe for the client to work with you.
Step 4. Study the cultural background of the region in which you plan to work. This is perhaps one of the most difficult moments because it requires not just general erudition and inspiration, but also specific knowledge of psychology, traditions, semantic and syntactic base – everything that is the basis for any communication design.
What are the important skills of graphic design?
Let’s consider the basic requirements for the skills that a good graphic designer should have:
- be able to work with graphic editors (Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Figma, Sketch)
Today, the designer mainly does all the work on electronic media, so you can not do without these programs. They allow a specialist to bring their ideas to life.
- knowledge of typography
Typography is the art of text design. Properly designed text can evoke the right emotions in the user and form a positive impression of the company or brand.
To be able to create such an impression, a graphic designer must understand font families, the choice of sizes, outlines, rules of text layout, and other details.
knowledge of color harmony
and the ability to combine colors and use them correctly is an invaluable skill for a graphic designer. A person at the subconscious level will instantly decide whether he likes the visual design of a product or not. His further behavior and loyalty to the brand will depend on it.
- composition rules
composition is a space where images, text, and colors should be formed into a single harmonious design. In other words, it is a space where individual elements are parts of a whole.
It is important for a graphic designer to be able to correctly distribute the elements so that they not only look spectacular but also perform their functions.
Let’s summarize
Graphic design is a very popular profession because all brands and businesses need a high-quality visual shell. But here you should understand the peculiarities of the market because graphic design is a broad concept that includes many areas.
