I was recently asked by a family friend how one becomes a graphic designer. She is presently an occupational therapist but is considering a career change.
This is what i wrote:
How did you become a designer?The common route into graphic design as a designer is this:
- One year foundation course. A practical introduction to all the different art and design specialties, eg. fashion, sculpture, illustration, product, interior, etc. It's a good way to ensure that everyone starting a degree course has the same basic set of skills.
- Three year degree course. In my case i chose a graphic design BA hons at University of Northumbria. It was one of the more general/varied courses, had good facilities, very good links to Industry and was a brilliant place to live. On your degree course you develop your own visual language. Some concentrate on letters (typography) some on pictures (photography or illustration) others like me tried a little bit of everything because the art of communicating ideas and messages was more important than the process that they are delivered in.
Plus...(and this is only my view)
- Your first year in Industry is essentially an apprenticeship, you learn what is really required to get the job done. Pay will be low and hours long. Before you are offered a job most graduates are expected to do placement work to see if everyone gets on with one another, very, very low pay (if any) and even longer hours.
What makes a good designer?Good designers are good problem solvers. They must be able to analyse abstract information and come back with a solution. From a graphics point of view this means listening to what a client wants, researching the project, the client, the competitors and presenting back to the client a logiocal progression of thoughts that should answer the problem at hand.
For example "I want to expand my law firm but people think i am a one man band stuck in the provinces and consequently the clients I want, won't work with me". The design solution here might be to update the law firm's visual identity - starting with the logo and then working outwards across different media, eg stationery, literature, website, office environments. This shows the broad nature of graphics and why it is important that flexible thinking and the ability to work with specialists in different fields is critical.
Good Communication skills (written, verbal, visual) is of course vital and it has by default got to be better than the client's. Beautiful design does not sell itself.
What do you think of it as a job?I think it is a good career but as with anything creative it is very hard work and you can't switch off from it. You also have to be very thick skinned because every one has an opinion about what you've produced. Some comments are constructive, some are not. Look at the Olympic logo saga as an example. But you need to be able to deal with whatever flies your way.
However I like the fact it is thought of as a 'cool' job and that there are different ways to work and places to work in. To take advantage of this you need to be very proactive.
Of course there are not only designers working in the design world. Project managers liaise between clients and designers to ensure everything runs smoothly. Marketeers have been known to start the ball rolling and then hand over to designers to add some visual styling...whether this is the right or wrong approach is another topic entirely.
A fair assessment?
Labels: thinking, writing
