4 answers
Jersey
Student
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
5
Questions
Updated
891 views
How is the life as a graphic designer? Specifically in areas of package, web or ux design??
I am pursuing graphic design in post-secondary. I am contemplating whether I should focus on package, web, or user experience design. Although, I am kind of leaning more towards user experience so any insights on how is it look would be really appreciated. Thanks!
#web-design #graphics #design #graphic-design #graphic-designer #user-experience #package-design #ux-design #ui-design #arts #GivingisCaring
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4 answers
Janice Pang
Product Designer
1
Answer
Norfolk, Virginia
Updated
Janice’s Answer
Web design and user experience (UX) design go hand-in-hand, since you will apply your user experience skills towards designing a website or web application. UX design is most commonly applied towards designing digital interfaces for web and mobile devices. Common job titles in this field are: Product Designer; UI/UX Designer; Web Designer; Mobile Designer.
Packaging design, on the other hand, deals with how physical products are packaged. Common job titles in this field are: Packaging Designer; Brand Designer; Graphic Designer.
In my experience, there are a lot more opportunities and higher salaries in the digital design field than there are in the packaging design field. But ultimately it depends on you & what you're passionate about!
I hope the steps below are helpful to get you thinking about the types of work you'd like to pursue in the future. Good luck!
Research digital design agencies like Ueno, Metalab, and BASIC.
Research branding agencies like Pentagram, Anagrama, and COLLINS.
Review the 2019 Design Census by AIGA to see the breakdown of salary, satisfaction, etc. among design disciplines.
Packaging design, on the other hand, deals with how physical products are packaged. Common job titles in this field are: Packaging Designer; Brand Designer; Graphic Designer.
In my experience, there are a lot more opportunities and higher salaries in the digital design field than there are in the packaging design field. But ultimately it depends on you & what you're passionate about!
I hope the steps below are helpful to get you thinking about the types of work you'd like to pursue in the future. Good luck!
Janice recommends the following next steps:
Don Shell
Director, Corporate Communications
25
Answers
Fenton, Michigan
Updated
Don’s Answer
There are some excellent answers here by knowledgeable industry professionals, so I'll add an outsider's perspective:
I've worked in the tourism, marketing, healthcare, automotive and insurance fields over the past 20 years, and in that time I've seen a dramatic increase in need for UX designers in industries across the board. It's clearly a growth career field these days, and a great choice if that's where your passion lies. Having experience in other design disciplines is always a good idea, too.
Good luck!
I've worked in the tourism, marketing, healthcare, automotive and insurance fields over the past 20 years, and in that time I've seen a dramatic increase in need for UX designers in industries across the board. It's clearly a growth career field these days, and a great choice if that's where your passion lies. Having experience in other design disciplines is always a good idea, too.
Good luck!
Abi K
Product designer
3
Answers
San Francisco, California
Updated
Abi’s Answer
Hey Jersey,
UX designer here 👋. If you love problem solving and creative thinking, UX design is for you. As a UX designer, I spend time learning about our users' needs and pain points, and create features and solutions to help address those. Working in tech is also very exciting as we're creating new software/technology that's innovative! Tech companies also usually have a lot of great perks (ex: free lunch) and don't have the typical cubicle office layout. UX design also pays significantly more.
However, I imagine packaging design allows for more visual creativity as you get to play around with different brand styles. Unless they work for an agency, UX designers have to follow the brand style for the company they work for so there's usually specific fonts, colors, and styles that you have to stick to. However, if you're a UX designer for a smaller startup, you may be able to play a role in helping determine and evolve the visual branding.
Wishing you all the best!
UX design classes here: https://www.skillshare.com/browse/ux-design
UX designer here 👋. If you love problem solving and creative thinking, UX design is for you. As a UX designer, I spend time learning about our users' needs and pain points, and create features and solutions to help address those. Working in tech is also very exciting as we're creating new software/technology that's innovative! Tech companies also usually have a lot of great perks (ex: free lunch) and don't have the typical cubicle office layout. UX design also pays significantly more.
However, I imagine packaging design allows for more visual creativity as you get to play around with different brand styles. Unless they work for an agency, UX designers have to follow the brand style for the company they work for so there's usually specific fonts, colors, and styles that you have to stick to. However, if you're a UX designer for a smaller startup, you may be able to play a role in helping determine and evolve the visual branding.
Wishing you all the best!
Abi recommends the following next steps:
Will Smith
Product Designer
1
Answer
Boston, Massachusetts
Updated
Will’s Answer
Janice provided a strong answer above and I'd like to add exploring some Product Designer portfolio's as a way to work backwards from what they've done (and how they've chosen to display it). There's a lot of good resources out there but here's a high concentration of links: https://brianlovin.com/overthought/product-design-portfolios
There's so much content on Youtube these days that you can also watch a few videos to see how folks are talking about Product Design, their own personal journeys, and some tips are honing your craft.
Hope this helps!
There's so much content on Youtube these days that you can also watch a few videos to see how folks are talking about Product Design, their own personal journeys, and some tips are honing your craft.
Hope this helps!