3 answers
Lottie
Student
East Lyme, Connecticut
1
Question
Asked
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What types of work do graphic designers actually do?
I've seen a wild range of answers to this question, and I just want a straight answer. What kind of things does it entail?
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3 answers
Tatyana Hampton
Recruiter
6
Answers
Austin, Texas
Updated
Tatyana’s Answer
Graphic Designers typically do the following:
-Meet with clients or the art director to determine the scope of a project.
-Use digital illustration, photo editing software, and layout software to create designs.
-Create visual elements such as logos, original images, and illustrations to help deliver a message.
Graphic Designer qualifications:
-Education and training requirements for a graphic designer vary by position.
- Graphic Designers need to be proficient in Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator software.
-Graphic Designers need an understanding of HTML and other web design applications.
-If you don’t go to college, generate examples or volunteer with local organizations to build samples of your work.
-If you want to work for a large company, consider a bachelor’s degree in graphic design. You will learn about color and design fundamentals, motion graphics, traditional typography, digital illustration, web page scripting, business graphic design and web page design. Many programs offer internships to help ground your learning in practical application.
Build a portfolio of work - You can further solidify your credibility as a graphic designer if you have evidence showing your expertise in print design, photography, and organizational branding.
-Meet with clients or the art director to determine the scope of a project.
-Use digital illustration, photo editing software, and layout software to create designs.
-Create visual elements such as logos, original images, and illustrations to help deliver a message.
Graphic Designer qualifications:
-Education and training requirements for a graphic designer vary by position.
- Graphic Designers need to be proficient in Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator software.
-Graphic Designers need an understanding of HTML and other web design applications.
-If you don’t go to college, generate examples or volunteer with local organizations to build samples of your work.
-If you want to work for a large company, consider a bachelor’s degree in graphic design. You will learn about color and design fundamentals, motion graphics, traditional typography, digital illustration, web page scripting, business graphic design and web page design. Many programs offer internships to help ground your learning in practical application.
Tatyana recommends the following next steps:
Harriet Van Tongeren
Senior Creative Lead | Diversity
1
Answer
Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
Updated
Harriet’s Answer
Hey! Great answer above - some more granular detail about what a day in the life may look like:
Unpacking Briefs
In most design jobs you will be given a brief. A brief is essentially the problem you need to solve. A lot of times people who are unfamiliar with design don't know how to brief designers well. So a lot of the work upfront with clients can be working together to make sure you understand what the client wants and the brief is basically setting parameters. e.g who is the design targeting (Demographics e.g Women under 25yo with an interest in makeup), what are the size and specifics of the design output (e.g A4 printed poster with crop and bleed marks, in CMYK), what brand elements need to be included, what is the tone of voice etc etc - you can google great questions to ask when building a brief. With time you get more intune with what people want.
Research
Once you have a solid brief, the next step is usually research (unless you've worked with this client extensively previously and know their brand inside and out). Most jobs need research anyway as the output may be targeting a different demographic or serving a different purpose. Research helps you get the creative juices flowing. You can look up what other competitors are doing in the same sector, see what similarities they have and what might be your point of difference. Brainstorming the keywords and purpose of your project can help lead you towards visual inspiration too. Then you can grab some references from places like pinterest.
Creating
Then if you're a graphic designer working alone you go for it and start ideation some options. Most designers I know create a lot of options and then keep refining it down until they're happy. It always starts ugly and becomes something you can be proud of if you keep refining and going back to the brief to make sure it's solving the problems faced in that.
Presentation
Once you're happy with what you've come up with, be it one design or a couple of options. You can package up your work into a presentation format like PDF and walk your client through the work be that via email or meeting.
Feedback & Edits
Listen to your client and their suggestions and if you disagree you can gently explain why you have something the way it is but at the end of the day they are the client and as disheartening as it can be you may have to sacrifice what you think is good to design to what the client wants. Not everything can be a portfolio piece and just as you like it, this is also why personal projects are important if you're not getting the work you want out of real life clients.
Handover
Once you've gone back and forth with the client on final edits and they are happy you can package up the file for it's intended output. (Exporting files, setting up for print, zipping folders, sharing links etc)
Unpacking Briefs
In most design jobs you will be given a brief. A brief is essentially the problem you need to solve. A lot of times people who are unfamiliar with design don't know how to brief designers well. So a lot of the work upfront with clients can be working together to make sure you understand what the client wants and the brief is basically setting parameters. e.g who is the design targeting (Demographics e.g Women under 25yo with an interest in makeup), what are the size and specifics of the design output (e.g A4 printed poster with crop and bleed marks, in CMYK), what brand elements need to be included, what is the tone of voice etc etc - you can google great questions to ask when building a brief. With time you get more intune with what people want.
Research
Once you have a solid brief, the next step is usually research (unless you've worked with this client extensively previously and know their brand inside and out). Most jobs need research anyway as the output may be targeting a different demographic or serving a different purpose. Research helps you get the creative juices flowing. You can look up what other competitors are doing in the same sector, see what similarities they have and what might be your point of difference. Brainstorming the keywords and purpose of your project can help lead you towards visual inspiration too. Then you can grab some references from places like pinterest.
Creating
Then if you're a graphic designer working alone you go for it and start ideation some options. Most designers I know create a lot of options and then keep refining it down until they're happy. It always starts ugly and becomes something you can be proud of if you keep refining and going back to the brief to make sure it's solving the problems faced in that.
Presentation
Once you're happy with what you've come up with, be it one design or a couple of options. You can package up your work into a presentation format like PDF and walk your client through the work be that via email or meeting.
Feedback & Edits
Listen to your client and their suggestions and if you disagree you can gently explain why you have something the way it is but at the end of the day they are the client and as disheartening as it can be you may have to sacrifice what you think is good to design to what the client wants. Not everything can be a portfolio piece and just as you like it, this is also why personal projects are important if you're not getting the work you want out of real life clients.
Handover
Once you've gone back and forth with the client on final edits and they are happy you can package up the file for it's intended output. (Exporting files, setting up for print, zipping folders, sharing links etc)
Jeanine Watkins Cragon
Lead Graphic Designer
2
Answers
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Updated
Jeanine’s Answer
Lottie, it's great that you're curious about a graphic designer's daily life! The truth is, it can vary quite a bit.
There are many design areas to explore, like illustration, advertising & marketing, UX/UI, print, and more! But no matter what you're passionate about, a designer's main goal is to:
1- Meet the client's needs
2- Make life easier for the end user
In any design field, my advice is to always feel comfortable asking questions (even more than once!), because it's better to fully understand the creative brief and strategic goals than to be unsure. I also suggest having someone else review your work and give feedback before sending it to the client. It's surprising how easy it is to miss small details when you've been looking at the same thing for a while. Being open to collaboration with both designers and non-designers will help you succeed in your graphic design career.
Best of luck on your design journey!
There are many design areas to explore, like illustration, advertising & marketing, UX/UI, print, and more! But no matter what you're passionate about, a designer's main goal is to:
1- Meet the client's needs
2- Make life easier for the end user
In any design field, my advice is to always feel comfortable asking questions (even more than once!), because it's better to fully understand the creative brief and strategic goals than to be unsure. I also suggest having someone else review your work and give feedback before sending it to the client. It's surprising how easy it is to miss small details when you've been looking at the same thing for a while. Being open to collaboration with both designers and non-designers will help you succeed in your graphic design career.
Best of luck on your design journey!