The Graduate’s Guide to Entering a Career in Graphic Design

Graphic design is not a career one can just dive into with ease. Not only is this industry intensely cut-throat, it will take employers and potential clients some serious convincing to hire you in the f irst place. You have to be able to present yourself well and stand out as a graphic designer because competition is undeniably tough. If you are unpreprared, the shock of the overwhelming stress and incredibly large amount of work expected from a graphic designer might be fatal. There are many many things to keep in mind: time constraints, client tastes, financial limits, aesthetics, and design substance to name a few. But just like any other great venture, a great defense is a ready mind armed adequate knowledge in this field. This guide will attempt to familiarize you with tips, tricks, and valuable knowledge about making it big in this profession.

The graphic designer creates graphics for both business and pleasure. They usually work for commercial companies creating graphics for print advertisements, logos, website graphics, etc. ultimately, they work to create an image that can be incorporated with reading material.

Government economists expect job growth for graphic designers to be as fast as the average for all careers through 2016. One reason is the rapidly expanding Internet and video markets Graphic design is a

very popular career choice, so expect a lot of competition for jobs.

Although it is apparent that most designers nowadays keep their portfolios in a website, a tangible portfolio will do well during interviews.

Choosing a case for your work should be the first step of creating your graphic design portfolio. The style of the case and the size of the case will play a role in what will be inside.

Be sure to also take into account the size of the pages to see if it will be a good size to display the work you have.

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Like your paper usage, the work and placement of your work should be consistent as well. If you center all your designs on each page make sure they are center everywhere.

spend a lot of time choosing the right work for your portfolio.

Your graphic design resume is going to be just as important as your portfolio, if not more important than your portfolio because most people will examine your resume before they open your portfolio book.

You don’t want to go overboard with a resume, because the information on the resume in the end is the most important part.

Don’t design your resume in Microsoft Word!! You can do better than that.

Stay away from display fonts and free fonts and instead go with some classical fonts.Probably the most important font to avoid in a design resume would be Times New Roman!

Readability is very important. Don’t make your type too small or too decorative.

At this point, you can only make it or break it. Your interview may be your greatest chance to show your colorful personality as a potential employee in a creative set-ting.

Find out a little bit about the company you want to work for. Visit the location in person if it is a store or building open to the general public or access their website

Be on time for your interview.

Dress smart, and show good personal hygiene.

Looks are (almost) everything, so make sure you

When you arrive in the interview, give them your business card. It should be well designed, memorable, simple and hopefully have a great idea. It should be unique and you should be branded.

Graphic design is a complex profession that requires intelligence, knowledge, talent and skill in a wide range of work domains

Graphic designers have creative, yet well-organized minds.They have a solid understanding of color, line, composition, and design.

Designers take an idea, a concept, and communicate that idea in a way that informs and/or entertains visually

They utilize branding concepts to create a visual identity for a client or product. Sales and marketing rely on graphic design to influence costumers buy the products advertised

They must be able to communicate visually, verbally and in writing. The mechanics of oral and written communication, grammar, punctuation and spelling, are as important as color, line and composition.

They work extensively with clients, listening carefully to a client’s needs and interpreting those needs into a design project. They often present their ideas and discover that the client had something else in mind, so they redesign until the customer is satisfied.

Many artistic or creative jobs have intense competition and graphic design is no exception. To succeed in this f ield requires a wide variety of design experience.

Designers whould be equipped with traditional skills such as drawing and painting, up to and including a thorough understanding of how to use computer software technology.

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Graphic designers help plan the layout of magazines, newspapers, and corporate reports. They may work closely with copywriters to design marketing brochures. Many graphic designers specialize in developing material for web pages. Others may specialize in photographic techniques.Graphic designers create CD covers, movie credits, letterhead, signs, distinctive logos, and calendars. So the designer shou’d be ready to take on any visual creative job.

A graphic designer has to be extremely flexible and should be able to adapt to almost any kind of mind-frame or aesthetics. Although they can be hired according to specialty and style, it’s imperative that they can give whatever the client will ask for.

Designers should know how to think out of the box. It’s practically a job description. That way, your designs are noticed

Although competition can be intense, a designer who is determined to succeed, works hard, networks, and stays on top of new technology defInitely has a bright future.

Promote yourself! Network (without over doing it) every chance you get.

Continuously give your business card out to as many people as you can. The easiest way to do this is by asking people that you talk with for their business card.

There are many many avenues in graphic design one can master: print, logo design, web design, lay-out artistry, and the like. Find your niche, and develop it.

The need for talented and creative individuals who can master graphic design and keep up with computer technology continues to increase. The rapid growth of the World Wide Web is creating more and more opportunities for graphic designers. Those with web site design and animation experience will be especially needed.

Although competition can be intense, a designer who is determined to succeed,

works hard, and stays on top of new technology defInitely has a bright future.

The purpose of graphic design is not to express our feelings about the world. the designer’s work isn't created for exhibition or to almost be passively viewed by an audience. designers provide a service. designers do what their clients ask for. excellent design is achieved in the middle of good interpretation of a client’s needs and eff icient delivery with aesthetic sensibilities. Good clients who are diff icult can be the best kind to have. They challenge you to do your best work. They don't want anything mundane. They don't want an imitation or something they've seen a million times before. They know that in order to sell their product or service it has to have a unique selling proposition, one that is visualized by a unique, effective design solution. They seek out the designer who has a distinctive voice and who can give voice to their vision. clients have to like you. They have to able to believe in you and believe you can do something that they can't do or shouldn't spend their time doing. To justify hiring you, they have to believe you can do something that no one else can. It’s also important to know how to price your designs or services. Designers are a little reluctant to charge for their work because they love what they do. and it feels amazing to get paid for something you love to do. but to keep your business running. of course, if you work for in a f irm, a salary is already set for you. but if your’re a f reelance designer, you have to consider actual production costs for your design, compare prices with similar jobs, and input regular employer’s hourly rates and then compute a projected timeframe for completing the project. basically, graphic designers should be able to handle clients well because without them, the designer will be out of a job. you have to remember that you are providing a service and that the cli-ent’s word is golden. it will always be possible to reach an acceptable compromise when you input their orders and your own taste and aesthetics as well.

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