From what graphic design
is, skills to be a graphic designer, design theory, education you need, equipment you need to the graphic
design portfolio and interview advice. This is
for anyone at any level. So, if you're interested in graphic design and
considering becoming a graphic designer join me as I discuss a series of
graphic design topics. So, you're wondering if you want to focus your creative
energy into a career in graphic design. In this I’m going to discuss 10 key pros and cons of graphic design, being a
designer and becoming a designer. Hopefully
this will help you get a good overall understanding.
So first let's talk about some pros.
It's creative If you're
a person who loves being creative graphic design is a good career choice for
you. On a day to day basis you will be problem solving, coming up with cool inventive
solutions and creating a range of graphics and design ideas.
It's fun. Graphic design
can be really hard work but at the same time it can be really fun bringing your
imagination to life and being creative.
It's challenging.
Graphic design is by no means easy you're pretty much problem solving most of
the time. So, to produce great work you will have to push yourself, harness
your skills, be resourceful, tackle complex briefs and be able to produce great
results swiftly.
Its educational. to produce original and exciting work you're
going to have to do a lot of research. Often you will find yourself learning
and discovering things you didn't previously know. Getting paid to research and
learn how cool is that!
It includes multiple
creative disciplines. There is no limit to the techniques you can use to create
your work. To name a few: Illustration, photography, painting, screen printing,
digital art, 3D modeling, paper engineering the list goes on. One of the great
things about graphic design is that it can be diverse and you don't have to be
tied to one medium.
Something to show your
hard work. So, you may spend hours days or weeks working on a particular
project. At the end of it you will most likely have something to show for it. Over
time you will build a portfolio of work you can show off and be proud of. This
will ultimately help you get more work or a better job in future.
Expressive. Design is a
discipline. In the industry you will not always have the freedom to be as
creative as you want. However, there will be opportunities whether your
creating work for yourself or for a client where you will have creative
freedom. On these occasions you can be really creative with your ideas and
create some work that you feel justifies you as a designer that you can be
proud of.
Rewarding. Being a
graphic designer can be really hard work but you really get out what you put
in. If you do a great job and your client is happy that can be really
rewarding. You may enter a design competition and win some recognition. That
can be really rewarding. If you create a piece of design like a logo that gets
used to add marketing value to a client and improve their business that can be
really rewarding. Building a great portfolio and getting a new job and earning
more revenue very rewarding.
Collaborative. As a
designer you will be required to work alone. but you may often have to work
with other
creative professionals
as part of a team. It can be a great
experience and really rewarding working with other passionate people. Collaboration
can lead to amazing work. Everyone sees things differently. when you're
bouncing ideas off another designer some amazing ideas can be generated.
Career prospects. As you
mature as a designer build your experience and reputation. You can move into
more senior design roles and look to become maybe, an art director or a
creative director. You may wish to become freelance and work for yourself or
maybe start your own creative business. In graphic design there are a lot of
opportunities to further your career. So, a lot of pros to being a graphic
designer there. On a whole graphic design is a really interesting and
fulfilling career to get into. But like any job it's not all perfect.
So now let's talk about some cons to be a graphic designer.
Location specific. If
you want to become a graphic designer you will have to accept the prospect of
having to move where the industry is and today that's typically a city. Graphic
design is not all commercial work but a lot of jobs and a lot of well-paid jobs
exist in cities. So, to get work and start out you may have to move to where
the work is.
Competitive. Graphic
design is very fulfilling creative and it's fun you are basically being paid to
be creative. Because of that a lot of people want to do it which means there's
a lot of competition. When starting out and looking for jobs it can be really
tough. You'll be up against lots of other candidates which may often have more
experience than you.
The road is long. A lot
of people pursue graphic design but not everyone becomes a graphic designer or
stays a designer. The path to become a successful graphic designer can be a
long and expensive one. Unfortunately, today it's not all about talent and
skill, it's as much about attitude, discipline, application and determination.
Everyone's path is different some take longer than others to get to where they
want to be.
Though if one stays
highly motivated disciplined and applies themselves, they will eventually
achieve. The industry is competitive and one will have to keep learning and
building a better portfolio if one wishes to progress and succeed. This may
mean having to sacrifice a lot of time to achieve this.
Learning creative
software tools. To work in the design industry, you will need to be proficient
in essential creative programs. There are lots of software tools out there
today and each one has a steep learning curve.
Finding the right job
can be hard. In the industry finding a job can be tough but what can be even
harder is finding the right job. The job where you will be happy. The job where
you will get creative satisfaction. The job where you will potentially develop
your career. Some job vacancies can be pretty vague it is only when you attend
an interview you can get a good vibe for the job you are applying for. It can
be disheartening attending interviews only to learn it's not right for you.
More often than not until you are working in that role for that agency or
company you will never truly know what your role will be. So, finding the right
role can be hard especially when starting out.
It's a desk job. One of
the biggest downsides to graphic design is that most of the time you will be
seated at a desk in front of a computer for long hours so you will need to get
that gym membership!
Long hours. Graphic
design is commonly not a nine to five job. if you're working on a big project a
pitch or you're facing a tight deadline you may be expected to work long hours even
weekends to get a job. Now if you're lucky this may not happen very often. But
if you find yourself working for a busy agency this may be the norm.
Working under pressure. You
may not always have as much time as you want to fully research and develop a
piece of work or simply enjoy the job. There will be times when you will have to
work the tight deadlines. This can put a lot of pressure on you and be
stressful.
Have to do things you do
not want and working under others instructions. Working in the industry you
will not always get the creative freedom you want on a project. Sometimes you
may have to take creative direction from someone more senior to you or even the
client. This can be very good if the person is willing to collaborate and has
great ideas. But can be bad if they do not. Sometimes you may
find you don't agree or
even like what is asked of you but still you will have to do it.
Dealing with bad
clients. As a designer dealing with clients can be really rewarding or a bit of
a nightmare.
They can either let you
do what you think is best, work and collaborate with you. Or simply try and
make you do what they want and this can be pretty bad if they do not listen to
you, have no good ideas or any grasp of what makes for good design. It can be
really tough on a buzz kill having to implement someone
else's bad design ideas.
More often than not working with clients can be a really positive experience
but they can be times it can be a nightmare.
So, there you have it
those are some pros and cons to being a graphic designer. So, what do you
think? Are you put off or are you inspired?
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