So, after a successful
graphic design interview, at the design agency, one would hopefully get offered
a job. If one accepts, they will find themselves in a new job in the design
industry. Now, like most industries,
graphic design has a
position system. This system is typically defined by experience and ability. Indeed,
graphic design is broad and there can be a range of specialties. However, the
position system is pretty much the same throughout. When entering into the
design industry, depending on education, experience and ability, you could
enter in at any level. After accepting a job, depending on what job is
undertaken, one will find themselves at a particular point in this position
system. As you develop your experience and build a reputation, you can move up
the career ladder. In this, I'm going to talk about this position system and
the typical career options within the industry. In this, I'll also share some
of my experience. So, in the graphic design industry, you typically have two
main role categories. One, creative workforce roles and two, direction roles. For
the creative workforce roles, we have intern designer, junior designer, middleweight
designer and senior designer. For the direction roles, you have head of design or
also referred to as lead designer, art director, senior creative and creative
director. Now, depending on the agency you work for, there may be additional
levels or, perhaps, different terms for these. These are the typical levels
found in the industry and can mean different things to different agencies and
designers. The creative workforce roles will include roles of research,
creative thinking and problem solving. The manual task of producing creative
work on computer and delivery. In one's career, you will typically start in the
creative workforce. And, with experience, ability and ambition, work your way
up to a directing role. The direction roles do vary in responsibility and
specialty. One may spend many years in the workforce as a designer to realize
what potential they have and which directive role they may wish to pursue. The
direction roles will typically guide and direct the creative workforce. They
will be responsible for using the skills and talents of the creative workforce to
create a high standard creative solution. So, now, I'm going to talk about each
level in more detail.
So, first is the intern
designer. So, the intern designer role is the entry level and depending on performance
can last from a few weeks to a few months. This can be the first step for a
designer entering into the industry. Internships are good for designers looking
to get crucial experience at the start of their career. This role comes with
little to no responsibility. As an intern, you may be shadowing other designers
or helping them out with various tasks. The type of designers that typically
apply for internships are students, graduates or newcomers to the industry. This
is the time where an agency will see if you have what it takes to be fully
employed. If they feel you fit, they may offer you a permanent position as a
junior designer. When I graduated from university back in 2007, I ended up
taking a few internships. This was good experience and I had the opportunity to
get involved in projects. This crucial experience helped me get a job later on as
a junior designer.
So, next, we have the
junior designer. So, the junior designer role is another entry level. The
difference between the intern designer and the junior designer level is that
the junior level is paid, whereas a lot of internships are not. Like the
internship, this can be the first step for a designer entering into the
industry for the first time. One of your main responsibilities will be to be
produce creative work and help out with various design tasks. This role comes
with little responsibility and one should be encouraged to learn and shadow
other designers. As a junior designer, you will be briefed by senior members of
the team and directed on what to do creatively and encouraged to bring your
ideas to the table. As you produce your work, you will have to report to senior
members or you will be advised on amendments if necessary. The type of
designers that typically apply for a junior designer role will be graduates or
newcomers to the industry. As you undertake your role as a junior designer over
a few short years, you will learn and develop more skills and produce more
work. With more experience, you will become more middleweight. If you are
fortunate, your employer will recognize this and reward you with an increase in
salary and a new official title of middleweight designer. Now, this does not
always happen. On a lot of occasions, to move up, you have to move out. A lot
of designers will have to leave an agency in order to practice at a higher
level. I was actually a junior designer for a number of years in my first role.
When I realized there was no room to maneuver in my first agency, I decided to
look for a new job. Eventually, I moved into a new agency as a middleweight
designer.
So, next, we have the
middleweight designer. So, the middleweight designer role comes with more
responsibility and expectation. Just like with the junior role, your main
responsibilities will be the produce creative work. Though, at this level, you
will be expected to design and execute your work to a higher standard and often
faster. As a middleweight designer, you may no longer have to be briefed by
senior members. You may be trusted and
expected to deal directly with clients or take a brief from account handlers. As
you create your work, you'll still typically have to report and show your work to
more senior members of the team where you will be advised on amendments if
necessary. You will still be encouraged to learn, shadow other senior designers
and help out with various design tasks. The types of designers that typically
apply for middleweight designer roles are graduates or those with a few years’
experience in the industry. As you undertake your role as middleweight
designer, over a few years you will learn even more and refine your skills
further. Perhaps, even specialize in your area of expertise. With more
experience and skill, you'll become more senior. If you are fortunate, your
employer will recognize this and reward you with an increase in salary and a
new official title of senior designer. Though, unfortunately, this is not
always the case. The issue in some agencies is they will already have a team of
designers, many at different levels. If you're taken on at a particular level and
spend a few years developing your skills and believe you are worth more and
lacking creative opportunities, it may be the case there is no way for you to
move up in that agency as there are already designers in those senior roles. If
this is the case, as mentioned earlier, you may have to leave your current
agency and apply for a more senior role in another. I was middleweight designer
at an agency for about two years. When I realized there was no room to
maneuver, I decided to look for a new job. To which, I had to move out to move
up.
So, next, we have the
senior designer. So, the senior designer role comes with even more
responsibility and expectation. Just like with the junior and middleweight
role, your main responsibilities will be to use your skills and experience to
produce creative work. At this level, you will be expected to design and
execute your own ideas to a high standard. At this level, you may also be in
part responsible for the development of a project and oversee junior designers and
other creative professionals working on a project such as, motion graphics
designers, photographers, web developers and so on. As you create your work,
you will still typically have to report and show your work to more senior
members of the team like a creative director, who may advise on amendments if
necessary. The type of designers that typically apply for senior design roles are
those with years of experience in the industry, have a high standard of work
with good references. Now, generally, the senior designer role is the highest
you can achieve in the creative workforce category. As you undertake your role
as a senior designer, over years of practice and experience, you will learn
even more and refine your skills further. Perhaps, even specialize in your area
of expertise. The next step for a senior designer is into a more director role.
Now, if you are fortunate enough, your employer will recognize this and reward
you with an increase in salary and an opportunity for a more senior direction
role. Though, if there are no opportunities, you may have to consider leaving
your current agency and applying for a direction role in another agency. So,
those are the main levels that exist in the workforce category. Now, typically,
the role of a junior, middleweight and senior designer is the same, to produce
creative work. The main difference is between them are the expectations of
experience, quality of work and speed. As you become more senior, you may be
encouraged to oversee other members of a creative workforce and make important
creative decisions. The more experience you get with this, the more you will
find yourself moving towards a direction role.
So, next, we have the
head of design or lead designer role. In my experience, I have found that this role
is not particularly common to design agencies, but more so in in-house design
teams. I have been to some agencies where this role exists and to others where
it does not. And, where it does the head of design or lead designer will
typically be responsible for a creative workforce, that deadlines are met and
to maintain overall creative standards. In my experience, this role is like a
creative director, but with more administrative responsibilities. The type of
designers that become head of design or lead designer are those with years of
experience in the industry, leading projects and overseeing the workforce. The
head of design or lead designer will distribute design tasks down through the
workforce as they see fit and oversee and direct the team. During the course of
a project, the creative workforce will submit ideas and designs and the head or
lead designer will direct accordingly, make creative decisions and work
together with the workforce to refine and produce a creative solution. Like the
creative workforce, the head of design or lead designer will still be involved in
the creative process. But, due to increased responsibility, may need to rely
more on the production from the workforce. A good head of design or lead designer
will not see themselves as superior to the workforce, only, perhaps, more
experienced where they can guide the skills, talents of the workforce to
produce the best results.
So, next, we have the
art director role. So, the art director is a common role in large agencies to
create work for magazines, newspapers or packaging. The art director will
typically be responsible for a visual style and image and report to senior
members of the team. Unlike the head of design or lead designer role, the art
director is generally not responsible for the workforce or to meet any specific
deadlines. The art director is free of this sort of responsibility and is often
out on location directing photo shoots or films. It's up to the art director to
create the overall design and direct others in a creative workforce to artwork
or layout ideas. As a creative solution is being developed, the art director
may have to report to senior members such as the head of design, lead designer or
creative director for approval or guidance. The type of designers that become
art directors are those with years of experience in the industry, have a good
eye for composition and style and like to direct photo shoots for magazines or
film.
So, next, we have the
senior creative. So, the senior creative role is usually found in large,
prestigious creative agencies. The senior creative will typically be
responsible for the concept or idea for a project and report to a creative
director. The senior creative will often develop ideas and draw them as scamps which
are submitted to the creative director. These could be magazine layouts,
packaging design, photo compositions, ad layouts and storyboards for a video. If
a concept or idea is agreed on, the creative workforce will be called upon to
develop the idea. If there is artwork or layout to be done, the designers will
do this. If there is a photo shoot required, the art directors will lead this. As
work develops, it will be overseen by the senior creative and the creative
director to ensure the creative vision is being met into a high standard. The
type of designers that become senior creatives are those with years of
experience in the industry, have good conceptual thinking, are good at
generating original ideas and good at communicating those ideas. So, the last
role which is the highest role you can get in the creative industry is the
creative director. The creative director is responsible for using the talents of
the creative workforce to create a solution. The creative director will work
with designers, artists, copywriters, sales teams and marketers to create a
vision for a project. Where it is the role of the designers, creatives and art
directors to design and produce ideas, it will be for the creative director to
shape these into finished campaigns. To become a creative director, is not just
a natural progression of the designer. It requires a lot of experience, skill
and talent. The type of designers that become creative directors are those with
many years of experience in the industry and demonstrate the skills of all the
previous roles. They are visionaries. They are very good at working with
people. Talking to people and selling an idea. They will be good conceptual
thinkers, good at generating ideas and good at communicating those ideas to an audience.
A good creative director will never see themselves as superior to the
workforce, only, perhaps, more experience where they can guide the skills and
talents of the workforce to produce the best results. So, those are some of the
positions in the graphic design industry and some of the career options to
aspire to.
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