Graphic Designer Job Description:

As part of our new series of blog posts around the graphic design industry and the various types of graphic design that there are out there, we thought to bring you an inside look at what most graphic design jobs actually entail, the skillsets you will need, task you will be expected to complete and the challenges you will face before you set off to study graphic design for a career.

Common Tasks for a graphic designer

• Your graphic design job description will probably include the following sorts of tasks:
• Brainstorming and mocking up design thoughts
• Presenting design concepts to clients
• Meeting with customers and adjusting designs to their needs or aligning with their brand’s needs,
• Projecting budgets and schedules for projects to be undertaken.
• Using design software programs to execute designs. Such As Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and or CorelDRAW.
• Working with others, inclusive of printers, programmers, web developers, content writers, and marketing teams. 

Skills Needed in a Graphic Design Job

Artistic Sensibility

In the previous couple of decades, graphic design software has drastically changed the graphic design industry. Even so, there is no alternative for creativity and artistic sense. Knowledge about design factors, which include color scheme theories,  composition and layout are important for graphics. Artistic ability and creativity are essential for the graphic designer career.

Technical Skill –

A graphic design job requires the technical skills to use design software programs such as Photoshop or Quark Xpress. You may additionally research different specific graphic design software programs at the college where you choose graphic design. As time goes by more and more software is published every year in the graphic design industry from photo editors to logo makers. This makes a keen aptitude for computers necessary as you will be installing and using these programs.

Communication Ability –

Sometimes known as visual communication, graphic design jobs requires the capability to effectively
present thoughts and concepts to a market —both verbally and visually.  You will need this skill for the development or design in projects but also to sell the idea to the client that is hiring you for your graphic design services in East London South Africa.

Organization –

Being organised is very important for a graphic designer for a few reasons, to keep task deadlines, to ensure design briefs are met accordingly. A graphic designer must also process and output information given to them by a client in a  specific visual format.

Design solutions –

Graphic design is a complex process involving many aspects of a business. Choosing just the right fonts, colors and lines to create a balanced composition, while simultaneously conveying meaning, is complicated. In order to succeed in a graphic design job, you’ll need to have strong problem-solving skills and love a good challenge.

Overview

Graphic designers — or graphic artists — plan, analyze, and design visual solutions to communication problems. They find the most effective way to get messages across in print and electronic media using color, type, illustration, photography, animation, and various print and layout techniques.

Graphic designers develop the overall layout and production design of magazines, newspapers, journals, corporate reports, and other publications. They also produce promotional displays, packaging, and marketing brochures for products and services, design distinctive logos for products and businesses, and develop signs and signage systems—called environmental graphics—for business and government.

An increasing number of graphic design careers also involve developing material for Internet Web pages such as website PSD files, interactive media, and multimedia projects.

The first step in developing a new design is to determine the needs of the client, the message the design should portray, and its appeal to customers or users. Graphic designers consider cognitive, cultural, physical, and social factors in planning and executing designs for the target audience. Designers gather relevant information by meeting with clients, creative or art directors, and by performing their own research. Identifying the needs of consumers is becoming increasingly important for graphic designers as they continue to develop corporate communication strategies in addition to creating designs and layouts.

Graphic designers prepare sketches or layouts—by hand or with the aid of drawing software — to illustrate their vision for the design. They select colors, sound, artwork, photography, animation, style of type, and other visual elements for the design. Designers also select the size and arrangement of the different elements on the page or screen.

They may create graphs and charts from data for use in publications, and they often consult with copywriters on any text that accompanies the design. Designers then present the completed design to their clients or art or creative director for approval.

In printing and publishing firms, graphic designers also may assist the printers by selecting the type of paper and ink for the publication and reviewing the mock-up design for errors before final publication.

Graphic designers use specialized computer  design software packages  such as adobe photoshop to help them create layouts and design elements and to
program animated graphics.

We here at New Perspective Design hope you have learned a bit more about what it takes to be a graphic designer and whether it’s the job for you. Personally speaking as an experienced graphic designer and web developer the job scope gets wider as time goes by, it can be incredibly rewarding to see your designs come to life and breathe new life into the business, it can also be very frustrating at times dealing with clients.