Is Graphic Design a Good Career Choice?
Graphic design is now considered a commodity on the internet. Many businesses are shifting their focus to establish a more substantial brand presence digitally.
Endless opportunities await those who want to find a career in graphic design.
Design is an incredible career for creative thinkers.
It could be great for those who love art and, at the same time, know how to innovate through design and conceptualise ideas to provide solutions for design problems.
But at this point where there are already many tools providing design templates that are easy for everyone to use, is a graphic design career still worth pursuing?
Is Graphic Design in Demand?
Whether you want to learn product design, graphic design, or go into a more specialised profession like motion design, the booming employment market for designers isn’t going away anytime soon.
Graphic designer jobs are predicted to grow at a 5% annual pace from 2016 to 2026, according to the national average for all occupations. The job of graphic designers will continue to be important in product promotion across the economy.
Graphic designers’ employment in computer systems design and associated services is expected to expand. Companies increase their digital presence, requiring graphic designers to construct aesthetically appealing and functional website layouts.
Many creative professionals are now lured into doing design jobs. Applicants that keep up with the latest design trends, technology, and techniques have a better chance of getting hired.
When it comes to salary, the median annual salary for graphic designers in 2021 in the US is around $47000. The base annual salary starts at $35,000, while experts can negotiate $66K yearly.
What are the Most In-Demand Graphic Design Jobs?
Expanding on the job titles you’re looking for is one of the most acceptable methods to boost your chances of getting graphic design-related employment.
There will be several in-demand, high-paying design positions for designers in the coming year.
Understanding what sorts of design professions firms are recruiting for (and what they’re looking for in candidates) will offer you an advantage as an application, whether you’re searching for a new position or a new career entirely.
1 – Product Designers
Many product designer roles will open and will be high in demand in 2022. Product designers conceptualise and create solutions to real-world problems.
They find out what is genuinely needed by people or businesses and develop innovative products to cater to their needs.
Product designers are behind the constant upgrades, trends, and rise of new products used in web designs, applications, and other digital products we use every day.
2 – UI & Visual Designers
UI Design, often known as Visual Design, is closely connected to graphic design. In reality, these jobs are a subset of graphic design that focuses only on creating digital interfaces and content.
Some UI designers will have a rudimentary understanding of HTML and CSS, although visual designers rarely use those talents in their work.
You should concentrate on your design portfolio if you want to be recruited as a UI or Visual Designer.
Showcase the designs you’ve developed, and be sure to include the story behind them.
3 – Graphic Designers for Marketing
Graphic designers for marketing are responsible for many responsibilities, including creating logos, print and publishing graphics, social media templates, commercials, and much more.
Before going on this sort of professional path, consider if you want to specialise in certain areas of graphic design or whether you prefer to be a generalist.
Your portfolio will be your most significant asset when applying for graphic design employment.
4 – UI/UX Designers
User Interface and User Experience (UX) designers determine what people want and need to build a website.
They are frequently primarily concerned with the early stages of the design process, such as user research, wireframing, mockup creation, and early prototype.
Some UX designers also undertake UI design, carrying the project from inception to completion.
Those who work with UI/UX designs are usually involved in the whole website design process to ensure that the final designs will help users understand the represented brand and navigate the whole website quickly and smoothly.
5 – Motion Designers
All of the animations and micro-animations and many of the films we see in various digital goods are created by motion designers.
They may also develop motion graphics for cinema, television, and digital goods. They create movie trailers and ads to micro-animations that offer customers instant feedback on websites and apps.
What are the Necessary Skills of a Graphic Designer?
In today’s environment, communicating with beautiful art frequently requires computer program competence and the graphic design skills necessary for any artist.
Here are some of the essential qualities businesses look for when recruiting graphic designers.
Communication
Graphic designers convey messages using words and graphics. As a result, communication abilities are required for the job.
Communication skills are essential in graphics design in all other ways. Graphic designers are responsible for communicating ideas to businesses, consumers, and organisations.
Graphic design involves solid, practical communication skills for presentations and written communication skills for applications.
Designers must also communicate with clients and employers efficiently by phone, email, and video. They must listen to their clients’ needs and deliver persuasive answers.
Creativity
Graphic designers must be innovative thinkers. They must communicate concepts in novel ways using text and visuals.
They must come up with inventive solutions for their clientele. For example, they may be required to promote a company’s objective through a website or build an image that aids in selling a product.
All of this necessitates creativity as well as innovative problem-solving abilities.
Time Management
The majority of graphic designers are continuously juggling many tasks simultaneously. Because this is a typical occurrence in the workplace, they must have excellent time management abilities.
Graphic designers must multitask, manage various tasks, and meet all deadlines.
Technology
In today’s environment, graphic designers must be proficient in various technological platforms. First, they must be familiar with design applications such as InDesign, Quark, and Adobe.
Many businesses use this program to create digital printouts. If the graphic design responsibilities are related to website development, you must also be familiar with web design.
They should be proficient in various computer languages (including HTML and CSS) and web design content management system platforms like WordPress.
Knowing where to find resources to make the design process easy is also necessary for a graphic designer.
Taking inspiration from websites such as Dribbble and Behance will help them learn.
There are also tools like DesignStripe or DrawKit to get handmade vector illustrations, Canva and free logo maker for design templates, and Removal.AI as background remover for images.
Tips for Finding a Graphic Design Job
You’ve undoubtedly known the routine by now. If you want to find work, you should do the following: network, intern, and create a LinkedIn profile.
But if you want to work as a graphic designer, you probably need to do a lot more than that.
Graphic design jobs are so portfolio-driven that the hunt might appear to be complicated. This is especially true for new designers who are just getting started. So how and where can you start building up your portfolio?
Start freelancing
Compared to other vocations, a substantial percentage of graphic designers work as freelancers since many clients want temporary designs.
But still, freelance work, no matter how big or little, is one of the best methods to build your design portfolio, get experience, and network with design specialists.
Freelancing may be highly beneficial to your job. It will not only enhance your portfolio but may also inspire you to look for graphic design opportunities in fields you had never considered before.
You may come across projects that spark a new interest in your job hunt by undertaking freelance work, replete with industry contacts.
However, freelance graphic designers’ timetables may largely depend on demand and commitments. Those who work for themselves may also need to rearrange their work schedule to interact with clientele in the evenings or on weekends.
They may also spend a portion of their time looking for new projects or competing for contracts with other designers.
Pursue formal education
If you launched your search for work as a kind of a self-taught designer without any bachelor’s degree, you might indeed be having difficulties.
Employers appreciate individuals with a degree, whether you believe it’s fair or not. Employers are risk-averse and generally short on time.
Suppose two applicants with identical portfolios apply for the same position. In that case, a degree might be a simple tie-breaker factor for a candidate because it demonstrates they’re invested in the role.
Join a design community
Finding a career is far more than simply scouring the internet for job postings. There may be thousands of jobs available, but it won’t matter if you don’t know where to begin.
Participating in a design community may provide you with the encouragement and guidance you require.
These forums may give a wealth of helpful information, such as job search guidance and critical feedback on your work.
They may even be able to provide you with access to career prospects that aren’t publicly posted.
Even if this strategy does not result in a direct job offer, to see the creativity of others because remaining engaged with a society of professionals can keep you motivated and inspired during your hunt.
Conclusion
Graphic design is now considered a commodity on the internet. Many businesses are shifting their focus to establish a more substantial brand presence digitally.
Thus, graphic designs for marketing campaigns are needed, and designers that will help build that foundation through building a good website are essential.
During this pandemic, people are also seeking to be more entertained.
Motion designers, illustrators, and concept designers that can provide, fun, fresh, and gamified environment concepts in graphic designs will capture more engagements in various digital communities.
So, is graphic design a promising career? The answer is YES.
Across many industries and business niches, endless opportunities await those who want to find a career in graphic design.
Author Bio: Miguel Davao is a graduate of literature and linguistics and has written content for about five years. He writes content on eCommerce, design, photo-editing tools, and content writing tips. Currently, he works as a full-time writer at Removal.AI – a fast-growing start-up that offers image processing and AI background remover for eCommerce, web and app development, and marketing automation.
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