Everything You Need to Know About Graphic Design

By Jonathan Haeber
jonathan.haeber@hqpublications.com
Design Programs Staff Writer

If you're not quite sure what graphic design is, then take a look at Egyptian hieroglyphs. Much like hieroglyphs, graphic design is concerned with communication through images.

Graphic design is as old as the written language. Since the early 19th century, though, it has grown into a full-blown profession. Today's graphic designer needs to fully understand technology, making graphic design school a must in order to qualify for a job.

Put simply, graphic design "is the applied art of arranging image and text to communicate a message." And, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), graphic designers "plan, analyze, and create visual solutions to communications problems." How is this done? Read on.

A Typical Day on the Job

An average day for a graphic designer is generally spent selecting, editing, or arranging photographs and text. Having an eye for aesthetics is essential since your job will often require you to make important creative decisions that could mean the difference between artistic appeal and financial failure.

Unlike most technology-oriented jobs, you generally won't be supervised, and you are allowed to spread your wings of creativity. But that doesn't mean that the graphic design job is easy.

Designers are self-employed much more than the general working population. The BLS estimates that designers have five times the average national self-employment rate of around 7.5 percent of the population (BLS, 2003).

If you decide on this route, you are required to have knowledge and skills in all aspects of running your own graphic design business. Your tasks would require you to do your own marketing, accounting, purchasing, and production.

It's tough work, but can pay off in the long-term. Self-employed and contractual graphic designers are some of the best paid graphic designers in the industry. Of course, you won't receive the same benefits as designers who work full-time for a company or government organization, but you're often afforded the freedom to choose the graphic design job that is most appealing.

Should I Attend Graphic Design School?

The explosion of computer-based desktop publishing tools requires a graphic designer to know digital editing and layout software. Graphic design college is necessary to ensure that you remain competitive in an increasingly competitive field; despite the BLS projection that graphic design is expected to grow the fastest out of all design specialties, more and more people are expected to compete for job spots. Your graphic design college education will set you apart from the crowd.

During your graphic design training, you'll learn software programs such as:

Adobe Photoshop. Widely considered the graphic designer's primary tool. Photoshop allows the designer to use brightness, contrast, hue, and layers to alter images. It also allows for the creation of web-ready images.
Adobe Illustrator. This is where your raw talent in 'art from scratch' will come in handy. Adobe Illustrator allows you to draw freehand with your mouse, giving you the most creative latitude possible with computer art.
PageMaker. Some consider this program obsolete, but it was once a staple for graphic layout in the newspaper and book publishing world. It is still used by some publishers.
Macromedia. Through the use of Macromedia Flash, the graphic design professional can create high-quality Web sites with interactive or animated features.
QuarkXPress. An essential program for the creation of documents that combine text, graphics, and photographs.

Once completed with graphic design school, you'll be poised to take on a job in an exciting field that changes daily. Whether you wish to create logos for Fortune-500 corporations or help build the web page of a non-profit organization, graphic design training can give you that opportunity.

About the Author

Jonathan Haeber has worked in publishing since the early age of 16, first with the Roseburg, Ore. News Review, as a sports writer and editor. Later, he served as contributing writer for The Daily Californian, copy editor and production assistant for National Geographic News, and a West Coast correspondent for CollegeBound Magazine. Additionally, he has worked as a public affairs assistant for the University of California and holds bachelor's degrees in English and Geography from U.C. Berkeley.

Sources

http://bls.gov/oco/ocos090.htm
http://www.salary.com
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Graphic-design

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