An overview of the job of a Graphic Designer:

Graphic designers are astonishing talented professionals who have an eye for every detail with a creative mind. The work of this professional is varied which includes creating advertisements, illustrations, movie credits, newspapers, books and websites by coordinating with the other visual professionals and satisfying the needs of their clients. A graphic designer is responsible for creating visual solutions to the barriers in communication by studying the conditions which will help to find out the appropriate means for delivering a message. They make use of a variety of methods such as color, typeset, illustrations and photographs in order to create a general layout of the design.

The professional works with a client or an account manager after agreeing to a brief deal signed by both the parties. A graphic designer develops creative concepts and ideas while choosing the medium and style to meet the client’s objectives. They consider factors such as cultural, cognitive, physical and other social elements to plan and execute the design for the target viewers. Graphic designers collect all the relevant information by meeting client’s and art directors. They should also perform their own research which gives them an in-depth understanding about the topic which they will be working on. These professionals must be able to identify the needs of the potential customers in order to develop corporate communication strategies apart from creating illustrious designs and layouts. Creativity is the key ability for a graphic designer and the more creative a person, the higher he will go in this field. It is also very important for graphic designers to have a little understanding of human nature and have the right attitude towards their clients.

Graphic designers work with the help of computerized software which make their work of creating layouts and designs easier. Further, may also create animated graphical programs by following the instructions to complete the design process. Graphic designers who are self employed must be able to develop a wide network of business contacts which will help them to perform reviewing and administrative tasks efficiently. At lower levels of employment of a graphic designer, they may be required to supervise and assist in the production process. However, the employment rate for these professionals is growing more than average through the year 2014 with good remuneration packages.

What are the on-the-job functions of a graphic designer?

A graphic designer is given number of duties and responsibilities to perform as part of his job position.

The duties and responsibilities of this profession remains the same in any kind of industry as their nature of work does not change.

Following are some of the duties and responsibilities of a graphic designer:

Duties:

• The primary duty of a graphic designer is to develop concepts and the required designing material to design newsletters, advertisements, coupons, invitations etc.
• It is the duty of a graphic designer to demonstrate creative illustrative skills with rough sketching by using innovative redefined designing material at minimum costs and limited time.
• They are involved in developing prints and negatives in order to produce photographs by giving the negatives and prints for developing tools and equipment
• It forms the duty of this professional to think creatively to produce new concepts by gathering all the relevant information through research programs.
• The duty of a graphic designer is to prepare rough sketches and illustrations while discussing concepts with clients and other supervisors and making changes whenever necessary.

Responsibilities:

• It is the responsibility of a graphic designer to produce animated and still images for live or recorded shows on television for news broadcast and other electronic video equipment.
• They are responsible for assisting the marketing department with brainstorming, advertising and marketing strategies.
• Graphic designers are held responsible for contributing to the design and artwork by proofreading the entire work accurately in order to develop a high-quality work.
• These professionals are responsible for managing the printers work in order to ensure brand and budget is maintained.
• They are responsible to keep abreast of the latest technology of the new media which involves programs such as Quark Express, Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver etc. as majority of this professionals work can be completed in a computer using these automated software’s.
• Graphic designers are responsible for reviewing the final layout of design my making valuable suggestions and improvements as and where required and to prepare notes for workers who assemble the final layout for printing.

How to be qualified for a graphic designer job?

The job of a graphic designer requires minimum educational qualifications combined with passion and additional skills in order to excel in the profession.

Creativity is a vital tool which will help a graphic designer to move to higher positions rather than any kind of educational degree.

Following are the educational requirements to become a graphic designer:

Educational Requirements:

• Not all companies lay importance for educational background while hiring a graphic designer.
• All they require is a good amount of experience in the field of graphic related portfolio from a reputed designing company.
• Apart from this, they seek for candidates who have experience and knowledge of the various graphic editing software programs and tools which is inevitably required for the profession of a graphic designer.
• But of course, large repute companies and studios insist to hire candidates with a graphic designing educational background in order to maintain standards of the organization.
• The most sought after educational qualification for a graphic designer is to obtain an Associate degree of Arts or to acquire a Bachelor of Arts degree which faces tough competition and is becoming more important as job seekers will have an edge over the other candidates.
• Apart from this, candidates should also have computer proficiency in programs like Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and Indesign.
• Candidates may take up a number of classes which emphasize on the learning of these programs.
• Students must also learn about the usage of Quark Express, as it is an important industry tool.
• Individuals who wish to pursue a career in the field of graphic designing but possess a bachelor’s degree in other field may take up a two to three year course of graphic designing wherein their learn the technical aspects of the profession.
• Students need to take up internship programs while at college under an experienced and reputed graphic designer which will help the candidate to enhance his skills and stands as a platform to display his skills.
• These internship programs help the student to put his theoretical knowledge into practical use by understanding the work environment thoroughly.
• As the candidate starts looking for jobs, they should first create a portfolio of their design works that they have created during their college education.
• A portfolio includes different number of valuable works of the student in areas of web designing, interactive design and digital design.

What is the remuneration package for a graphic designer?

• The salary of a graphic designer depends upon a number of factors such as experience in the industry, industry in which you are employed, geographical location of employment etc.
• However, it is observed that the average salary for a graphic designer is very high and fruitful keeping in mind their creativity and contribution to the organization.
• The average salary of a graphic designer is estimated to be $54,314 per annum while the top ten percentile of graphic designers receive an income of $60,551 annually and the lowest ten percentile of the professionals get paid salary ranging around $35,873 and $41,397 for a year.
• Apart from the salaries, they are also given bonus amounts for their extra completed work or unique breakthrough in the profession and the bonus amount varies around $101.12 – $4,005 per annum.
• Experience makes a man perfect.
• Hence with experience counts as an important factor in determining the salary for a graphic designer.
• In this profession, experience is given more importance rather than educational qualifications.
• It is seen that a professional with experience of less than a year gets paid a salary ranging around $20,380 – $42,980 per annum while on the other hand, graphic designers who have obtained experience of one to five years in the profession can expect a salary ranging between $25,374 and $47,976 for a year.
• It is observed that graphic designers who are employed in the industry of graphic arts and designing receive a salary ranging around $25,489 – $57,864 annually.
• The same professionals employed to the advertising industry receive salary ranging around $26,922 – $55,670 and web development industry pays its graphic designers a sum ranging around $27,272 – $63,602 per annum.
• Graphic designers who are employed in the state of California receive an income of $30,247 – $65,302 compared to those professionals in the state of Texas whose salary ranges around $26,664 – $50,844 annually.

Apart from the traditional salaries, they also enjoy benefits like health and life insurance policies, paid holiday trips and sick leaves.

What is the certification and licensure given to a graphic designer?

The job of a graphic designer does not require any kind of special certification.

However, a candidate with a certification on an Adobe Certified Expert will give you exceptional job opportunities like being a teacher to explain Adobe products etc.

It also stands has a certification that you have mastered the skill of being a graphic designer.

What are the skills needed by a graphic designer?

Besides educational qualifications, graphic designers must have a set of skills and abilities in order to perform the duties and responsibilities appointed to him as part of his job role in the organization.

These skills will help the professional with his daily activities enabling him shine and move up to higher positions of the career.

Following are the skills and abilities required to be a graphic designer:

Skill Set:

Ability to listen accurately: The ability to listen actively without missing out on any details is very important for the role of a graphic designer as they should carefully listen to their clients and managers on their requirements based on which they develop designs.
Creative Thinking: Thinking out-of-the-box forms an asset for a graphic designer. They should have the ability to create remarkable and deficient designs by discovering and producing a picture what they want to express without the use of words. The picture created may not be clear but this is where the creativity of a graphic designer stands out.
Printing and designing Skills: Graphic designers must have the ability to understand digital print production by making use of page layout or desktop publishing programs. They should have the ability to understand concepts of printing which includes page layout, grid layout and master pages.

Knowledge of Web designing: These professional must have a considerate amount of understanding of web development as it forms an important essential in the age of online advertising and marketing campaign taking to the web presence. Graphic designers must have a basic understanding of CSS and HTML as this skill has become very lucrative while working with user-interfaces and designing blogs.

Other skills:

Some of the other skills and abilities include:

Knowledge of photography.

Ability to develop a wide network of contacts in the industry.

Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Considerate knowledge of social media marketing.

Ability to work under pressure meeting deadlines.

Exceptional organizational and leadership techniques.