Or was happy when they gave you a stylish notebook at work. Or was gazing at visuals on social networks. This means that a graphic designer is working effectively somewhere. Let's figure out what exactly they do.
The Skillbox team found out:
- what areas a specialist can work in;
- what to study to become a designer;
- what are the pros and cons of the profession;
- and how much is it in demand in Belarus.
Let's take it one step at a time.
Who is a graphic designer?
This is a specialist in the field of visual communication. Depending on the area of work, he creates logo designs, packaging, layouts magazine covers and spreads, develops a company's corporate identity and design for social networks. There are many career options: from creating packaging to developing application screens.
Graphic design areas
An artist can work freelance and fulfill orders from different fields, or can choose a specialization and work in one direction.
Printing: working with books, newspapers, magazines. The designer comes up with ways to beautifully place text and graphics without compromising readability.
- Identity: a specialist develops a brand's corporate style: logos, colors, fonts, design of information products.
- Packaging: the artist creates a packaging design and prepares layouts for printing.
- Web: website creation. Working with color, text, page elements.
- Environmental design: development of graphic design of space.
- Motion: creation of graphic animation. The specialist creates animated images, videos, and interface animations.
- Illustration: book and article design, character development, and work on photo stocks.
- Advertising: developing visual concepts that sell.
- Interface design: creating interfaces for applications, websites, gaming consoles, terminals, and even cars.
What you need to know
Despite the wide range of areas, the set of basic requirements for a graphic designer is universal. Let's divide it into two categories.
Hard skills:
- fundamentals of visual design: composition, color, typography, grid;
- working in editors: most often this is Photoshop for raster graphics or Illustrator for vector;
- marketing, to understand goals and analyze customer needs.
Soft skills:
- knowledge of the psychology of perception;
- communication skills;
- empathy;
- stress resistance.
Practicing skills
Knowledge of composition and color is of no importance until you learn to apply them in practice. Here are some tips on how to get the hang of it.
- Copy. Choose the work of a professional and try to repeat it. You will be able to understand how the designer acted and adopt interesting techniques. You can look for examples on the websites Behance, Awwwards, Dribbble.
- Work with a mentor. An experienced designer can become a mentor; the main thing is to agree. The mentor will study your work, point out mistakes, and suggest areas for improvement.
- Free assignments. Offer your design services to a social project, foundation, or initiative. Complete the project and add it to your portfolio.
- Challenges. Use services that periodically offer assignments for designers. For example, Daily UI.
Pros and cons of the profession
Pros
- Possibility to work remotely.
- Demand.
- Wide choice of work areas.
- High salary.
Cons
- High competition.
- Working with conflicting clients.
- High level of intellectual workload.
- Employment
In Belarus, a graphic designer can find work in the capital and every regional center. The largest number of vacancies is in Minsk - 183.
Median salary
Books:
- «The Design of Everyday Things», Donald Norman;
- «Living Typography», Alexandra Korolkova;
- «Steal Like an Artist», Austin Kleon.
Where to study
There are many options for mastering a profession: for any budget, employment, and level of self-discipline.
Option 1 - On Your Own
You can learn design on your own. YouTube offers a wide range of tutorials on theory and tools. For example:
Pros:
- free;
- complete freedom of action: you choose what to learn, when and in what volume.
Cons:
- no feedback and opportunity to assess your level;
- risk of studying incorrect information.
Option 2 - educational institution
In Belarus, you can master design in educational institutions of the largest cities. In Minsk, for example, there are:
- Belarusian State University, communicative design;
- Belarusian State Academy of Arts, Faculty of Design and Decorative and Applied Arts
- Belarusian National Technical University, industrial design and packaging.
Pros:
- ready-made training program;
- feedback from teachers.
Cons:
- programs are not updated in time in accordance with trends;
- long training - 4 years.
Option 3 - online courses
For example, the course Graphic Designer from Skillbox. Suitable for beginners without drawing skills.
Pros:
- Up-to-date information;
- Emphasis on practice;
- Employment assistance.
The Skillbox authors have shared everything they've learned with you, shared links, and compared options. Now it's your turn: if this profession interests you, you know where to start.