Who is a graphic designer and what do they do?

Contents

• What a graphic designer does
• How design is developed
• About a designer's skills
• Hard skills
• Soft skills
• In what areas does it work
• Trends in design
• Professional Prospects

A graphic designer is a specialist who creates visual content to convey information to the target audience. The profession combines creativity and technology, it is closely related to computer science and drawing.

A graphic designer visualizes a client's concept so that it is understandable to the audience and helps them make money. This specialist creates products that develop associative perception. A potential client, seeing a combination of certain shades or fonts, should subconsciously recall the company. A graphic designer can:

• highlight the client's advantages and demonstrate differences from competitors;
• to create a close emotional connection in the product-consumer chain;
• Simplify the process of obtaining information for the target audience.

Companies value multifunctional experts who not only edit images, but also have knowledge of UX/UI, media, and motion design.

How the design is developed

Most often, graphic design is developed in four stages. Designer:

• Collects information. Interacts with the client, studies the brief and technical specifications. The graphic designer learns about the client's preferences, consumer characteristics, budget, and deadlines. Records important points and analyzes the information received - the success of the project depends on the completeness of this stage of work. Designers also receive a "paper trail" from the client. For example, an email with agreed-upon points to prevent further disputes and edits.
• Comes up with ideas and creates a plan.The graphic designer creates a schematic visualization of the project. For a website, this includes the main sections and necessary elements; for posters or flyers, this includes a visual and technical specifications for printing. The diagram is provided to the client so they can see the expected result and adjust the designer's ideas before the work begins.
• Selects tools for implementation.Having defined the idea and goals, the graphic designer selects the means by which the ideas will be realized.
• Carries out the assigned task. The graphic designer begins practical work: sketching out the idea in an editor, coordinating preliminary results with the client.

The stages depend on the specifics of the project. Most of the time is spent communicating with the client. It is important to understand what they want to achieve in order to properly bring the visual concept to life. Graphic designers work closely with marketers who formulate advertising messages, assign tasks to illustrators, and monitor the accuracy of execution and the quality of printing of the layout in the printing house.

About the skills of a graphic designer

The skills of a graphic designer can be divided into classic hard skills and soft skills. The first are for completing the technical part of the task, the second are personal.

Hard skills

A graphic designer knows how to work with color and typography, builds composition and processes images, and prepares layouts for printing. This requires visual experience, which the designer gains while solving new problems. You can develop your visual acuity by creating mood boards (previews of future designs), analyzing the work of professionals, and studying useful resources and photo stocks like Pinterest, Dribbble, or Pikbest. A designer's main tool is graphic editors. Among them: aria-level="1">Adobe Photoshop — for working with photos and videos;

If a graphic designer is involved in website development, then knowledge of the basics of HTML and CSS layout will be required, as well as the ability to manage content on special platforms similar to WordPress.

Additional skills of the designer:

• Engages in color design, photography, sketching, modeling, and coloristics;
• Has a basic understanding of motion and web design;
• knows the basic concepts of marketing.

Soft Skills

Personal qualities alone cannot be achieved through perseverance and responsibility. A graphic designer needs to develop:

• Imagination:This will allow you to create your own work, rather than copying others;
• Aesthetics:A graphic designer has a keen perception of the tasks at hand and is able to creatively transfer them to paper or a website layout;
• attentiveness: the designer must take into account the client's wishes;
• non-conflict: this skill will help to carry out the twentieth revision on the point that the client "forgot to mention" without scandals.

Communicative soft skills are a priority. Even if a designer works freelance, they will need a well-developed memory and the ability to think outside the box. The specialist independently organizes their work, sets tasks for illustrators, animators, and other team members, and monitors their implementation.

What areas does a graphic designer work in?

Graphic design is a broad professional niche. Opportunities are limited solely by hard skills. The likelihood of finding a high-paying job increases if a specialist knows programming languages ​​and layout, uses new platforms, and uses modern graphic editors.

Designers work in a variety of areas, each requiring specific skills and the ability to research large amounts of data. Without understanding the product, it is impossible to make it accessible to customers.

Branding

Consists of creating a visual image of the company: fonts, color scheme, logo. A graphic designer develops unique brand identification elements. To do this, he works with typography, color and composition, adapting the design to different formats.

Spatial design

The designer creates spatial elements. For example, signs or direction signs for residential and commercial buildings. Before starting work, they visit the site where the signs are needed. They evaluate the space, lighting, and color, and determine the best way to convey information to visitors.

Font Design

This designer creates font sets. To do this, he studies the latest trends in typography, adapts the design to the individual needs of the client and reflects the company's theme in fonts.

Packaging Design

Skills in working with color and composition are important for this specialty. The final product must be consistent with the brand, attract the attention of buyers, and convey important information about the product.

Publication Design

A designer creates layouts for books, magazines, brochures, and other printed materials. To do this, he must be able to create a design on the topic of the publication and know the principles of visual perception.

User Interface Design

A UI designer creates user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing web applications. In this field, you cannot do without knowledge of programming languages ​​and layout.

Motion Design

A motion designer creates animated 2D and 3D graphics. To do this, you need to be able to use Adobe After Effects and Blender editors, Cinema 4D (for animation and modeling) and Marvel (for creating website layouts).

Design Trends

Graphic design trends change every year, depending on the needs and interests of the modern audience. In 2023, the following are popular:

• Visual lightness. The popularity of short videos on social media has led to viewers wanting to see a clear picture and quickly get the information they need from it.
• Minimalism.The developing fashion for minimalism also influences graphic design. Viewers perceive fewer objects better, concentrating on the main thing.
• Interactive. Thanks to new technologies, graphic designers implement unusual solutions that allow users to interact with the image.
• Use of artificial intelligence.Today, AI penetrates almost all areas of human activity, and graphic design is no exception.
• Environmental friendliness.Every year, more and more people on the planet begin to lead an eco-friendly lifestyle. Graphic design responds to the demands of society - it uses "green" design, eco-labels, and packaging and leaflets are made of eco-materials.

Prospects for Graphic Design

Design is a key marketing tool. Consumers love with their eyes. Everyone knows that the bottle with the red logo belongs to Coca-Cola, and the bitten apple is associated with Apple technology. Such associations were created by the graphic designer, who managed to creatively approach the creation of the logo. The more companies appear on the market, the more graphic specialists there are who increase brand awareness and sales. Competition is growing, so only constant self-improvement allows you to get the palm and high-paying projects.

A portfolio is one of the main criteria when choosing specialists. Beginners are advised to complete 1-2 projects for free or at a minimal cost to get their first examples. Alternatively, you can create a portfolio through online courses. It's best to use a portfolio builder to showcase your skills effectively and highlight your best work.

The Skillbox.by editorial team recommends constantly learning new things, mastering new programs and editors, and expanding your professional skills. Missing an important update or abandoning self-development for 6-12 months can make a graphic designer "obsolete" and prevent them from competing with professionals who are constantly learning. We also recommend expanding your soft skills, seeking inspiration, and developing your visual acuity.