Graphic designers are the masterminds behind your favourite product packaging, book covers, websites, and advertisements. They’re the architects of your brand image, and they’re responsible for much of what you see every day—and they do it all without you even realizing it!
Though graphic designers do work behind the scenes on most projects. Their hard work and expertise can make or break an entire company’s image in a way that many business owners take advantage of by hiring them full-time. But what do graphic designers do? And what tools and skills are needed to become one? Keep reading to find out!
The Brains
Graphic designers are responsible for every detail of your brand’s visual identity. From a large corporation like Coca Cola to a tiny diner in Brooklyn, no matter what you’re selling or who you’re selling it to – it will look good if a graphic designer creates it. Whether creating logos, websites, social media graphics or magazine layouts – their expertise is essential to bringing clarity and power to everything from elevator pitches to billboards.
A creative head that can develop powerful visuals across all mediums can easily be seen as one of an organization’s most valuable assets. The ability for an organization to communicate its message is critical because consumers make judgments about products with just a glance at advertisements; it all comes down to design, so consumers remember products when making buying decisions.
One of the graphic designers’ responsibilities may include getting businesses ready for social media channels like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Because these sites have visual nature, there need to be constant updates made on profiles depending on what time zone people are posting in. It also needs to be considered that not everyone has Wi-Fi while out in public. So graphics may need to be adjusted accordingly; resolution size must fall between 100k-300k.
The Creatives
From artists to illustrators to programmers, these are your sexy creatives—the most notable on that list being graphic designers. While art schools may split them into fine artists or illustrators, for our purposes, we’ll combine all graphic designers because, as a whole, their work is what makes up everything you see on your screen. Modern life wouldn’t be possible, from websites to mobile apps, without these talented artists.
So what does a graphic designer do? Well, for starters, graphic designers have to have at least some basic knowledge of colour theory and typography (to get us started). This could mean creating two equally balanced shades of blue or learning how to use Photoshop with InDesign to create an excellent brochure design. Oh, wait… that was my homework. I better finish! We’ll discuss more fun stuff like fonts, branding, and creative direction later. For now, let’s move on to another type of designer…
Web developers/programmers/coders aren’t real designers! -Cultural misconception propagated by uneducated people who don’t know that computer programming requires even more skill than graphic design. Go ahead, set your pitchforks down, and give me a chance to explain myself. Ok… *eye roll* Since when did I ever say anything about only having five types of designers? Exclamation Point!! It’s times like these that make me wonder if colonizing Mars is necessary because obviously. Those mothership humans aren’t going anywhere anytime soon! Who am I kidding? There’s no way we’d be able to talk to them at all…
This leads us to why web designers are also real graphic designers. Computers need someone with an eye for detail not only to tell them what to do but show them what it’s supposed to look like. But does that mean you can throw any monkey behind a keyboard and call them a designer or developer? No! As great music takes years of training, so does making beautiful (and sometimes functional) websites.
The Coordinators
The Coordinator is a jack of all trades in graphic design. While not as strong as other designers in each category, Coordinators can round out projects to ensure that everything fits into place nicely. For example, if you want a designer who is also good at digital work but doesn’t need much web development skills. Your Coordinator would pick up those extra tasks on top of their usual workload.
When working with a Graphic Designer, it’s essential to be clear about what exactly you’d like them to handle; communicating needs clearly will help avoid confusion down the line. Here’s an example below: In my project proposal, I stated that I wanted a logo designed (and, specifically, a cool one). But instead of making me something cool, he made me something straightforward—something clean and efficient.
He said he was focused on getting his first job done correctly rather than getting creative. If he had been more explicit about his communication style in our initial meetings, we could have clarified from the beginning—but because we didn’t explain things upfront (or because I should have known better).
The Clients
Types of Clients Graphic Designers Work With Before graphic designers start working with a client or company. You must know what kind of client you have. This information is vital in determining how your designer will get your job done and clarifying any expectations you must set upfront. Not all clients are created equal; here are some basic design templates that can help simplify who you work with:
You want people to click on your ads. Therefore you want them to look at them – a lot – right? Your ad should be Clickable – whether it is in an ad network or if you have put it directly onto your site.
Clear Call to Action the essential part of an Ad is its call to action: The text that describes what exactly happens when someone clicks on your ad. If we think about how often we have clicked on links while just skimming through posts, blogs, etc. Then one can understand why good content is essential to get good results with advertising! Text Examples: Subscribe Now! Buy now Lowest Price!
A look at the industry as a whole (or how this relates to you)
The field of graphic design is an exciting one. From corporate identities to web design, there are countless jobs within it. The boundaries of what a graphic designer can do are ever-expanding as new technological possibilities present themselves. Before you get ahold of any business owner and start selling yourself as a great designer that he needs on his team. You should familiarize yourself with who your competition is in this industry. This will give you a better idea of what kind of services people look for in their designers and where your niche may lay within all these designers who are currently working for potential clients.
It will also show you just how difficult or easy it would be to break into an industry that everyone would love to work in if given a chance. When researching specific positions such as website developers, marketing specialists, etc., consider that these fields often overlap due to companies’ need for all types of help related to running a business.
So when doing research, make sure you’re clear about which kind of designer is best suited for which position based on their duties and skillsets. Also, please take note of what skills most employers seek during their searches. While looking at salary ranges may seem like common sense at first glance (to see whether or not your abilities fit). It won’t tell you anything about how standard those requirements are. If no companies want a logo designer precisely. Then maybe you shouldn’t either unless other areas such as branding come into play here instead.
How these skills are essential to any business
No matter what type of business you’re starting—even if it’s a non-graphic design-oriented business—you will want to make sure that your website is professional. For example, even if you aren’t running a restaurant. You still want your customers to know how great your food is. Even if graphic designers are going to charge more money than you may want to spend to build up your business; at least know what they are doing so that when you are ready to use their services.
You can make an informed decision as well as be able to spot a scam because when it comes down to it. Graphic Designers can be expensive. If you find one who seems too good to be accurate. Chances are they are, or their work isn’t worth what they claim it is.
One essential thing to remember is that having a beautiful site will help set your business apart from others. It doesn’t matter how pretty or nice your site looks if no one knows about it! So please don’t lose sight of your primary goal.
Which should always help others with whatever problem they have or need solving. If Graphic Designers enable you to do just that, then hire them! (Do remember, though: It pays to negotiate! Like you would research before buying a car, furniture, etc., do some research on what different companies/designers offer). An easy way to see where someone fits into The Industry is by looking at who they accept jobs.
If they take on all types of projects. Then there is a good chance those projects won’t be suitable for your company or its image. Remember, who you hang out with makes all the difference. Stay away from people that wouldn’t fit into your ideal client profile and ensure everyone fits together perfectly for one primary reason: Communication.
Examples of each in action (or how this relates to you)
Logo design: Logos are one of those things that you may overlook until it is put in front of your face. However, once you notice it, you can’t help but find yourself coming back to look at it. Its purpose is to represent a brand’s personality through its design and make sure that when people see it (online or off). Something about it sticks with them long enough to figure out what it is.
Think about Apple’s logo, Amazon’s logo, or Coca Cola’s logos. These are all recognizable brands by their colours, shapes, fonts and sizes alone. Not only does their logo stick with us because we love these brands so much. But these logos also give us a sense of familiarity as we have been seeing these kinds of symbols around for decades.
Other takeaways
Include definitions, lists of what each job entails, examples of their work. Please have at least two points about why you like them or don’t. (Not including 2–3 models for each bullet point) Also, provide images to illustrate your post. Please do not use stock photos!
This will require research and pictures from google searches if need be. Please find recent pictures that show how graphic designers look today in 2017/2018. Use those as an example rather than using ten-year-old images. Each website has a template, so please stick with that theme when choosing images or writing content. If there is an image floating around on a random webpage somewhere. Take screenshots instead and then add them onto your company website templates where appropriate.