Young graphic design graduates have a wide variety of careers waiting to be explored. The first step to choosing a career in graphic design is to understand where your talents lie and what interests you. Below are some of the options you can choose from.
Brand Identity Developers
One of the most popular careers for a graphic designer is as part of a brand identity development team. Brand identity includes logos, corporate stationary, packaging, signage and more — it is the face a company shows the world. The designer plays a very crucial role here. Brand Identity Development is a career most suited to designers who enjoy working with layouts and typography.
Web Designers
Today, almost everyone has an online presence. For any brand, be it a large corporate firm or an NGO, a well-designed website is a must. Web designers work with user interface and user experience designers along with developers to create these websites. To be a web designer your core competencies should include creating vector and raster images along with page layouts.
Video game designers
Everyone loves playing games, but what if you had an opportunity to design and create your own? When creating video games, developing the look and feel of the game screens and characters is looked after by a graphic designer. Take a look at any online video game to get an idea of the amount of work involved. This is a role where you need to have good illustration skills along with a strong grasp over 3D modelling software.
Illustrators
Not every career in graphic design has to be technology-driven. If hand-drawn illustrations are your strength, look for a career in publishing houses, magazines and stationary firms. A good software to master is Adobe Illustrator. Good illustrators are always needed in these sectors to create exciting book covers, magazine panels, greeting cards and even designer gift wrapping paper. The challenge with illustration is in finding and developing your own unique style.
Infographic Artists
Every map and sign that you walk past has been designed by someone. If you enjoy playing with layouts, look for a career as an infographic artist. In such a role you will be responsible for creating artwork ranging from maps to educational charts and brochures.
Visual Image Developer
What a pencil is to an illustrator, Photoshop is to a visual image developer. A visual Image developer’s role starts where a photographer’s role ends. Once a photograph is taken, turning it into a magazine cover, movie poster etc is the work of a image developer. You need to have a very good eye for colour and a strong understanding of image editing software for this career.
Type Designer
If you are passionate about calligraphy and how alphabets are created, you can look into a career as a type designer. This niche career demands immense patience and ability to pay attention to detail. The rewards, though, cannot be measured – can you imagine designing a font as popular as Helvetica?
Design as a career is flourishing and though we may move away from print altogether and live only in a digital space, there will always be a need for graphic designers.
