THE OFFICIAL™ GRAPHIC DESIGN THREAD

[jimmybeanz]

Original title of thread > GRAPHIC DESIGN PROFESSIONALS ON NT? WOULD LIKE TO KNOW YOUR EXPERIENCES.

I'm considering a career change and was wondering what am I in for.
What are the biggest positives? Negatives? What are your specialties?

 

[nawth21]

Good luck finding something in Print, it's a dying sector

you're better off sticking to other mediums

 

[starkyl0ve]

Originally Posted by Nawth21

it's a dying sector

Truth. However though, with the internet today, I feel like there's a ton opportunity for anybody willing to network. I don't know a damn thing aboutgraphic design, but I got a few friends who are more or less professionals. I'm in music, and that's how I know them, so I guess I'm speakingconcerning the music field specifically. The guys I'm talking about have had a zero difficulty finding stuff to work on, album covers, promo posters,websites, etc. They're not working with industry superstars but they are getting paid.

You're talking about switching careers though, these guys are wrapping up their college degrees, eager to work on whatever they can gettheir hands on. I'm sure that's different than what you're looking for.

 

[lexflex81]

As a freelance graphic designer I would say that the money is pretty good, but you have to keep on the grind. That means always looking for new clients (lot ofshameless self promotion) and working hard to maintain relationships with existing clients. So you need some social networking skills

Don't expect the money to come rolling in right away; in my experience, I first had to do some lower paying assignments with lesser known customers beforethe bigger customers notice you. Then you can charge more.

I hope you do have some graphic background, cause I can't imagine someone just becoming a graphic designer from one day to the next...except if you'resome kind of graphic prodigy.

And ofcourse take your time to practice practice practice with Adobe programmes (for me the most important are: Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign)


Hope this helps.....feel free to ask any more questions.

 

[jimmybeanz]

Originally Posted by StarkyL0ve

Originally Posted by Nawth21

it's a dying sector

Truth. However though, with the internet today, I feel like there's a ton opportunity for anybody willing to network. I don't know a damn thing about graphic design, but I got a few friends who are more or less professionals. I'm in music, and that's how I know them, so I guess I'm speaking concerning the music field specifically. The guys I'm talking about have had a zero difficulty finding stuff to work on, album covers, promo posters, websites, etc. They're not working with industry superstars but they are getting paid.

You're talking about switching careers though, these guys are wrapping up their college degrees, eager to work on whatever they can get their hands on. I'm sure that's different than what you're looking for.

I know that I need to get some schooling first, but afterwards, I'm not opposed to working on whatever. Until you've established yourselfas above average, you have to settle for whatever anyway.

As far as it being a dying sector, I read a survey the other day that said it's a growing sector.

I guess I'll have to take it for what it's worth.

EXCELLENT AVY AND SIG btw, Starky!

 

[jimmybeanz]

Originally Posted by lexflex81

As a freelance graphic designer I would say that the money is pretty good, but you have to keep on the grind. That means always looking for new clients (lot of shameless self promotion) and working hard to maintain relationships with existing clients. So you need some social networking skills

Don't expect the money to come rolling in right away; in my experience, I first had to do some lower paying assignments with lesser known customers before the bigger customers notice you. Then you can charge more.

I hope you do have some graphic background, cause I can't imagine someone just becoming a graphic designer from one day to the next...except if you're some kind of graphic prodigy.

And ofcourse take your time to practice practice practice with Adobe programmes (for me the most important are: Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign)


Hope this helps.....feel free to ask any more questions.

I am a graphic prodigy!

But seriously, itwould be a big career move for me. I'm reading books about it, and I feel like it would fit my natural passions for design, technology, etc. I will beasking you more questions in the future - Thanks

 

[smedroc]

I did visual communication at uni. *++% was cool cause we had creative license to do pretty much whatever we wanted...thing is that don't really carry overto the work place in the graphic design field.

So i decided to major in illustration with the hope of getting commisions working freelance...........end well it hasnt

I think it depends what kind of work you like doing. If your versatile and you dont mind doing 'boring' *++% then you might be ok.

 

[nawth21]

I don't know where the growth would be coming from

you have newspapers going under left and right, whole b&w print departments being axed,magazines don't have as much advertising these days. I know because my DH has a degree in some GD field, but he's more pre press but yeah, it'sbeen tough.

He might never find a job in that field again as the newspapers are letting people go who have 20 years experience and he can't compete withthem. But GD encompasses a lot so if you're versatile you're good to go,

 

[lexflex81]

Originally Posted by jimmybeanz

Originally Posted by lexflex81

As a freelance graphic designer I would say that the money is pretty good, but you have to keep on the grind. That means always looking for new clients (lot of shameless self promotion) and working hard to maintain relationships with existing clients. So you need some social networking skills

Don't expect the money to come rolling in right away; in my experience, I first had to do some lower paying assignments with lesser known customers before the bigger customers notice you. Then you can charge more.

I hope you do have some graphic background, cause I can't imagine someone just becoming a graphic designer from one day to the next...except if you're some kind of graphic prodigy.

And ofcourse take your time to practice practice practice with Adobe programmes (for me the most important are: Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign)


Hope this helps.....feel free to ask any more questions.

I am a graphic prodigy!

But seriously, it would be a big career move for me. I'm reading books about it, and I feel like it would fit my natural passions for design, technology, etc. I will be asking you more questions in the future - Thanks

I definately wish you lots of luck with you future endeavor.....but word to the wise: if there is one thing I have learned is that actually using (for example)Adobe programmes will get you much further than reading a book about it. Never really read the Adobe textbooks at school either....I just dove straight in andstarted experimenting. Its the best and most fun way! Naturally you should keep your book within reach just in case....but practice makes perfect!

Originally Posted by Smedroc

So i decided to major in illustration with the hope of getting commisions working freelance...........end well it hasnt

I think it depends what kind of work you like doing. If your versatile and you dont mind doing 'boring' *++% then you might be ok.

In my experince you generally start off with boring DTP work (which is actually quite handy, cause it trains you to measure out everything just so and make itlook tight) and further along the line you get more assignments with more creative freedom.

 

[dwizard23]

Like Smedroc I went the Visual Communications route -graduated from KU in '03 w/ Graphic D & Illustration. I was blessed to get a 9-5 not too longoutta school. However been wanting to take the plunge in freelance as some of these 9-5 can suck your energy and creativity.

Biggest piece of advice. WEB DESIGN. KNOW IT. I was in school during the .com crash and no one was paying attention to web design. Now its a requirement. Well,put it this way, most companies are combining two jobs to save money. Instead of having two designers... a Graphic Designer AND a Web Designer, they just askfor one Graphic Designer who ALSO knows web design.

 

[smedroc]

Originally Posted by dwizard23

Like Smedroc I went the Visual Communications route -graduated from KU in '03 w/ Graphic D & Illustration. I was blessed to get a 9-5 not too long outta school. However been wanting to take the plunge in freelance as some of these 9-5 can suck your energy and creativity.

Biggest piece of advice. WEB DESIGN. KNOW IT. I was in school during the .com crash and no one was paying attention to web design. Now its a requirement. Well, put it this way, most companies are combining two jobs to save money. Instead of having two designers... a Graphic Designer AND a Web Designer, they just ask for one Graphic Designer who ALSO knows web design.

this is realtalk.

Shame for me though because i don't know a *#%+$@% thing about it!

however i intend to make myself a website when the portfolio is looking tight, so im hoping doing that will get me some what up to speed.

 

[jimmybeanz]

lexflex - i should have said i'm reading books about the graphic design field in general.
dwizard - i definitely feel your point about web design - that was one of the skillsets that i thought i would have to acquire

 

[nocomment6]

If you know how to draw and work the PC, then you'll still have to put in quite an effort to become recognised.

 

[danikerhino]

I was majoring in Graphic designing but working in Illustrator and Indesign all day is something I want to do as a career, so I switched to an Illustration(Drawing) major. But I guarantee you there is a lot of opportunity in Graphic Designing. But because you have to learn Adobe inside out, expect alot of hardwork and attention to detail, it's not a cake walk like people may think.

 

[Fong$tarr]

Get a good base in all things but money wise from how I see it, get into web design and coding and typography. Photoshop and Illustrator can really be learnedon the fly but coding is hard and would be easier if taught by a teacher.

I have BA in design and have done nothing with it. I know it is my fault but if there is one thing I can recommend to you is that this is a changing field andyou do have to go with the times. You really have to immerse yourself as a designer, read into things, blogs, websites and know what is good and what is bad.Freelancing is tough nowadays and a lot of people I know that freelanced, all got back into 9 to 5 jobs to support their bills and family.

And by the end of it all, it really is who you know. I know a lot of designers that have great jobs all be cause they are good networkers. Skills gets youplaces but networking and being a social butterfly is the other part to it.

It is a tough choice. I myself was not fit for this and wished I majored in illustration just to fulfill my dream in being a decent artists, but even now thatis gone for me. Good luck.

 

[danikerhino]

Originally Posted by Mr Fongstarr

Get a good base in all things but money wise from how I see it, get into web design and coding and typography. Photoshop and Illustrator can really be learned on the fly but coding is hard and would be easier if taught by a teacher.

I have BA in design and have done nothing with it. I know it is my fault but if there is one thing I can recommend to you is that this is a changing field and you do have to go with the times. You really have to immerse yourself as a designer, read into things, blogs, websites and know what is good and what is bad. Freelancing is tough nowadays and a lot of people I know that freelanced, all got back into 9 to 5 jobs to support their bills and family.

And by the end of it all, it really is who you know. I know a lot of designers that have great jobs all be cause they are good networkers. Skills gets you places but networking and being a social butterfly is the other part to it.

It is a tough choice. I myself was not fit for this and wished I majored in illustration just to fulfill my dream in being a decent artists, but even now that is gone for me. Good luck.

Woah *%*%, I just made a decision to switch to Illustration from Graphic Designing. I initially though Graphic Designing would involve moredrawing but it's mostly Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Indesign *%*% and I'm not too interested in doing computer work all day. The only thingI'm sketchy about is finding a job as an illustrator when I graduate, but I'm glad I'm not wasting my time and money going for something Iwon't really enjoy (Graphic Designing).

 

[Fong$tarr]

^^^^It's a toss up really but I think if I was a illustrator, I would have more pride in doing that then doing graphic design. I mean don't get mewrong...there is a lot of artistic skill with graphic design but there is so much more technical stuff to it then just drawing whatever you like. You have toconvey a message so to speak and it has to serve its purpose whether it is a logo, website or print. I no so many great graphic designers, yet they can'tdraw anything worth a darn. The people that have a nice blend of both are the ones that I think live the life of a graohic designer, where they do corporatework but do it in there own way.

For example...this guy has always been in my radar as one of blending both design and art together:

and corporate stuff like this:

Check out more here: http://www.fatoe.com/home.html

 

[danikerhino]

Originally Posted by Mr Fongstarr

^^^^It's a toss up really but I think if I was a illustrator, I would have more pride in doing that then doing graphic design. I mean don't get me wrong...there is a lot of artistic skill with graphic design but there is so much more technical stuff to it then just drawing whatever you like. You have to convey a message so to speak and it has to serve its purpose whether it is a logo, website or print. I no so many great graphic designers, yet they can't draw anything worth a darn. The people that have a nice blend of both are the ones that I think live the life of a graohic designer, where they do corporate work but do it in there own way.

For example...this guy has always been in my radar as one of blending both design and art together:

That's what turned me off about it, I was waiting in class like "when are we suppose to start drawing?".

 

[dynasty raider]

I feel you Fong. I've been blessed with a talent in graphic design and I've taken advantage of it for years but at the end of the day I always wish Icould draw, paint, etc. I feel like it's that missing link to being an unstoppable graphic artist.

Has anyone else noticed a lot of graphic design majors (usually that hopped into it for the wrong reasons) have generally crappy work compared to a lot of selftaught designers? It's like either you have the eye/mind for it or you don't. Not to discourage anyone, it goes the same for any career based ontalent.

 

[danikerhino]

Yeah you hit the mark Dynasty, it's really all about what you're interested in. The best Graphic Designers are the ones who can draw and incorporatethat into the Photoshop (or Illustrator) (no pun intended). Unfortunately, I'm not really interested in working with Photoshop as a primary source for myartwork. I much rather prefer a pencil and paper, I'm an old fashion artist. I always wish I was good at Photoshop though, maybe in the future.

 

[ljlukelj]

ask 206

 

[18key]

So to those with degrees in graphic design, whats the workload like in college? Job outlook? I just finished my second year (not done with my associates yet,tho) and havent landed on a major.

 

[danikerhino]

Originally Posted by 18key

So to those with degrees in graphic design, whats the workload like in college? Job outlook? I just finished my second year (not done with my associates yet, tho) and havent landed on a major.

Well I took two classes, it involves learning hot-keys on Photoshop/Illustrator/CS4, learning how to use the materials precisely (thinkarchitecture), getting familiar with all the tools/details in Photoshop/Illustrator/Indesign, Typography, Printing and that's all I got up to. I'm surethere is more to it. But there's a lot of time spent on Adobe Creative Suite (sometimes Corel).

 

[Fong$tarr]

Type is a big thing. Understand that and you can get away with a lot of design stuff if you don't have the artistic talent. A lot of photoshop savy peopleare good and what they do but have the worst type selection. It's probably one of the hardest disciplines min design but the most essential.

I'll stress more when I get home later after work. Just don't be like me.....a degree in design and I work at an insurance company. Wack!

Best advice someone gave me.....don't be lazy and bust yo %#%!

 

[ardeedas]

I too am pursuing a degree in graphic design. Not too sure what medium i want to focus on. My dream job would be to work for pixar or lucasarts... isn'tthat every artist dream job? But I do want to design characters for video games, movies, comics.. all that.

Anyone know of any good schools in cali pref. or anywhere with a good design prog? My friend's recommend CCA and CALarts... does anyone have experiencewith art/design schools?