Graphic designers create graphics for all sorts of things, from company logos to road signs. Their work can be seen everywhere in modern life. If you have a creative streak and like to express yourself with images, here are a five reasons you might want to consider graphic designer as a future career.
A Career for the Creative
Firstly, a career in Graphic Design is a fantastic job for those who want a role that allows them to express their creativity. Depending on seniority, you will have a certain level of input into the limitations and requirements of any project you undertake. But even at the lowest level, as a designer you will be expected to bring your own creative talents to work in deciding how best to fulfill the requirements of the job.
Expressions Through Images, Not Words
The phrase 'a picture paints a thousand words' is at the heart of the graphics designer’s world. Through a careful combination of image, text, font and spacing, you tell entire stories and express the values and culture of organisations, causes, brands and more.
These graphics then shape the world around us. They tell us who a group is and what they claim to value. They warn us of hazards on signs and what might happen to us if we ignore their warnings. They draw our attention to opportunities and potentially change lives. And they do all this by being far more succinct than even the most carefully worded prose.
Artistic Talent Not Required
Art is a talent with which people are either born with or not. By contrast, graphic design is a skill which can be practiced, trained and honed into a career. While being able to draw or paint is, of course, a very useful asset, much of the skills required for professional graphic design involve IT usage and organization, both of which improve with repetition.
No Degree Required
Like artistic talent, you don’t need a qualification to get started as a graphic designer. Having said that, most designers will have some form of diploma or degree that recognises their talent. However, it isn’t strictly required. Even if you do get the certification, any employer or client is going to want to see examples of your work and likely won’t care so much for your qualifications.
That said, developing one's skills through courses in the subject is an essential part of building the repertoire of abilities needed to succeed in the role. So while you don’t need a formal qualification to work as a graphics designer, the reality is the training you undertake when developing yourself will almost certainly come with a few qualifications of its own.
The Satisfaction of Creating Things
For some people, being able to look back on the end of a project and seeing ideas become real, physical reality is a point of serious pride. Being able to see your hard work grace websites, products, posters and be used productively is immensely satisfying. Graphic design, by virtue of it’s role as a creative job, provides more opportunities for this than most.
