Design (Graphic & Industrial)

Brief Overview

Graphic Design

“Graphic designers” is a broad category that includes artists who use a wide range of tools to design promotional displays, marketing brochures, logos, commercials, annual reports, and other graphics products for clients. Graphic designers also develop the overall design and layout of magazines, newspapers, journals, and other publications, usually working under the supervision of a design director or art director.

Recently, graphic designers have also begun to work more and more in multimedia communications such as websites, CD-ROMs, and video games, but whether or not they design for the electronic media, most now use computer graphics software rather than the more traditional pens, pencils, and light boards.

However, graphic designers and artists still sometimes use their skills to produce hand-drawn artwork and illustrations for use in books, magazines, and newspapers as well as on objects such as t-shirts, mugs, canvas bags, and commercial packaging.

Graphic artists and designers often work very closely with clients. They need to understand the kind of image the client wants to present and be able to translate this image into their finished work. To do this, they need good people skills as well as a high level of technical skill. In addition, they often work under the pressure of deadlines, particularly when clients demand last-minute, unforeseen changes.

Taken from Career Prospects in Virginia.

Industrial Design

Industrial designers have to balance functionality and appearance. The new stethoscope or laptop or screwdriver they design has to work, of course, but face it, in products for today’s mass markets, appearance is often the most important factor By creating a certain “look” for a product, designers help develop brand recognition and improve sales.

In developing the right look for a product, however, designers must take several factors into consideration. Production costs, manufacturing and distribution limitations, the target market, ease of use, comfort, and safety are just some of the factors designers must take into account. Therefore, they need broad knowledge of multiple disciplines.

Industrial designers need to understand how products are engineered and manufactured; they need to know how to use computer-assisted design and rapid-prototyping software; they need to know about marketing and advertising; they often study psychology to understand how people interact with the objects around them; and they usually know a lot about art, photography, architecture, history, and pop culture. Designers also work closely with other members of product development teams, like engineers and marketers.

As manufacturers become increasingly aware of the benefits of professional design, more and more of them are hiring industrial designers not only to design products but also to develop packaging, design exhibits for trade shows, work on point-of-sale advertising, and design store interiors. Top industrial designers span the world of art, advertising, and production, creating innovative and appealing products that almost sell themselves.

Taken from Career Prospects in Virginia.

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Helpful Search Tips

Here are some quick tips to get you started:

  1. Know yourself:
  2. Know your motivations, strengths, and weaknesses.
  3. Know your work: Know its nature, style, and variety.
  4. Know the location(s) in which you’d like to work.
  5. Know the job market: corporations, design offices, and the wide variety of businesses that employ graphic & industrial designers.
  6. Identify companies in the locations in which you’d like to work.
  7. Don’t send out hundreds of resumes. Rather identify your “Top 10” companies and write specific well-written cover letters.
  8. Be prepared to set up appointments with design firms to review your portfolio.

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