Graphic Design Colleges Can Help Anyone Become a Graphic Designer
A career in this topic is much wider than you may have imagined. Surprisingly, a lot of people think of graphics and design and immediately their minds turn to thoughts of video games and complex coding for websites. The truth is, there are a lot of other avenues open to you, so if you’ve ever wanted to study for a career in this topic, or just wanted to know what it takes to become a graphic designer but felt unsure if you could handle all the requirements, it’s time for you to think again.
Are you someone who is interested in the visual arts and do you want to pursue graphic design? It is a great career to pursue and there is a lot that you can learn online learning graphic design. One skill you will pick up quickly is typography. Typography is the art of mastering different types of lettering. When you are playing around with typography you are changing the way words look, the way they are shaped and how big or small they are. This is actually a very big part of Graphic Design and it is a useful thing to learn. Now day’s typography can be learned by anyone and everyone!
Another thing you will learn in graphic design school is page layouts and how to arrange them. This involves piecing together many different components on a page and figuring out where they are suited best. Page layouts are actually a very useful thing to learn because they are everywhere. When you look in magazines you can see the different styles of the designers who decided upon that specific page layout. When you see newspapers or graphic children books it is important to notice the pages and see what you would have done differently. If you can master page layouts then you are one step closer to being the Graphic Design you want to be?
Video game graphics is indeed a form of design, but designers also create newsletters, banners, print advertising, simple website templates, and design logos. If you are a skilled illustrator, you might have a chance to get a job as a 2D or 3D animation designer. Even somebody who has no previous experience in art or design can attend one of hundreds of colleges to learn the skills necessary to excel in the field. The average designer salary varies depending on what specialized area you work in, but many entry level positions can garner at least $50,000 (£31,000+) annually.
Going into graphic designing gives you almost total freedom. You can either work for a design company, which will give you a steady salary and benefits, or you can eschew the corporate setting and become a freelancer. As a freelancer you would be able to take your creativity in any direction you wish and cater to as many or as few clients as you deem necessary to follow your dream. A freelance salary can be over $100,000 (£62,000+) a year, although many designers make many times that amount.
To apply to graphic design colleges you don’t need a portfolio or any background in design. These institutions are in place to educate everybody who is interested in learning. Once you leave the college however and begin searching for a job, you’ll need to provide a portfolio along with your resume. A graphic design portfolio can encompass virtually any medium or style, as long as it shows your best work. You want to let the employer know that you can bring fresh, new designs and ideas to the table. This field is all about innovation. Stale marketing campaigns have been done before; cookie-cutter pre-made website designs won’t arouse a great deal of interest in anybody. As long as you can think on your feet and show some creativity, it won’t be long before you’re earning a higher salary.
Interface design is another cool aspect of going to graphic design school. Interface design means designing things for other people to use such as websites or software. It can be a very complicated yet interesting job because you are applying your Graphic Design skills to a completely different field. When you are working with interface designs you could be working for an internet marketing company trying to improve someone website so they gain more traffic. Or you could be working at a software company helping them come up with logos and the overall software design. It is a pretty cool job.
Printmaking is probably the most useful thing you will learn in graphic design school. Printmaking is the art of literally printing designs onto other things and there are a lot of times when this can really become handy. There are so many uses for printmaking that you will actually be amazed because it is hard to imagine that Graphic Design is being used in so many places all at once. If you ever see people wear shirts with a logo on them that is one sign of printmaking. Or if you see a cars model number on the outside then that is another sign of printmaking. It is everywhere and learning printmaking could be very cool.
The fallacy of this career is that anybody can do it and become successful, but at the same time it is not for everybody. If you see yourself as an innovator and a creative thinker, or if you have an eye for composition and a talent for creating something that interests people, then this just might be the right career for you. Set aside any misconceptions you may have had about graphic design in the past, because a brand new career and a competitive graphic design salary are waiting for you.
[…] behind the ads seen in magazines, websites, billboards and various other visual displays. There are jobs for graphic designers in a wide array of industries. Where you decide to apply your creative skills depends on individual […]