A Career in Graphic Communication

Graphic Communication (also known as Graphic Design) is a field with two goals in mind: persuasion and information. A designer’s job is to entice the viewer with visual appeal and to create a strong message. He or she also organizes and clarifies information so that it is easy to read and find particular details quickly. Both of these skills are used to create imagery that is mass-produced for a particular audience. Graphic Communication skills are involved with anything commercially printed or published on the Web. This includes but is not limited to: books, magazines, web sites, billboards, packaging, signs, commercials and anything else that needs a creative touch.

What Skills do Graphic Communication Majors Use?
First and foremost, a Graphic Communication major needs an eye for composition. Can you take very different objects and make them work together harmoniously? This can be done through color, positioning, cropping, size, pattern, and many other methods that are taught in an art classroom. Another major component of a degree in Graphics is typography, working with words and letters. Graphic Communication is the only major that works with words as a major tool. Organizing text in a way that is legible but also visually interesting is a skill that a student will master in his or her time in school. The ability to come up with unique solutions is also a valuable skill to have. A designer or design student must come up with new ideas and approach problems from a different angle. The final piece of the puzzle is the computer. While design does not require the computer, it is still the most popular tool for the professional for ease of use and production. Students will learn programs like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, and Flash in order to increase their skills in producing quality artwork used in a variety of mediums.

Graphic Communication is a field that dabbles in many other professions. Most designers have skills beyond the four mentioned above. In a day-to-day situation, one may work with a variety of other medias, from photography to illustration as well as printmaking, woodworking, product design, and others. The designer picks up skills for the job he or she is working on so they may either create the piece needed or have a basic understanding of how it works. Because of this, designers tend to study a broad base of art skills as well as some business skills like advertising, public relations, marketing, and even computer programming. This makes it the perfect fit for those students who have a wide variety of interests and want to use all of them in their future careers.

What Careers are there for Graphic Communication Majors?
There are many opportunities available to someone with a degree in Graphic Communication. The most common example is the advertising industry. A student interested in this direction would work on advertisements ranging from the traditional (magazine and newspaper ads, brochures, etc.) to the digital (graphics in commercials and web advertisements) to the unique. Part of being a designer is coming up with new ways to showcase the design and the products or services offered.

Similar to working in advertising is working for a corporation. Here a designer works to develop a specific identity to a business. This can be done through a logo and its applications, creating a website, creating a booth for a conference, and many other situations. This differs from advertising as you are not selling a product but creating a look and feel for a company. Many designers are hired to work at one specific company and only do work for that employer.

Then there is the entertainment industry. Magazine and book publishers always need designers to create the visual structure of their products. Movies often have designers do the beginning and end credits of their movies as well as their DVD menus. The music industry is still exploring their options, as their medium becomes increasing digital. One may work on a CD cover, a web site, or other products as the need arises. A designer will always be involved in the development of any new entertainment media.

The final area that designers focus on is the information industry. Whether it is providing information on a website or creating a system of signs that make it easier to navigate the hospital, Graphic Communication is about making information easier to absorb.

There are a few ways that designers organize themselves. Some work for just one corporation while others work for advertising agencies alongside marketers, ad executives, and other business people. A common approach is for designers to work in a firm with a handful of other designers who hire themselves out to businesses, agencies, and other clientele. Finally, Graphic Communication is a great field for the entrepreneur. A lot of designers work for themselves and hire themselves out on a case-by-case basis. This can become the start of a new firm if that designer gets enough steady business.

As one can see, there are a variety of skills and options available for those who wish to pursue a degree in Graphic Communication. Most students will dabble in all of these areas at some point in their career but each and every one will develop a different set of strengths that will make them a unique commodity out in the real world.

Editorial provided by Keith Ellis, Assistant Professor of Graphic Communication at Northern Michigan University.