Job Descriptions: Graphic Designer

Graphic Designers are responsible for creating and developing designs to client specifications and for a range of mediums.

Graphic Designers are highly skilled individuals who are able to bring designs and ideas to life through inspired and developed images and designs. Whether they are starting from scratch with a client's initial idea or working as part of a team to create a new identity for an organisation, Graphic Designers are required to put their tangible skills to work for inventive ideas and creative concepts.

The work that Graphic Designers may do is varied and they can either find themselves working in an agency or as an in-house designer. These two types of employment for a graduate are different and will have graduates applying their skills in different ways. Agency work will require graduate Graphic Designers working on projects big and small, with the agencies more than likely to have their own speciality in graphic design. Whereas in-house Graphic Designers could see their work become more structured, with graduates able to pursue a particular path in the field.

One thing that must be remembered for graduates looking to start a career in graphic design is that they must be prepared to be versatile in the early days of their careers. Graduates at this stage would be best trying to get as much professional experience as they can and look to specialise as they go on. Being picky in a field like graphic design will only force graduates to fall behind the pack.

Graphic Designer Salaries

The average starting salary for a graduate Graphic Designer is £18,784. This is a great salary to start on and shows that the rewards are there for graduates who want to pursue this as a career, despite how competitive a field graphic design is.

As mentioned before, as Graphic Designers careers grow and they begin to specialise in a particular area of graphic design, graduates can expect to see their salaries grow. As they take on bigger projects and more responsibility they will see their earnings grow alongside these.

The Daily Duties of a Graphic Designer

Because of the project based nature of the work Graphic Designers undertake, graduates should expect a varied workload and expect to keep various projects on the go at the same time. This can result in peaks and troughs in terms of the amount of work they have on and require them to stay-late in the office when required. Also, the duties will vary depending on the particular specialism of graphic design they work in. Here are a few of the daily duties graduates can expect to do as Graphic Designers:

• Meeting with Clients - Meeting with clients can be one of the most important things graduate Graphic Designers will do. This will help them sort out concepts, terms of work and allow them to understand the business they are doing work for. Whether this is regular meetings and showing their commissioned work or getting an idea of what their organisation is about, having good interpersonal skills is important for graduates to help meeting clients be productive.
• Developing designs - This is the main focus of a Graphic Designers role. They must be able to take concepts, firm or fluid, and be able to develop work along those lines. Graphic Designers could be creating a new logo or working on an advertising campaign, they must be able to work and rework to the specifications provided by the department, editor or client.
• Pitching for work - When working for an agency, Graphic Designers can often be required to pitch for work. Pitching for work involves speaking to potential clients and trying to sell them their services, using a portfolio or preliminary designs to try and win business. For this salesmanship, confidence and understanding are needed to be successful.
• Coordinating with other departments - Graphic Designers will be required to coordinate and cooperate with many other departments. This could be working with photographers, printers, editors, Advertising account managers or the clients themselves. It requires good team working skills, excellent communication skills and a versatility in their approach.
• The Business side - The business side of a Graphic Designers work may not be the most glamourous side of the position but it is very important. The business side involves things like invoicing clients for work, setting daily rates or pricing up for potential projects they are pitching for. This varies from agency to agency, but usually graduates will have the support of structures already in place.

A career as a Graphic Designer can be an inspiring career for talented and skilled graduates who are confident with things like the Adobe suite, CAD and other graphic design software and tools. The field is highly competitive and evidence of work experience or an impressive portfolio are vital for getting a career underway. As well as having the technical skills and know-how, graduates would be advised to add to this creative and innovative ways of thinking, great communication skills and excellent team working capabilities to be a real success as a graduate Graphic Designer.