Career as Graphic Designer: Graphic Designing is an amalgamation of art and technology to put ideas and illustrations to create something unique, which communicates with the target audience. It is basically an art of communication in the form of expressions using text, art, images, or maybe words.
Ever wondered who created all those attractive logos and designs that never escape away from your mind?
That’s what Graphic Designer is for, they produce some amazing illustrations to create artistic effects using the designing elements. From brands to publishing companies, everyone needs a graphic designer. So, if you are someone who got all those sight-catching creativity and is skilled with technology, you need to read this article to find out some great pieces of information.
In this article, we are going to discuss my career as a Graphic Designer, the course programs available and admissions to the programs. Also, we will discuss the Job profiles in Graphic design and the salary packages available for them. Read the article till the end to get the major takeaways of a career as a Graphic Designer.
Who is a Graphic Designer?
A graphic designer is someone who designs content to provide a visual depiction of any information which needs to be conveyed to the audience. Graphic designers use software tools to create the design using their creative skills.
A graphic designer basically creates sight-catching logos and designs for almost everything ranging from computer games to books. They also create signboards, hoardings and billboards, using tools such as Corel Draw, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Adobe, etc.
Skills of a graphic designer
- Creative and Artistic skills
- Communication
- Time Management
- Analytical skills
- Problem-solving approach
- Attention to detail
- IT knowledge
- Knowledge of Graphic tools basics
- Web programming scripts
Graphic Designing Courses
If you are someone who desires to begin his/ her career as a Graphic Designer, there are plenty of course programs available for you! You can go pursuing any of these and you need not have a previous experience in this. These course options are flexible and available at various levels. You can choose from diploma courses, degree courses and certificate course programs. We have listed below these programs.
| Degree/ Diploma | Programme | Course Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree course (3-4 year program) | B.Des (Graphic Design) B.Sc. (Graphic Design) B.Sc. (Multimedia, Animation & Graphics) B.A. (Graphic Design) Bachelor of Graphic Design | 30,000- 5 lakh |
| Master’s degree course (2-year program) | M.Des (Graphic Design) M.A. (Graphic Design) | 1.5 lakh – 6.5 lakh |
| PhD | Graphic Design | – |
| Diploma & Certificate Courses (6 months-1 year) | Certificate in Graphic Design Advanced Diploma in Graphic Design Graduate Diploma in Graphic Design Post Graduate Diploma in Graphic Design | 30,000-90,000 |
Eligibility criteria to pursue Graphic Designing
Eligibility to pursue any course programme in design is similar to any other course. You just need basic web knowledge and knowledge of some graphic designing tools.
Bachelor’s level degree– You need to have completed 10+2 or equivalent from an acknowledged board.
Master’s level degree– For pursuing a course in any postgraduate level program, a candidate needs to have secured a bachelor’s degree in the same subject.
Admission to Graphic Designing Courses
As now the students have enough information about the courses offered in graphic designing, now you must be keen on understanding the procedure for finally getting into the course programme and pursuing your dream career.
There are various ways, in which the institutes/ universities provide admission to interested candidates. For admission in any undergraduate and postgraduate programs, admission is provided based on merit or through the entrance exams like:
- MIT
- AIEED
- CEED
- UCEED
- NIFT
- SEED
Through these, entrance exams, admission is provided to students in the most elite institutions of Designing. Below we have supplied the names of some of these colleges offering course programs in Graphic Designing, you can choose what suits you the best and start your journey to becoming a graphic designer:
| MIT Institue of Design | Pune |
| National Institute of Design | Bangalore, Ahmedabad |
| Footwear Design & Development Institute | Noida |
| IIT | Mumbai |
| Wigan & Leigh College (WLCI) | New Delhi |
| Symbiosis Institute of Design | Pune |
| Koshys Animation & Media School | Bangalore |
| Ellen School of Art & Design | Jaipur |
| Kanya Maha Vidhyalaya | Jalandhar |
| NIFT | Delhi, Mumbai |
Career as Graphic Designer
Before you choose Graphic Designing as a career choice, you need to know what a career as a graphic designer looks like. A graphic designer has to work to deadlines and according to the client’s needs. Work flexibility is there but it totally depends on the workload.
Also, the most considerable point is that any career as a graphic designer doesn’t require you to have a specific type of experience. So, the majority of the job profiles under it offer a great career start for the freshers who pursue this course programme.
What are all the things you need to do as a Graphic Designer?
A graphic designer is concerned with varied tasks of designing according to the will and needs of your client. You have to deal with numerous kinds of people and work according to their needs. Your vision as a graphic designer matters a lot, but most often, you will be required to make changes according to your client’s perspective. Your designing tasks will include elements like:
Choosing the perfect colours for your Designs
Designing the Creative Layouts
Image Selection for your designs
Create Graphics and product illustration layouts
Analyzing the time/ costs of a project & meet client requirements
Supervise other art technicians/ designers
In the world of digital technologies, graphic designing is worth the career choice. These designers get employed in diverse industries:
- Television
- Corporate sector
- Multimedia houses
- Publishing houses
- Advertising Agencies
- Multi-National Firms
- Web designing companies
- Packaging Industries
- Gaming companies
- Design Studios
- Other Institutions
Jobs Prospects of Graphic Designing courses
Graphic Designing careers are among the most exclusive career choices, where an individual gets paid for the expression of their ideas and imagination. Graphic designers get employed anywhere, in a government department or a private firm and designing in this field consists of some of the most creative job profiles. With a degree in Graphic Designing, you can become:
- Art Directors – Create visual images and designs, according to the requirements of the client and the target audience.
- Web designers – Designs websites, concerned with text, image layout, fonts, etc.
- Multimedia Artist/ Animator -Create an animation for games, movies, videos, etc.
- Visual Image Developer – Develops visual images
- Industrial Designers/ Product Designers – Create designs for a business to attract people to use certain products
- Drafters – Create visual directions for the development of any structure. Create technical drawings of architectural designs.
- Mobile UI Designers- Design the layout of mobile phones, to make them attractive and user-friendly.
- Brand Identity/ logo designer – Create a unique identity of a brand, with which it will get associated.
- Brochure designer- Develop brochure designs for advertising purposes or reports and magazines.
Apart from all these job profiles, you can always work on your own or do freelancing as well.
Major Recruiters of Graphic designing
- General Motors
- Wipro Technologies
- SAP Labs India Private. Ltd.
- Cogwheel Studios
- Think Design
- HCL
- Moonraft Innovation Labs
- Asian paints
- Microsoft
- Eastern Silk Industries Ltd.
- Design Factory India
What is the salary of a Graphic Designer?
Graphic Designers are offered elegant salary packages depending on the job profile. In general, a fresher in graphic design can earn a handsome salary of up to 20,000-25,000 per month, which needless to say, increases further with experience. With the experience of a few years, one can earn a handsome salary of about 6 lakh in a year.
The maximum salary of some specific profiles under graphic designing can reach up to 1 lakh/ month. If you desire to work in countries other than India, you can earn a salary of up to $35- $40 annually. Although, it may vary with the type of institution you are working for. Below, we have given a graphical representation of the salaries of some major profiles in Graphic Designing and the salaries associated with it.
In a career choice like Graphic designing, the only thing that plays a major role in getting higher pay is how well-polished your skills in designing are and your work experience with the software tools. With refined skills, you can earn high paycheques.
Graphic Designing is among the growing career choices with the increase in digital media development in various sectors. The career path is promising and a great career option for someone passionate about art.
If you find the article helpful or have any queries regarding this, please comment down your thoughts. We shall be delighted to help you!
Which degree can I do after 12th to build a career in graphic design?
To pursue a career in Graphic design, you can choose among the certificate courses or proper degree courses after the 12th standard.
What are the jobs of a Graphic Designer?
A graphic designer can work under a firm or freelance to make logos, books, posters, magazines, unique designs for corporates, brochures, web designs or designing a brand’s identity.
What is the salary of a Graphics Designer?
The average salary of a graphic designer can range from 1lakh-5lakh per annum, which can increase with experience.
What are the job options for B.Des. in Graphic design?
You can work designing costumes, accessories and footwear or become a fashion designer.
What is the work of a Graphic Designer?
A Graphic designer is concerned with creating designs with the help of software tools to communicate the ideas of any business/ products to the audience they target to attract.
Is Graphic Design a good career option?
It can be said that graphic designing is among the growing sector today, due to tremendous enhancement in technology and mass usage of multimedia platforms that use such graphics.
Do I need good drawing skills to do Graphic design?
Technically, you do not need great drawing skills to pursue Graphic design. You need the knowledge of the tools because you have to design everything using the software tools, you just need a creative mind and some analytical ability.
What is the maximum salary of a Graphic Designer?
The maximum salary of some specific graphic designing job profiles, like a UI designer, can reach up to 19 lakhs/ annum.
