Important Skills Graphic Designers Must Have
Graphic design is a career where the skills pay the bills. Communicating with beautiful art in today’s world often involves serious computer software experience, as well as the creative soft skills required of any artist. Successful graphic designers need to know more than which fonts work well together and how to use the latest design software. In order to have a thriving career as a graphic designer, you need the right set of skills.
Here is a list of the graphic design skills employers are looking for today.
Creativity
Creativity is one of the most important skills for graphic designers. After all, it’s hard to come up with new ideas and innovative designs if you don’t know how to tap into your creative resources. Having a visual eye is essential no matter what medium you work in. Graphic designers need to be creative thinkers. They have to creatively convey ideas through text and image. They have to generate solutions for their clients through creative means; for example, they might have to promote a company’s mission through a website or design an image that helps sell a product. All of this involves creativity, as well as creative problem-solving skills.
Communication
Graphic designers communicate ideas through text and image. Therefore, communication skills are critical to the job. However, communication is important in graphic design in other ways too. Graphic designers have to articulate ideas to companies, clients, employers, etc. It requires strong public speaking skills for presentations and writing skills for proposals. Designers also have to be able to communicate with clients and employers by phone, email, and sometimes through Skype. Graphic designers must listen to their clients’ needs and convey persuasive solutions.
Typography
The ability to make written language not only legible but also visually appealing is more important today than ever, These days, pretty much anyone can access every kind of font imaginable online, but someone who has been highly trained and understands how fonts are made and utilized is going to be a more effective designer.
Graphic designers need to know how to develop (via creation or selection) legible, well-designed type. They need to be familiar with certain fonts and have knowledge of line-height and tracking.
Software skills
Firstly, Graphic designers need to be comfortable with design software, Knowing how to use Adobe’s creative software, specifically Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop is a base requirement for many graphic design jobs. In fact, “it’s so integral to being a graphic designer.
Branding
Branding is a key part of graphic design. This skill is critical for graphic designers. Indeed, to be able to understand a client’s needs, you have to first understand your client’s brand. Branding through social media, in particular, applies to many graphic design jobs right now.
Time Management
Most graphic designers are constantly juggling multiple projects at once. Because this is so common in the job, they have to have strong time management skills. Graphic designers should be able to multitask, juggle multiple assignments over long periods, and meet all established deadlines.
Interactive media
Interactive media is a term for design products that actively engage a user through mediums like text, moving image, animation, video, audio, or video games. It’s best for graphic designers to be exposed to as many types of media as possible.
Coding
Though you don’t need to be an expert at coding for most graphic design jobs, having at least a basic understanding of HTML is important since it teaches you how to understand what goes into creating a website. Learning the fundamentals of Java and C++ will make you even more marketable.
There you have it! Master these graphic design skills and you’ll be well on your way to being a graphic designer and landing yourself a job in the industry.
