What is Graphic Design?
Graphic design is an artistic and creative process. Graphic design has been around since archaic times of caves and hieroglyphics. The term “graphic design” was actually coined back in 1922, by William Addison Dwiggins, who was a type designer and calligrapher.
Graphic Design is an umbrella term that refers to many different professional disciplines that are creative and artistic and focus on visual communication. The art of graphic design is specific to creating words, images, (often symbols) to communicate a message. Graphic design encompasses many fields within the industry, including typefaces, logo design, illustration, animation, and many print fields. Graphic designers are the professionals that are behind the scenes when you receive a mass mail flyer, and the artists that design websites, as well as layout for newspapers and other publications.
Graphic Design Jobs
The economy has made every industry tighter than it was before 2007. However, people still need publications, and businesses still need publications, websites, signs and flyers. There may be more demand for economical graphic design projects, so salary and freelance work may be less lucrative than it once was, but this is the case in most industries right now. There are a few great places to look for graphic design jobs. Here are just a few:
- Monster
- Simply Hired
- AIGA Design Jobs
- Smashing Magazine Job Board
- Authentic Jobs
- Fresh Web Jobs
- Creative Hot List
- Career Builder
If you are looking for freelance work, there are many other freelance sites that allow you to bid jobs and create the graphic design work that is posted. This can be tough, because in many cases, you are competing with graphic design artists that work outside the US, and can bid much lower on the jobs. This may be something worth looking into for you, but as stated before, the jobs posted on the online auction sites are often so cheap that it may not be worth your time.
Graphic Design Salary
According to Graphicdesignsalarydata.com, the average salaries are:
Lowest salaries $21,120
Average Salaries $39,900
Highest Salaries $69,730
Payscale.com has reported that the median annual salary for graphic artist or graphic designer is $31,336-$46,409.
Graphic Design Schools
Some of the top graphic design schools are:
- California Institute of the Arts
- Pratt Institute
- Boston University
- Chapman University
- Academy of Art Institute
- Art Center College of Design
- Parsons School of Design
- Rhode Island School of Design