| |
|
|
Two things have changed the face of Commercial Art:
1.Computers have revolutionized the realms of visual communication or
what is traditionally known as commercial art.
The canvas has been fit
into the monitor, the brush is your mouse and the drawing tools your
color palette. The only sacrosanct element to complete the skill circle
is one’s creativity.
All this translates into a booming career option
called graphic designing. Let’s take a roundabout trip of this career
option. |
What does a graphic designer do ? ( Graphic design job description
)
The dictionary defines a graphic designer to be “ A person in the
graphic arts who puts together art, text, and other visuals to produce
professional printed results.”To broadly outline it, the Graphic designer's jobs is to set the layout,
do illustrations and typography and unless the job needs to be
‘hand-made’, produce the required design on the computer for a
commercial purpose.
Listen to the boom: spanning the scope in India
Art has merged with science and this fantastic relationship has produced
tremendous scope in graphic designing as a form of applied art. Pictures
are the most effective means of communication, thus with the onset of
ICE Age (Infotainment, Communication and Entertainment), the need of
designing for commercial and communication purposes has multiplied like
the 100’s Table. A quick look into the variety of graphic designing
applications:
Graphic Animation industry & India
The latest FICCI report of the recently concluded FRAMES 2005 boasts of
the animation industry taking a huge leap.
Events (stages, sets, exhibitions)
The promotion and entertainment industry is already a mammoth entity.
With a plethora of events ranging from live stage shows to consumer
promotions, exhibitions to weddings, graphic designers are in huge
demand for set and stage designs, decors, backdrops, direct mailers etc.
Ad Agencies
Posters, pitch-winning print ads, outdoor designs….the onus of
translating the creative guy’s concept to reality will be on you. He
might just thank you in his acceptance speech at the Abby’s maybe!
Books and publishing
The bestseller might not have the best looking cover page, but we don’t
judge a book by its cover, right? Wrong. With the print and publishing
industry growing steadily, cover designs are important for good brand
perception.
TV channels (promos)
A huge surge in the number of TV channels has automatically increased
demand for skilled designers for in-built promos.
Besides these key areas, graphic designers have immense scope in
stationery printing, interior designing / architecture, product package
designing, films etc. The list keeps increasing.
|
|
Do you have it in you?
Graphic designer job Qualifications
Graduate in Commercial Art / Diploma in Graphic design/ Multimedia
Computer know how in programs like Flash for animation-intensive
careers, Photoshop and Coreldraw, 3D MAX, Pagemaker etc. Knowledge of
HTML and other web programming languages such as XML, Visual Basic etc.
would help especially if your focus is website designing. Photography is
an excellent value-add. |
One must learn to use a MAC or an IBM because all companies don’t use
Windows for designers.
Natural skills
Creative knack
Patience (to bear a hundred changes and your client)
Ability to burn the midnight oil (or your office nightbulb)
So now we know that you are ‘well designed’ for the profession. But lets
do a critical analysis whether this career’s for you!
First the Pros
Creative Satisfaction
Graphic designing can give immensely satisfy your hunger for creativity.
If you are a hardcore creative person, you will experience the bliss of
admiring your ‘opus creatif’, a product of your hours of hardwork. Your
designs could be adorning someone’s dream home, or help sell a product
and better still, a million viewers across the world might be watching
your stage during a Film Awards!
Growth
Creativity is as uncommon as common sense. Being a skilled creative
professional, you will always be looked upon as a prized possession and
the only way your career can go is upwards. From a junior visualize you
can climb the corporate ladder to be a Creative director in a few years!
Seeing the increasing trend of the field of entertainment, video gaming,
TV etc, Graphic Designers are the next genre of IT people to mint a fab
career.
Now for Cons
Late nights are inevitable due to the very nature of work. This can lead
to stress but most careers today are stressful. Do the right things
though – eat right, indulge in yoga and take power naps whenever you
can.
Deadline, deadlines:
Whoever invented this word said it. If you don’t meet these, your are as
good as ‘dead’. Working around the clock might be required if the
printing has to be done on time because a successful rollout of the
activity ( be it a launch or an event or an ad) depends a lot on how
quickly or timely you can deliver .
Money Matters- graphic designer salary - how much you can ‘draw’
It’s ok if you start slow. The industry standards in India starts from
Rs.5000 per month. But again, depending upon which field and company you
land a job, the starting base may vary. I.e. event and ad agencies are
not great paymasters. But once you have proven yourself, you can go on
to Rs. 10000 – 15000 in 2 years and in senior position it ranges from
30,000 – 50,000 p.m.
Other great money-making options
Freelancing in graphic designing is an in thing for the extra pocket
money in case you have 2 dates on one day! Besides your regular job, you
can get into freelancing for assignments. (Depending upon your work load
and time. But your first priority must always be your regular job)
After a few years of experience, you can venture on your on your own and
become a ‘full-time freelancer’. Create a great portfolio of your past
work and hypothetical work, approach various relevant companies and get
enough assignments to keep you busy.
Where to get started....
Step 1
Get a degree / diploma in Commercial Art
e.g. JJ School of Art , Raheja’s School of Art etc in Mumbai
And / Or
A diploma in multimedia / graphics
National Insitute of Design (Ahmedabad) offers a PG in design with
specialisation in Graphics
Step 2
Your institute may or may not offer guaranteed jobs, so prepare a great
portfolio and get yourself a nice job
How to scout for opportunities:
Approach an HR counselor ( their services are FOC for candidates)
Step 3
If you are called in for the interview, your portfolio will speak for
itself
You might have to undertake a test to prove your skills.
And there! You have just begun your career journey in Graphic Designing.
Bon Voyage!
~
author Lata S. Batra. Copyright©2005
indianchild.com. |
|
