Career May 2, 2021

What does a Graphic Designer do?

By Gilda Furgiuele

A multi-disciplinary creative; Graphic Designers simplifies complex information and communicates it visually.

What is a Graphic Designer?

At their core, graphic designers take information and create visual media that is eye-catching, memorable and easy to understand. They use layout, typography, illustrations, motion graphics and photography to create printed or digital media for audiences.

What does a Graphic Designer do?

Creates graphic communications: Whether it’s a magazine, brand, packaging or billboard, Graphic Designers create designs to communicate with audiences. They leverage many different software tools to manage vector graphics, photography, illustrations and motion.
Collaborate to bring ideas to life: Graphic Designers work alongside many people to bring an idea to life including clients, peers, or Art Directors. Often taking a vision from others and sharing their work in progress to gather feedback. A Graphic Designer’s work involves communication with audiences and will have to go through a few iterations to ensure it’s effective.
Studies culture: To create for others a design must be relevant. Graphic Designers keep up with trends in media and culture to understand how to reach their audience effectively.

3 skills you need to become a Graphic Designer

Eye for design: At the core of a graphic designer’s work is design. They must know design principles to create aesthetic and effective compositions leveraging typography, color, graphics and layout. This will include features such as emphasis, balance, alignment, contrast, repetition, proportion, movement and white space.
Problem solving: Graphic designers are natural problem solvers. Typically, a new project brief is delivered with a business problem or audience need that needs to be solved through design. It is up to the graphic designer to find the best solution for communication needs.
Collaboration: No designer works alone. From clients to colleagues to print partners; graphic designers have to collaborate to get the best work done. They should have strong communication skills, be open to feedback and take direction well.