While on a trip to market, you wish to pick up a packet of wafers and don’t have any favourites. One of the important factors that help you choose a packet of wafers amongst the spread is the attractive package. On visiting a cosmetic shop to buy a gift for a friend, one naturally gets drawn to glossy and colourful in-store advertising. You seem to generally like the logo of a brand and tend to make a perception of the brand and its associated benefits. This is how subtle yet powerful the role of a graphic designing is!
Jobs undertaken by a Graphic Designer
- Understanding client’s or organisation’s requirements and developing concepts and designs that match their requirements.
- Undertaking all design-related work in an organisation like designing logo, brochure etc.
- Creative thinking and designing the official website and all art work communication of the organisation.
- Working on the all forms of media for the best design output.
Essential skills required to be a Graphic designer
- Extremely good technical skills for learning essential design programs such as Quark XPress, Corel Draw, FreeHand, Illustrator, Photoshop, 3D Max, Acrobat, Director, Dreamweaver, Flash etc.
- Extremely good aesthetic sense.
- Good understanding of colours, designs, patterns etc.
- An observant eye and strong visual sense.
COURSE/TRAINING
A course in graphic designing is geared to help students learn how to provide visual solutions to communication problem. The training regime for degree in fine arts or visual communication is extremely methodological. Therefore getting an admission into specialised institutions training in fine arts or visual communication is not easy. One has to go through a rigorous entrance procedure. After successfully passing class XII exams, one has to appear for an aptitude test conducted by the institution concerned that usually lasts a few hours. The various areas included in the aptitude tests conducted for a graduate level course are object drawing, art history, painting, visual communication, applied art, print making, sculptures and general knowledge. On the basis of the marks obtained by the applicant in class XII exams and his/her performance in the aptitude test, the admission is confirmed.
Career Opportunities
Graphic designers have the following career options after they complete their formal degree in visual communication or fine arts.
- Advertising agencies: Branding is a big business today and so is advertising. With advertising becoming one of the most important functions of marketing, advertising agencies are always looking forward to fresh and innovative branding solutions. Graphic designers offer art and design-related assistance to the agencies to achieve the required branding results for the clients.
- Art Studios: Graphic design students make for great art directors. Various art studios are on a constant look out for good art directors for various assignments at hand.
- Theatre, Television & Film Industries: Creating the mood, ambience and required set for production is the work of the creative personnel from this field. With production becoming even bigger each passing day, art and graphic designers are more looked up these days.
- Freelance: After working for a few years, most graphic designers consider freelancing as a more lucrative option as compared to working for an employer/organisation.
Remunerations
The Average pay for graphic designer is Rs. 251,300 per year. Remunerations for graphic designers vary from industry to industry. Advertising and media are among the highest paying industries for graphic designers. From as much as Rs 15000 – Rs 20000 as the initial start up salary to earnings in lakhs per month. Graphic Designer’s earnings solely depend on their hard work and calibre.
List of Institutes for undergrad and post-grad courses in India
Name of Institute Website
National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad www.nid.edu
Industrial Design Centre, IIT Mumbai www.idc.iitb.ac.in
Department of Design, IIT Guwahati www.iitg.ac.in
Symbiosis centre of Design, Pune www.sid.edu.in
Pearl Academy, Delhi, Jaipur www.pearlacademy.com
