Introduction

If you’re reading this article, you are probably interested in getting a graphic design job. This article will cover what graphic design is and all of its subcategories. I will focus on talking about the subcategories of graphic design, because together, they make up or are a part of graphic design.

When talking about graphic design, that can be a very broad term and field of work. When talking about graphic design, you can be talking about creating and designing logos or other images, creating and designing websites, creating brochures, and much more. Many times, graphic design and its subcategories will blend, depending on the particular job that you are doing and what company you are working for.

Usually, the smaller the company, the more hats that you will need to wear, compared to bigger companies where you may be able to focus more on your specific role in a subcategory or subcategories of graphic design.

Logo Designer

Logo design can be as simple as creating a simple logo for a website to creating a logo that will represent a company and a brand.

Think of companies like Coke, Nike or Apple. When you see the logos of those companies, most people automatically think of their companies. Those logos represent those companies, as does every logo.

What Skills Do I Need To Become A Logo Designer?

As with all graphic design jobs, you will need some creativity to be good as a logo designer or any other graphic design jobs. You can get inspiration from other logos, but you will want your own original ideas too.

  • Presentation Skills
  • Photoshop, Illustrator
  • Typography
  • Coming up with ideas
  • Color combinations

Website Designer

Being a website designer means creating and designing websites, but there is much more to it than that. If you are creating a simple brochure style website for someone, then it might be about as simple as talking with a client and deciding what information they want on their website and how they want it to look.

Many times you and your clients can use a template to go off to make the process as easy as possible. Sometimes, the websites that clients want are much more complex and using a simple template to go off will not cut it.

Part of the job of a website designer is communicating with clients and presenting wireframes and designs of how their website will look like and function once you are done creating their website. There is usually back and forth communication until the client is happy with their website. Sometimes this communication is done through email, and sometimes it is done over the phone or in person.

What Skills Do I Need To Become A Website Designer?

The skills that you will need to be a website designer may vary. It depends on how you go about creating and designing websites. You can create websites using the basic building blocks of HTML, CSS and Javascript with some backend programming language, but most website designers these days use some kind of website building software, like WordPress. Software like WordPress allow you to create and design websites without knowing any or much coding in any way.

You will need to know how to use other software to create wireframes, illustrations and logos. Software such as the Adobe Suite software will allow you to do all of this. Depending on where you work, the illustrations and logos may be done by someone else.

  • Presentation skills
  • HTML, CSS, Javascript, a backend programming language
  • WordPress or some other website creation software
  • Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe XD and more
  • Typography
  • Color combinations

UX Designer

UX stands for user experience, so a UX designer is a user experience designer. A UX designer primarily focuses on the interaction between the user and the app, website or whatever product that you’re working on. For example, a UX designer may given the task of having visitors to a website make a purchase. His or her job may to make sure that the user’s experience on the website takes them from from the first step of visiting the website all the way to making a purchase.

A bad user experience can result in loss of potential sales and return visits. A good user experience will result in higher sales conversion and people that repeatedly use the product.

Part of the job incorporates psychology, statistics and charts to get the desired result. As a UX designer, you will have to do competitor analysis, customer analysis and user research, product structure and strategy, content development, prototyping and wireframing, testing and iteration, coordinating with ui designers and developers and analysis and iteration.

What Skills Do I Need To Become A UX Designer?

  • Some knowledge of psychology, statistics and charts
  • Competitor Analysis
  • Customer Analysis and User Research
  • Product Structure and Strategy
  • Content Development
  • Prototyping and Wireframing
  • Testing and Iteration
  • Coordination with UI Designers
  • Coordination with Developers
  • Analysis and Iteration

UI Designe

UI stands for user interface, so a UI designer is a user interface designer. UI designers focus on how products look and are laid out and look in particular to how the user will interact with the\ website or app. For example, if you are on a music app, a UI designer will focus on how the play button looks when the user is interacting with the play button and when a song is playing.

UI designers also focus on making sure that the app or website have a consistent look and feel.

Some of the elements that UI designers will be dealing with are buttons, text fields, dropdown lists, date fields, list boxes, checkboxes radio buttons, search fields, icons, tooltips, progress bars, notifications, message boxes, modal windows and more.

What Skills Do I Need To Become A UI Designer

  • Coordinating with UX Developers
  • Prototyping and Wireframing
  • Photoshop
  • Sketch
  • Illustrator
  • Fireworks

Graphic Illustrator

A graphic designer creates visuals such as logos, icons, backgrounds, infographics, company signs, books, magazines, newspapers, other publications, etc. for products such as websites, apps, packages and as well as layouts for apps and websites. The work that a graphic designer does depends on the specific job or assignment that he is assigned.

What Skills Do I Need To Become A Graphic Designer?

  • Communicating with Designers and Developers
  • Photoshop
  • Illustrator
  • Typography
  • Color Combinations

Motion Graphics Designer

Motion graphics designers, also called motion designers or animation designers, create 2D and 3D visual effects and animations for multimedia such as games, videos, trailers, movie clips, websites, apps and more. These visual effects and animations are as the name implies, graphics that are in motion.

The market for motion graphic designers is growing as the content that is online has a large and growing amount of graphics animation content for content such as websites, apps, streaming as well as more traditional industries like gaming, film, television and more.

What Skills Do I Need To Become A Motion Graphics Designer?

  • 3D Modeling
  • Animation
  • Storyboarding
  • Editing
  • Adobe After Effects
  • Adobe Animate
  • 3ds Max Autodesk

Package Designer

Packaging design is focused on the designing for physical products. For example, think of any product that is on the shelf of any store. Each product has a container and at some thought went into designing the design of that container. One of a package designers’ goals is to make the product more appealing for potential buyers. This role will include selecting typefaces, color and color combinations, making illustrations for the packaging and also making prototypes of these designs to present to clients.

Think of any of the toys that your parents may have bought you as a kid and of the images on those boxes and the color combinations that helped in making you want that toy.

What Is The Salary Of A Package Designer

The salary range for a package design ranges from about $50,000 to $70,000. Some of the factors that might affect your salary are experience, certifications or degrees and any additional skills.

What Skills Do I Need In Package Design?

As a package designer, just as important as all of the technical skills will be your ability to present your designs to your clients or potential clients, as mentioned above. This cannot be emphasized enough because you will have to be able to present yourself and your work to be able to make it as a package designer, so communication is very important.

Some of the skills that you will need in a package design job are listed below.

  • Presentation skills
  • Thinking in 3D
  • Having an understanding of materials
  • Understanding print standards
  • Paper engineering
  • 3D programs
  • Design for print
  • Surface design
  • Adobe After Effects
  • Presentation skills

Conclusion

Once you have the skills and start applying for graphic design jobs, you will also want a portfolio website where you can showcase your skills and personality. A great place to cheap web hosting is at websitehostingcouponcodes.com.

Hopefully this guide on graphic design jobs can give you a more clear view on the graphic design jobs, what each one does and what skills you need to get into these fields.

Also Read: 14 Essential Designing Tools Which Every Graphic Designer Must Know