Graphic Designers Resources

What is a graphic designer?

A graphic designer is also known as a graphic artist or communication artist. They are professionals within the field of graphic design and the graphic arts industry and use typography, motion graphics and images to create and link a design together. The graphics mainly created by the graphic designer are used towards electronic media, printing and publishing. Graphic designers also perform web design, illustrations, typesetting and teaching.

What are the basic skills required by a graphic designer?

The work of a graphic designer may involve the presentation and style of existing text and pre-existing images or imagery developed by the designer. Within advertisements, a graphic designer or art director will commission the illustrators or photographers to create the original pieces that are to be incorporated into the design layout. The design practice is extended to the modern computer. There are a variety of key skills required by a graphic designer, some of which are:

Computers and the creative process;
Interface design;
Printmaking;
Chromatics;
Visual arts;
Page layout;
Typography.

What type of work is undertaken by a graphic designer?

They work with illustrations, book typesetting, web design and print media designs such as advertising design, corporate ID, brochures and stationery.

What is the design philosophy of a graphic designer?

A graphic designer’s role is to organise the information very effectively and present it to the viewer/reader so it is easy to interpret. A graphic designer may use humour, colour, images and rhetoric within the design process to achieve these goals. There may be arbitrary limits that are placed on design processes such as using black ink plus one spot of colour for a brochure, that way it saves the client money. They always work with a client to produce work of a professional standard, within the client’s specified budget.

How is the client involved in the design process?

A graphic designer will thoroughly discuss the project with their client from the start. It is always a good idea for the client to take along to their consultation any colour combinations, ideas and samples that they may already have. Once the design process has begun, the client is usually asked to approve the milestones before any work continues. Once the project has concluded, the artwork can be amended into various formats, at the request of the client.

What do graphic designers charge?

They usually charge per job. Every project they undertake requires a consultation with their client, which can be performed by email, phone or face to face. Based on their needs, a quote is prepared for them. Rating sheets are very rarely used because a custom design has its own individual price. If a client requires help with the focus of their message, a graphic designer will identify the client’s audience, use full colour production, supervise the production of the brochure, provide the multiple comprehensives and liaise with printers etc, and the charges can amount very rapidly. Graphic designers can also work on an hourly rate. It is best to speak with the chosen graphic designer to see how the costs can be reduced in any way.

What is LaTeX?

It is a mark-up language that is used for typesetting. It excels by using setting texts with more unusual characters such as phonetics or mathematics. A graphic designer takes the author’s manuscript then inserts the codes for special characters, formulas and the structural elements of the book, then processes the file together with a custom designed stylesheet which then ensures that the book is in the appropriate format. Stylesheets can be accustomed to use any type 1 font and can then be conformed to use virtually any specification.

Do graphic designers use any other typesetting programmes?

An experienced graphic designer will use other typesetting programmes, other than LaTeX. LaTeX does not have to be used with all typesetting and page layouts. Smaller jobs can be handled with Core1Draw, or for a book that requires sidebars, run-arounds and a lot of colour, a graphic designer could use Adobe’s InDesign software.

What is the most difficult part of designing an effective website?

The site structure and the information contained in the website. The information has to be correctly placed so that all visitors can search for their required information, product or service. To achieve that, graphic designers have to develop designs that allow the user to navigate around the site however they feel the need to. The overall goal is to try to understand how a website user’s mind works and fit the website to their needs.

What are computers and the creative process?

It has always been under discussion whether a computer may enhance the creative process of graphic design. Rapid production from the help of a computer can allow a graphic designer to explore multiple ideas and tasks more quickly rather than the traditional hand rendering on paper. The use of a computer with graphic design can also move the designer through the creative process much more quickly. The limitless choices that are offered by a computer, though, do not help to isolate the best design solution and can lead designers to iterate endlessly without having a clear design outcome. To explore the complex or multiple ideas, a graphic designer may use sketches which do not offer distractions or give technical difficulties from malfunctions in the software or learning any software. Hand rendered computers may be used to gain approval of an ideas execution before the time has been invested to produce the finished visuals on a computer. The same thumbnail sketches on paper may be used to rapidly produce and refine the idea on the computer in a hybrid process. This hybrid process is useful in logo design where a software learning curve may detract from a creative thought process. The traditional computer production hybrid and traditional design process may be used to free up the creativity in the image development or page layout too.