Different Stokes for Different Folks
If you are studying to be an artist through a graphic design school or graphic design college, there are many fields within this category that you can specialize in.

In some cases the duties of one career overlaps into another one, but this can be considered beneficial because it allows the opportunity for artists to crossover into other areas.
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What’s Out There?
The following list of artist careers can help you to understand the function and job description for each position. There are more categories but these are among the more commonly recognized:

Multi-Media Artist - Artists in this line of work are usually found in the motion picture industry, television industry, and computer-Internet industry. Multi-media artists produce animations, graphics, and images used for movies, television programs, computer games, and advertising/marketing companies. The extensive use of image design software and computer hardware is typical for artists who decide to make a career in multi-media.

Illustrator - Illustrators are usually employed by publishing or product companies to create pictures, scenes, or other images. The illustrations that are produced can be used for commercial purposes, consumer products or books and magazines. Illustrators are usually required to have a good working knowledge of digital imaging techniques and computer software and hardware.

Medical / Scientific Illustrator - Artists in this field of work use their knowledge of the sciences in the creation images for use by the medical and science disciplines. They draw pictures to illustrate human anatomy, scientific data and experiments, and other graphics for illustrative purposes. Illustrators in this field also produce images for educational and teaching purposes.

Fine Artist - This is the classic definition for a career as an artist. In this field an artist creates works of art in oil and acrylic painting, sketching, printmaking, art restoration or illustration. Fine artists specialize in portraiture, scenic, still life, or abstract art. They use a variety of medium to produce their pieces and can utilize sculpture or electronic means for their art.

Craft Artist - Artists in this career make various handmade objects and creations that are sold or displayed in art museums, craft fairs, and art galleries. They work with a variety of materials such as glass, textiles, ceramics, paper, metal or other media to produce their art.

Educational Requirements
The educational background for a career in art varies according to the field you are in. For individuals who want to go into the fine arts or crafts, a formal education is not necessarily required but it can still be of assistance in learning design theory, art techniques, and related skills.

For those who want to become art directors, illustrators, or multi-media specialists, earning a bachelor’s degree at a graphic design college is usually required for entry level positions.

Salary Ranges for Artists
Jobs for artists are expected to grow 14% - 20% from now until 2016, which is faster than average when compared to other job categories. The median annual wages for the following job categories in art are (Bureau of Statistics 2008):

Craft Artists:     $29,080
Fine Artists and Illustrators:    $42,650
Multi-Media Artists and Animators: $56,330

Next Time…
We’ll investigate what it takes to become an instructor in graphic design. We’ll see you then.

What’s It Like Out There?
What is it like in the real world for a graphic designer? In this article we’ll touch upon what you need to qualify for a graphic design job, what the work environment is like and what graphic designers make annually.

Education Really Does Count
If you are attending graphic design school for your degree, you’ve taken the first step in obtaining the necessary education to qualify for positions in graphic design.

If you are not enrolled in graphic design school, you may want to seriously consider this option for your career training.

Most employers require a minimum of a bachelor’s degree for entry level and advanced graphic design jobs. In other cases, employers will accept an associate’s degree or certificate of completion for positions in assisting graphic designers or work that is geared towards technical duties.

There are many online degree programs, community colleges, and graphic design schools that offer programs towards graphic design degrees.

What the Job Demands
As a graphic designer you will need to understand and use the latest graphic design software suites, applications, and utilities.

You should be computer literate and comfortable with the use of PCs and Macs. Hardware such as graphic tablets, the use of scanners and storage devices should also be in your repertory of skills.

Graphic designers create graphic solutions for use in print, film, video, and electronic media to clearly communicate ideas and messages. They use many different means to do this by utilizing colors, illustrations, photography, type, design layouts, animation, and other graphic tools.

Graphic designers need good communication and problem solving skills to meet the challenges of interpreting a client’s wishes correctly, finding solutions to make a design successful and being able to switch project objectives at a moment’s notice.

The Workplace
Generally speaking, if you can land a graphic design job at one of the larger design, advertising, or publishing companies, you’ll most likely be working in comfortable office settings with a standard 40-hour workweek. Occasional overtime is required during “crunch time.”

If you are thinking about a career as a freelance graphic designer, you can expect to schedule your workweek according to your client’s wishes and timetable. This may mean longer work hours, night work, and weekend work.

How Much Does a Graphic Designer Make?
As far as available positions, it is expected that openings in graphic design will grow about 7% to 13% from now until the year 2016. Competition for these jobs will be very high. The range for annual wages for graphic design positions is from $26,110 to $74,660.

Next Time…
We’ll look at the position of an illustrator and what the job encompasses and what you need to do to prepare for a career in this field. See you then!

More Survival Tactics for Graphic Design Students
In our last article we pinpointed two important things to help you survive graphic design school — time management and not to constantly compare yourself with your fellow classmates. This time around, we’ll delve into some pro-active issues for you to try.

Find a Buddy or Two
Graphic design majors have quite a bit on their plates — they must learn and assimilate a variety of design methods, hone their graphic design skills, work on class projects, and tackle the academics related to art history, trends, and design. All of this can become overwhelming if you don’t have a few friends to support you.

Graphic design majors encounter unique challenges and situations that non-liberal arts majors do not normally come across. Graphic design students must constantly rely on their creativity, artistic talents, and design skills to be successful in their classes. This heavy reliance on imagination and originality can sometimes be quite draining.

Establishing a few close friendships in graphic design school can bolster morale and self-confidence through the sharing of common experiences, to bounce ideas off one another, and to generate a support system that all can benefit from in your group.

The creative process can sometimes be a lonely one, but if you support others, they’ll also support you as well.

Get Involved in Classwork
It is easy to become passive in class. Most of our past educational experiences have placed us in situations where we listen quietly while the teacher presents the material. But in graphic design school, the situation changes because the things you learn are creative in nature and cannot be passively internalized. In other words, you must do and not just listen.

The art projects and assignments that are given to you help form the basis of what you need to learn in order to qualify for jobs in graphic design, media, or other related fields.

Some students just do enough to get by but in doing so they miss out on the crucial elements of discipline and process of producing professional quality work. Try not to look at your art projects as busy work, but see them as building blocks for your artistic and design skills.

Ask Questions in Class
Your professor is there to teach you, but also take advantage of the process of asking questions in class to clarify or expand upon a particular topic.

If something is not clear to you, chances are that you are not the only one in class that doesn’t’ understand.

Try to schedule an appointment with your instructor in topics that you need extra help in. You are paying for your education and getting the help you need is not outside the boundaries of school protocol.

Next Time…
As your graduation from your graphic design school approaches, your thoughts will be centered on looking for a job in graphic design, web design, illustration, photography, or one of the other media arts. In the next article we’ll look into the typical work environment and qualifications that a typical job in graphic design requires.

You may be contemplating going to a graphic design school or graphic design college to earn your degree. Or you may already be enrolled in a design program. What can you do to make your experience better while attending a design college?

The following advice and tips may help you to understand the process of what it takes to get the most out of your graphic design school.

Time Management
This is probably one of the most important things that you can work on while attending graphic design school.

In addition to understanding and assimilating the information from your classes and lectures, you’ll also be charged with the duty of turning in your art projects and assignments on time.

Managing your time is crucial to the quality of your projects and will allow you to get the most out of your assignments. This means that you’ll have to be brutally honest about how important your recreational activities are to you and whether you will need to sacrifice some events in order to finish your projects.

Concentrate On Your Own Education
In any creative environment where you are surrounded by others who possess talent, there is an unconscious need to see how you compare to everyone else.

This is perfectly normal as we’d like to find out how good we are. But over emphasizing this informal competition can sometimes be a distraction to your own graphic design education.

The main reason why you are attending a graphic design college is to acquire and receive the proper career training that you’ll need for a graphic design job. If you concentrate too much on how everyone else is doing in your classes, you may be sidetracked in developing your own talent and skills by worrying about everyone else.

You can have some friendly competition with others, but don’t be distracted from your own development as a graphic designer.

Next Time…
We’ll present more survival tips that can help you to get the most from your graphic design school. See you then!

The Basics So Far
In our last few articles we’ve covered topics related to properly preparing for graphic design job interviews and ideas for designing creative resumes.

In this new series we’ll explore what sorts of traits successful professionals in design or creative positions commonly possess. . .
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What the Employers Say They Want
The original information was researched by Preston Lee, an award winning graphic designer, who queried design professionals from different firms.

He asked them what sort of traits they believed are inherent in people who work in jobs that required creativity.

The following list of attributes isn’t exhaustive by any means but may be useful in determining whether you have “the right stuff” to work for a design or media firm.

The List
What is interesting to note is that of all the traits that were mentioned as valuable for a career in design, very little was said about actual talent.

The responses were generally about personal character, good attitude, and good communication skills.

Of course talent is a factor, but this seems to be a given and employers are looking for that extra “something” from potential hires in addition to talent alone. We’ll list the top responses here with a short comment for each trait.

• Be motivated and eager to learn. Design methods and software are constantly changing, so a graphic designer who continues to learn becomes a valuable team member to the company.

• Be curious about the industry. This could also be rephrased, “Be interested in your work.” A fresh perspective of where the industry is heading shows employers that you are involved and engaged in your work.

• Get a good education. Preparing yourself for a career in graphic design, illustration, or one of the many related fields in the arts means getting the best education that is available to you. Graphic design schools and graphic design colleges can help you to receive the graphic design education you need to qualify for jobs in the industry. Most entry level jobs require a minimum of a bachelor’s degree.

• Be authentic. It is sometimes hard to admit a lack of knowledge when searching for a solution to a design problem. But pretending to know everything isn’t the way to go either. Just be yourself. Employers want people that can fit into their organizations.

• Network constantly. Or in other words, communicate! Errors in design concepts can sometimes be attributable to nothing more than just a misunderstanding of project guidelines or the assumption that the other party knows what is expected. Design companies need people who can effectively communicate.

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Next Time…
We’ll list some more traits that graphic design employers seek in their new hires.

We’ll also discuss some of the things that you can do to increase your chances of becoming hired with a design company, or other firm dealing with the visual arts.

Targeted Resumes
In Graphic Design Resumes: Plain or Different - Part II, we’ll show examples of resumes that are specifically created to draw the interest of a particular type of employer in graphic design, illustration, or other connected field.

These resumes are targeted towards the potential hirer much like how advertising is aimed at a specific demographic group.

The following resumes are truly unique and attention getting. After we go over each one we’ll discuss when, if ever, it is appropriated to submit resumes of this nature.

In creating these resumes, the individuals truly must have used what they learned at their graphic design schools to create these interesting documents.
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A Video Game Resume
If you have ever played an RPG (role playing game) or a shooter, you’ll recognize the resume format immediately. This industrious job seeker has taken on the motif of a video game status screen.

He included his various talents and skills and rated them according to a video game format that indicates the strengths and weaknesses of a game character.

But in this case, he has substituted the game attributes for his design and animation skills. Why did he do this? He’s applying for a job as a video game animator.

The resume shows style, creativity, and a sense of humor. To see the resume, click on the image.
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A True Graphic Artist Resume
In this example, the resume writer has elected to format his document in the form of a business graphics report. Pretty cute, eh? It serves to show off his design skills while also adding a little humor to his resume as well.

He pie-charts and graphs his skills and shows his daily routine through the use of a 3D graph. He even registers how much coffee intake he has during the day.

A time-line shows his work experience and time worked at various locations.

The resume is colorful and attention getting. To see the resume, click on the image.

A Horror Filled Multimedia Resume
I couldn’t stop reading and smiling at this particular resume.

The creator of this document is seeking employment as a multimedia specialist. And what better way to sell yourself than to create a movie poster of your abilities, skills, and talents?

The resume reflects a creative, if not slightly off-beat, mind behind the document. It is certainly entertaining, and shows a person who has a sharp wit.

Definitely worth a second look by the human resources department or hiring manager. To see the resume, click on the image.
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Professional Artistic Resume
Perhaps you’d feel a little more comfortable submitting a creative resume that is a little more subdued.

The following example is what you are looking for. This resume lists all the qualifications that are normally found on a standard resume - work experience, education, graphic arts skills, and computer software abilities, but in a creative way.

In this case, the resume artist has included the logos for all the popular graphics software that is used in graphic design. By incorporating these elements into his resume, he creates a nice piece of eye-candy for the viewer while also informing the employer of his abilities.

To see the resume, click on the image.
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Should You or Shouldn’t You?
A resume should give a clear summary of your skills, education, work experience, and your goals. How you package this information is a judgment call. You have to consider what type of firm you are seeking employment from. If it is a firm known for being creative and cutting edge, a creative resume may work.

If the firm is more traditional in nature, you may want to take the approach of an artistic, but more subdued resume to catch the eye of the hiring personnel.

Regardless of which route you choose–traditional or creative, it never hurts to add a little color or design to your resume. This makes sense since your career training in a graphic design college has prepared you for projects like this. After all, you are in the creative arts.