Design
Career Overview
Designers have a hand in virtually every industry, from textiles (clothing
design) to publishing (graphic design). There are even package designers
who design the packaging enclosing the goods you see on the shelves of your
local supermarket or department store. Designers devise arrangements of
materials, colors, shapes, and textures with the goal of making end
products that are aesthetically pleasing and serve specific purposes. There
are designers for every type of industry, from graphic designers who create
stunning print products and advertising campaigns, to interior designers
who make our living spaces look great, to landscape designers who
conceptualize lush gardens and green areas. Set designers ensure that the
theatre productions you see look fab, while fashion designers ensure that
you do, too. Product designers think about every curve, switch and button
to make the things you use every day more convenient and attractive. (Can
you say “iPod”?) Even architects are designers, creating the buildings that
become part of our history.
The list goes on and on. The work of designers is everywhere around you.
Designers contributed to the look and usability of the computer on your
desk, the car you drive, the magazines you subscribe to—even the Web page
you're looking at right now.
Some design careers make sense for engineering types, who like to use
design to solve particular kinds of problems. Other design careers are
great for more arts-focused creative types who prefer a regular paycheck,
and a greater chance than their starving artist peers of getting their work
before a wide audience.
What You'll Do
What you'll do as a designer depends largely on the design specialty
you choose. Some design specialties require the use of highly technical
knowledge, like electrical or materials engineering; others, like graphic
design, are more about understanding how to arrange form and color. And the
kinds of people you might deal with as a designer vary wildly depending on
your design specialty: Circuit board designers, for instance, will deal
with project managers and hardware engineers and other technology
manufacturing types, while exhibit designers will deal with museum curators
and artists.
Designers work on projects ranging from the staid to the cutting edge.
Sometimes you’ll have creative freedom; often you won’t. If you’re
designing coffee table books, your creation may be considered art. If you
work on packaging for a Procter & Gamble product, you may simply find
satisfaction in seeing your design work in nearly every shopping cart in
your local supermarket.
Who Does Well
Good design marries style with function, so designers typically have to be
as focused on functionality as they are on aesthetics. Often, the best
designs are those you notice least: a chair, a T-shirt, or a page in a
book. If you crave flash over functionality, you might be in for a bumpy
ride in the design field unless you opt for some of the most creative and
unstructured environments—i.e., fashion design and progressive advertising
or print design work.
Expert designers are creative and have technical mastery over their tools.
They have an understanding of the raw materials they use—for instance,
different kinds of fabrics, in the case of a furniture designer or a
fashion designer, or metal, plastic, chrome, and glass, in the case of an
automobile designer. In Web design, that means learning new programs and
understanding how visual elements will work together.
Because you're designing things that will be used by others, as a
designer you'll need to be able to understand who will use your design
as well as how they will use it. In other words, you'll need to know
what the market you're designing for wants and needs in the products
you're designing. If you're designing a banking website, for
example, you might make it as beautiful as possible, but if the bank's
customers can't figure out how to check their balances using the site,
your design is worthless. If you go into design, you'll probably work
collaboratively with engineers, illustrators, administrators, production
people, and others in other departments within your organization.
You'll need to be aware of who will use your design as well as how they
will use them. Whether working on a movie poster or a new toy, you'll
be translating someone else's idea into something with shape and form.
As a result, strong communication skills—including good listening
skills—are essential. Account management skills can also help.
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The most important skills in most design fields are artistic talent, the
ability to understand the practical needs of the market for which
you're designing, and the ability to communicate effectively with
others. A strong portfolio of your work is essential. Designers need to be
creative, be able to solve problems, keep their work fresh and innovative,
and stay on top of trends.
Virtually all design careers require training of one sort or another. Of
course, the skills an automotive designer needs to design a new minivan are
quite different from those a floral designer needs to create a perfect
bouquet for Valentine's Day. Floral design requires only a high school
diploma and a flair for color and texture. But graphic, interior, and
industrial design all require a liberal arts or fine arts education, with a
minimum of two to four years of study.
Graphic Designers
Graphic designers should know about the history of typography and the
manipulation of images, and have a firm understanding of communications
theory. They should also know programs such as Quark, Photoshop, and
Illustrator.
Industrial Designers
Industrial designers should have a BA that links a study of visual arts to
technology, and a background in the social sciences. They should also be
familiar with areas of physical science such as engineering and should
understand principles of ergonomics; they might do well to consider
obtaining an advanced degree in one of the aforementioned fields.
Interior Designers
Interior designers work in a highly regulated industry and must know state
and federal building statutes and safety codes. They must also join
professional organizations and pass the National Council for Interior
Design qualifying examination.
Most design fields rely heavily on CAD (computer-aided design) and
illustration programs, such as AutoCAD. To most firms, your proficiency in
using such programs will be as important as your portfolio. If you
haven't learned to use them as part of your schooling, you'll need
to take a class or two and become familiar with them.
Designers keep current with the industry by attending lectures, joining
professional organizations, learning about new software and technology, and
reading industry publications. Keeping up is doubly important if you're
considering freelance work, because you won't have the benefit of
working alongside others on a daily basis. Finally, the contacts you make
through networking will often lead to jobs down the line.
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According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 2004 and 2014 job
growth in graphic design, interior design, floral design, and commercial
and industrial design will be about as fast as growth of jobs overall,
while fashion design opportunities will grow more slowly than the average.
Competition for most design jobs will remain fierce, as design is a very
popular field; employers will be looking for only the most talented people.
Illustrators are suffering in the current market; many organizations that
would have hired illustrators in the past now prefer to use increasingly
available stock images rather than pay artists to render original sketches.
However, illustrators and other artists may find an outlet for their
talents in electronic art or animation.
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In most design careers, you'll move up the ranks from intern or
junior-level designer to senior-level designer, art director, or creative
director, based on your ability and the amount of experience you have. At
the junior level, you'll usually assist veteran designers.
Most designers start with routine work and gain more responsibility as they
gain experience. Careers can advance within the design department of an
agency or company, but many designers strike out on their own and either
found their own shops or work on a contract basis for others. The work you
do is what will establish you: Those with an impressive portfolio can make
top dollar.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly a third of all
designers are self-employed. If you do end up going freelance, you'll
need account management skills along with design skills to achieve the most
success. Many designers at agencies or design shops end up handling account
management responsibilities in addition to their design job.
Graphic Design
Graphic designers manipulate type and images to create things like books,
catalogs, posters, CD inserts, and corporate logos. Graphic designers find
work in publishing, advertising, and in the design departments of companies
in nearly every industry.
Most graphic design these days is done on computers with programs such as
Adobe Illustrator and QuarkXPress. Projects can vary from page layout on a
book to designing a coupon for the Sunday insert of a newspaper. Graphic
designers are different from visual artists because their work has
immediate commercial use. They often work closely with people in marketing
to express a product's brand or a company's image. Graphic
designers, for instance, take credit for the corporate logos you see
throughout the world.
Industrial Design
Industrial designers work on mass-produced goods. They design everything
from cereal boxes to stereos, though most specialize in a particular area,
such as automobiles. Industrial designers usually work in large
corporations, coordinating with others to shape products. Many in
industrial design come from an engineering background.
Industrial designers need to create products within a budget that can be
easily and cost-effectively mass-produced, marketed, and sold—their work
requires a high level of collaboration with people in other departments.
They also need to think about safety: You won't want to create a toy
that a toddler might swallow, for instance, or a lamp that gets so hot it
could catch on fire.
Interior Design
Interior designers focus on researching, planning, developing, and
implementing designs for indoor environments, such as living rooms or
office lobbies. Many interior designers work at design or architecture
firms and specialize in a particular area such as restaurants, private
homes, office spaces, hospitals, or hotels. Many specialize even further
and focus on, for example, living rooms or kitchens.
As with other designers, if you go into interior design, your work will
usually involve interacting with others, including your client,
contractors, electricians, and plumbers. You'll need to design to state
and federal codes, and your work will attempt to answer needs the client
wants met, such as mood or efficiency.
In addition to structuring space and drawing blueprints, you'll be
responsible for choosing furniture, carpeting, paint, and fixtures. Much of
your planning work will be accomplished on the computer.
Fashion Design
Fashion designers determine the look of the shoes, dresses, shirts, and
pants you wear. As in the other design areas, you'll collaborate with
others to create compelling designs. You’ll work closely with retailers and
their marketing departments, and your work will be driven by seasonal
fashion trends. Your materials will be fabric: wool, cotton polyester, and
the like, and you'll need to be attentive to detail, style, and
function. Many smaller niche fashion designers sell their work to high-end
boutiques while other companies focus on the mass market.
Other Careers
If you're in the performing arts, you've probably worked with
costume designers and set designers. The last couch you sat on was created
by a furniture designer. And the merchandise display at your local
department store is the work of a designer. Designers have a variety of
career options open to them, because we're surrounded by designs, from
landscapes to textiles. In fact, designers can find ways to apply the
principles of design, such as form, color, and function, to anything we
create. The most limiting factor to design is imagination: If you can
imagine it, you can probably find a way to design it.
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Most designers start out at a low entry-level salary and receive raises
based on their ability to create compelling work. Freelance fees vary by
geographical location, the nature of the project, and the type of client.
Following are median salary ranges for salaried designers:
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Set designer: $34,000 to $51,000
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Exhibit designer: $47,000 to $78,000
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Graphic designer: $39,000 to $50,000
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Industrial designer: $41,000 to $51,000
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Interior designer: $28,000 to $52,000
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Web designer: : $53,000 to $74,000
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Fashion designer: $28,000 to $61,000
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Floral designer: $27,000 to $59,000