A graphic designer (also known as a graphic artist) is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of work. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and advertising. They are also sometimes responsible for typesetting, illustration and web design, or take a teaching position, although these specialties may be assigned to specialists in various graphic design occupations. A core responsibility of the designer's job is to present information in a way that is both accessible and aesthetic.
Graphic Designers
Sometimes, a graphic designer produces a piece purely from inspiration for self-satisfaction, or entertainment, but many work in the industry for clients who often wish to promote, advertise or publicise a certain topic or product.
Qualifications
While some graphic designers obtain certificates and degrees in college or credited trade schools, a degree is not always considered essential for all graphic design positions. Usually the graphic designer's experience and number of years in the business are heavily weighted in this field. A good portfolio to prove talent is usually required and built through the career. A portfolio is always shown at job interviews.
Portfolio
The graphic designer's portfolio in the past fifty years was usually a black book or large binder in which samples of the artist best printed pieces were carried to show prospective clients or employers. Over the past 20 years, portfolios have become increasingly digitized, and may be entirely digitized and available on the internet, CD or DVD.
Hands-on Graphic Designers
The following are positions or responsibilities, not necessarily titles, held by art directors and graphic designers:
Brand identity developer. Brand identity design is concerned with the visual aspects of a company or organization’s brand or identity. A brand identity design is the visual element that represents how a company wants to be seen; it is the company’s visual identity, and is how a company illustrates its ‘image.’ A company’s brand identity can be represented in terms of design through a unique logo, or signage, and is then often integrated throughout all the elements of a company’s materials such as business cards, stationery, packaging, media advertising, promotions, and more. Brand identity may include logo design. Brand identity development is usually a collaborative effort between creative directors, art directors, copywriters, account managers and the client.
Logo Designer. The job of a logo designer is to provide a new and innovative way to express the key message of a company through an image. Logo designers take the information given to them by the client and work, using their own creativity along with marketing strategy to find an appropriate image that their client can use to represent what they are trying to encourage, or sell, or what they are about. It is not likely that a company will specialize in logo design or have a position for a designated logo designer. Art directors and graphic designers usually perform logo designs.
Illustrator. Illustrators conceptualize and create illustrations that represent an idea or a story through two-dimensional or three-dimensional images. Illustrators may do drawings for printed materials such as books, magazines, and other publications, or for commercial products such as textiles, packaging, wrapping paper, greeting cards, calendars, stationery, and more.
Visual Image Developer. Similar to illustration are other methods of developing images such as photography, 3D modeling, and image editing. Creative professionals in these positions are not usually called illustrators, but are utilized the same way. Photographers are likely to freelance. 3D modelers are likely to be employed for long-term projects.
Multimedia Developer. Multimedia developers may come from a graphic design or illustration background and apply those talents to motion, sound, or interactivity. Motion designers are graphic designers for motion. Animators are illustrators for motion. Videographers are photographers for motion. Multimedia developers may also image edit, sound edit, program, or compose multimedia just as multimedia specialists.
Content Developer. Content developer is a generic term used for describing illustrators, visual image developers, and multimedia developers in software and web development. The term has a broader scope that includes non-graphical content as well. The generic name for content that is used in a digital composition are digital assets.
Layout artist. A layout artist deals with the structure and layout of images and text in a pleasing format for printed media. This can include magazine work, brochures, flyers, books, CD booklets, posters, and similar formats. For magazines and similar productions, color, typeface, text formatting, graphic layout and more must be considered.
Interface Designer. Interface designers are graphical user interface (GUI) layout artists. They are employed by multimedia, software, and web development companies. Because GUI elements are interactive, interface design often overlaps interaction design. Because interfaces are not usually composed as single computer files, interface design may require technical understanding, including graphical integration with code. Because, interfaces may require hundreds of assets, knowledge of how to automate graphic production may be required. An interface designer may hold the job title of web designer in a web development company.
Web Designer. A web designer's work could be viewed by thousands of people every day. Web designers create the pages, layout, and graphics for web pages, and play a key role in the development of a website. Web designers have the task of creating the look and feel of a website by choosing the style, and by designing attractive graphics, images, and other visual elements, and adapting them for the website’s pages. Web designers also design and develop the navigation tools of a site. Web designers may make decisions regarding what content is included on a web page, where things are placed, and how the aesthetic and continuity is maintained from one screen to the next. All of this involves skill and training in computer graphics, graphic design, and in the latest in computer and web technology.
There are many sites for freelancers. These are the most popular on the Internet:
To find it is more than sites for freelancers, you can take advantage of search. Frequently search for such phrases as, freelancer, online job, job for programmer (designer, copywriter, etc.), projects for freelancer or something similar
