Following your dreams and landing a career in design will allow you to showcase your creative flair and get paid for it. Taking up a design role means you could be generating something you’re proud of, whether it’s a printed piece of promotional material for a business or, a graphic for a website. So, how can you secure a job in this sector?
With some help from Where The Trade Buys, UK experts in printed dibond signage , we take a look at the different roles that are out there and the best way of starting a career in design:
Design related job roles: what’s out there?
You could join a marketing agency to illustration company? Designers are a highly sought-after prospect, therefore making a career in design full of opportunities. It’s true that you could find yourself in any sector, but what roles are out there?
Working within branding
You’ll come across companies with in-house design teams whilst others outsource to marketing and design agencies. The design element of branding plays an important role in any website design agency. It helps them project their message to a target market and create a memorable brand image. It’s down to you to decide which environment you think you’d enjoy most. In an agency role for example, you could be working with a variety of businesses and projects all at one. As part of an in-house team, you’d work solely with that brand.
But what exactly would you be doing if you had a role in branding? Here, you’d work closely with the company to determine target markets and talk about how the brand can be best represented visually.
Is typography for you?
Becoming a typographer involves undertaking some training in the design of type and lettering – another very important part of creating visuals. As you’re probably aware, a logo or the typography of a company can become widely recognisable by customers — take Coca Cola for example.
Are you interested in lettering styles and getting creative with words? If so, then you might be well suited to this area of design. This is quite a niche aspect of design and therefore, many designers specialise in this, alongside other areas.
Editorial design for online and printed publications
Designing magazines, books and newspapers — for both online and offline publications, requires an eye for composition, layout and aesthetically pleasing typography.
To help you understand the skills required to become an editorial designer, here’s some help:
- The ability to recognise attractive content
- Understand what the reader wants to see on the page
- Be skilled in the layout of images and content
Would you be suited to a role in illustration?
As an illustrator, one you could find yourself working in animation. Or, you might find yourself in a company role who require illustrations to spread their brand message or inform their audience.
As an illustrator, here’s just some of the many mediums you could specialise in:
- Designing posters
- Creating storyboards
- Producing images for books and book covers
- Designing merchandise products
- Getting involved with film and cartoon creation
- Video game and app design
You could also gather skills and knowledge to work within specific sectors areas, such as science, technology and medicine. Here, they create imagery for text books and material to help readers understand the subject. These jobs are only a selection of what you could be exposed to as a designer. Conduct plenty of research to find the job that you’re most interested in.
The academic route isn’t the only way
Whilst most design roles do rely on you possessing some natural creativity, you can also increase your credentials with the help of work experience and studying.
Choosing the academic route, means you’ll need to select an undergraduate degree in the design field you’re most keen to pursue. The first thing to consider is a university degree, perhaps in graphic design. Each course is different, depending on the university but most of them cover the following topics:
- The influences of graphic design
- Styles of typography
- How branding and design comes together
Ahead of securing a place on an undergraduate course like this, you’ll need to produce a portfolio of your work to demonstrate your style and skills. Through an Art and Design related GCSE or A-level you can start to discover your own style and use the work to create a portfolio for the future to help you towards securing your perfect career in design.
The value of work experience can’t be underestimated either. Gaining some experience in the workplace, even just for a few weeks, can be beneficial in helping you decide which areas of design you enjoy the most and perhaps want to explore further. Why not get in touch with a local design agency or local business? If you don’t mind working unpaid, it’s likely that businesses will take you up on your offer. During university, take the opportunity to do a year in industry too. You’ll hopefully learn more about the industry you’re most interested in and can gain some extra experience to add to your CV!