5 valuable things you didn’t know about graphic design
…and didn't learn at Design School
In my career, I have worked in the advertising space for a hot minute before I decided to bump off and focus on growing myself, and getting my skin in the game at running a biashara.
As I walk the journey (18 years and still at it), one of the things I’ve realized is that there is nothing more satisfying than pursuing a career in the creative arts and specifically, graphic design.
Here are five valuable things you didn't know about pursing a career in graphic design:
1. You start to see the world in 2D, 3D, 4D and multiple dimensions
For this to happen, one must not only be very good at using Adobe creative suite but also master drawing.
Why I include drawing is because one needs to study a skill called eye-hand coordination. This skill gives you superpowers to correctly illustrate what you see, in proportion, minding important design principles like perspective.
I know it may sound like a mouthful, but sharp eye-hand-coordination is a useful skill set to have if you are pursuing a career in graphics. Be a master at drawing. Over time, you will be so good at ‘seeing’ things, and visual criticing, making it so much easier for you to go about producing communication. One will also notice that the decision-making process is enhanced and developing creative executions becomes a quick affair.
So yes, learn your Photoshop, learn your Illustrator, but also give drawing a good go! Because if you can draw well, then you can craft beautiful communication, whatever it may be. Combined, it makes your work so much more compelling. Developing a ‘visual eye’ is perhaps the single most valuable asset to becoming a great Art director.
Little cues that one may not be able to learn from the digital applications, the skill of drawing will help you come up with much more nuanced and excellent creative or graphic work.
On my desk you will always find an A5 sketchbook, a tin with pencils and drawing pens; ready to sketch or ‘visually listen’ when I'm mentally brainstorming an idea that needs crafting.
2. Graphic design is multidisciplinary
This point is self-explanatory. By studying or practicing graphic design, over time, this discipline gives you the opportunity to pick and choose which type of Creative you become.
I would like to share a few examples of sub-disciplines that I consider ‘children’ of graphic design. Some, I have picked up and still practice today.
I’ve dipped my fingers in surface pattern design. I think it’s perhaps one of the most understated and therapeutic sub-disciplines within graphic design.
According to Silver, E. (2022);
Surface pattern design is the act of creating art for the surface of mass-manufactured products. As the name suggests, this is primarily artwork that repeats in a pattern in its most true form. For example, wallpaper, wrapping paper, upholstery, quilting fabric, apparel and floor coverings.
It's all around us. One of the interesting things about surface pattern design is that you get to fully express yourselves outside the “client’s brief”. Surface design is all about exploring your individualistic style as you aesthetically enhance how a product looks. Contemporary surface pattern design is crafted digitally and is one of the niche design disciplines that ‘supports creative thinking within the printed textile practice (Treadaway, 2015)’. Related to the first point, It allows one to hone their creative instincts.
For me, I love botanical illustration and I’m channeling that towards developing a signature floral illustration and graphic style.
But there are other sub-disciplines within graphics, such as animation. I recently wrote on the topic. However, for one to thrive in animation, it is best for one to collaborate with an animation studio, that way, you tap into the multi-diverse expertise siloed in the creative teams, gain wider job opportunities, and networks for long-term success.
Another space to explore would be to consider packaging design. In this country, it is not given the credit it deserves. Consequently, many designers don’t pay much attention to it, as is the case in other parts of the world.
But as consumerism rises, the more important it will become for individuals, corporates, governments and SMEs to invest in good packaging.
To master packaging — its complexity, breadth, and sensitivity; one ought to know print materials, printing techniques and finishes. There are probably thousands of things to know in this space. From basic block print, all the way to offset printing to digital printing. Each has its own specificity of how best to achieve it. Each material and technique has a different pricing, life span and ‘sustainability sense’. Because packaging is used in almost every industry, it makes for a lovely niche to explore.
Here is an interesting ‘crash course’ cum packaging challenge.
Put your timer on.
Go find an old perfume/cologne box or even that toothpaste box, open it up. Interrogate what went into the surface packaging design and the product packaging design. What materials and print techniques were considered? How many colours were used? What paper grammage and finishing were applied? If you dare, try mirroring the same design graphically. Yes, copy the design. Then check how long it took you to complete it. Below is a conceptual, minimalist design challenge I did a few years back that took me a few days to execute.
Green design is also another sub-discipline of graphic design that is in its nascent years. It is gaining interest due to the challenges posed by the climate chaos, people are concerned that with the alarming acceleration of global warming, life, our wildlife, and our environment as we know it, are under threat.
Green design permeates other industries such as architecture, the automotive and energy industries. In graphics, it teaches one how to go about exploring a more sustainable way of producing communication for a product or service. Key principles include; reduce, reuse, and recycle.
Designers today are being challenged to start interrogating the entire graphic-design-to-print value chains as one goes about creating products.
For example, green designers may suggest to the client to consider printing on recycled paper, or fabric/paper that is produced from natural resources, as regard to synthetic ones. The use of natural organic inks is another area to consider. Other ways could be for designers to incorporate in their design the use of less paper, or less or limited application of colours (and therefore less ink is used) and so on and so forth. The idea is the designer is keen to design products that ultimately contribute to reducing waste, and that minimize the use of non-biodegradable elements. Approaching design work in this manner is prudent and beneficial as the solutions crafted are normally good for the environment and beneficial to human health.
3. Launch A Brand in 72 hours
Ok, it may not be in 3 days, but you get the point. Pursuing a career in graphic design makes it easy for one to launch a brand on social media.
People normally think that graphics and social media are dissimilar. But I strongly think they are interlinked and related skill sets. When you look at social media and interrogate why people use it, it is because they want to market stuff. It's the very same objective for graphic design.
The very nature of graphic design is that it is a study of how to design, craft, and promote products for sale or otherwise. Therefore, pursuing it makes launching a brand on social media easy. Tasks like coming up with carousel ads, posts, quick video/reels, and shooting photos for profile pictures is not an ordeal. Digital promotional communication is something one can easily go into and make a quick buck just by working with the plethora of SME’s that require this skill set.
4. Ultimately, a career in graphic design is fulfilling.
Once one becomes creative, to a degree, one can make their own things and save themselves a few coins. For example, in my case, I absolutely refuse to buy cards. I custom-make them, whether they are physical cards or e-cards. Besides, they have sentimental value. When someone receives your card, they feel that that gift is from the heart. The item will be completely unique and personalized. There is only, ever going to be one of that thing. How unique!
I recommend that graphic designers start making every piece of communication for themselves. Not only is it fulfilling, it's just the cheaper option. Who wouldn’t mind making a saving in these challenging times?
5. You get to venture into other fields of design e.g Interiors, Fashion, Ceramics, Typography
Remember when studying graphic design you learnt principles of art and design such as colour, two-point perspective and 2D/3D digital tools for design? These principles and tools help a graphic designer grow and venture into other disciplines. Therefore it would be limiting to confine oneself to only graphic design.
When one has a creative ‘eye’ then they do have an ‘eye’ to design and critic anything. That's why I'm a big proponent of being a jack of all trades with matters design. This means that whenever there is an opportunity knocking and you can do more than just your specialization, go ahead and do it!
The various ‘rules of design’ acquired over time build onto each other, overlap each other and add up as experiences. So when someone asks you to teach design, you ought to accept. If you are asked to design a mood board for a premises, you ought to ask ‘When is it due?’ Or even when you are called upon to illustrate a portrait to celebrate someone's anniversary, you should respond, ‘I’d be happy to do it’, et cetera.
With experience and training, graphic designers are ready to step into other disciplines of design for example, industrial, typography, interiors, fashion, and even the metaverse. The beauty of it is that it is a never-ending experience! All that's required is a willingness to learn and to always stay curious. Progressively, your creativity and skills will expand and grow in perpetuity.
This circular design journey has brought me so much joy. The more you venture into a new design sphere, the more you grow, up-skill and even diversify your income streams.
So, keep learning.
Stay hungry.
So that you may become that creative you have always wanted to be, and more.
____________________
References:
Silver, E. (2022, June 15). What is Surface Pattern Design? Retrieved from www.elizabethsilver.com (blog).
Treadaway, C. (2015, April 28). Digital crafting and crafting the digital. The International Journal For All Aspects Of Design, 10(2), 2007, pp.35–48. https://doi.org/10.2752/146069207789272668