因此，您有兴趣成为一名图形设计师，但不确定职业涉及什么？
With the advice of an established graphic design professional, this article will walk you through the best pathways into the industry, the roles and responsibilities of a graphic designer, the highlights of the job, its future growth, and much more.
Let’s dive in!
Meet Lauren
What is a Graphic Designer?
成为图形设计师的步骤
未来的前景
Best Thing & Worst Thing
Advice for Aspiring Graphic Designers
Meet Lauren
Lauren Babula是amulti-disciplinary designer who specialises in graphic design, and is based in NSW. She works inb兰德，出版，插图, and has a client listranging from boutique brands through to large corporates.
Lauren is考虑她highly creative and thoughtful approach to her designs,and has以前辅导和演讲at university on the subject!
您是如何最终担任这个角色的？
劳伦是passionate about art from a young age and studied design at university高中毕业后。她有机会参与与Indesign的6周实习计划during her degree — one of Australia’s leading design software companies in commercial architecture and design — shortly after which she was offered a full-time role by the company.
Lauren升任Indesign艺术总监的职位, which she worked in for two years full-time before converting to a more flexible work routine. She现在在各种设计项目工作范围f companies and brands!
Studies and Experience
Lauren studiedObject, Interior and Graphic Design at the College of Fine Arts in Sydney (now integrated into UNSW Art and Design faculty)，在此期间，她与Indesign进行了为期6周的实习。
What made you want to work in this industry?
另外，作为一个实用的人，graphic design is a field that allows Lauren to make a living while still enjoying what she does!
What is a Graphic Designer?
图形设计师计划，设计，开发和准备信息，以使用文本，符号，图片颜色和布局出版和复制. This is typically done to achieve commercial and communication needs tailored to a particular audience indicated by your client.
Roles and Responsibilities
图形设计师has various roles and responsibilities, not simply limited to design itself.
Some of the primary roles include制定设计概念并通过草图，插图和图表将其呈现给客户, andusing digital design software（主要是Adobe Creative Suite）生产商业上合适的设计以实现客户介绍。
然而，other responsibilities of a graphic designer may include:
-
- Researching and analysing the functional communication requirements of a project
- Negotiating and communicating with clients and stakeholders about their objectives and constraints
- 参加会议
- Operating one’s professional social media accounts (e.g. Instagram)
- Managing one’s finances (i.e. invoicing, accounting)
Which industries can this career be found in?
平面设计师are needed in a wide range of industries! Some of the main ones includemarketing, advertising, publishing, textiles, commercial interior design, manufacturing,andcomputer systems design.
What jobs do people sometimes confuse this with?
Illustrators
While both graphic designers and illustrators use visual art to communicate a message for a certain purpose,graphic designers primarily mix and generate digital images, text and layouts using editing and design software, while illustrators work with what they can paint or draw(维igitally and physically).
因此，插画家可能会发现图形设计工作更加有利可图，因为它在不断增长的行业（尤其是市场营销，广告，出版等）中受到要求。
Web Designers
While a graphic designer is focused on the visual communication of a message,web design emphasises the functional impacts of digital design.
Web design is also a moredynamic中等比图形设计；虽然图形设计师可以创建网站的元素，但a web designer’s domain is the way people interact with the site, and how the system flows together(e.g. navigation, menus, buttons, etc).
Characteristics and Qualities
Thinking creatively and communicating your ideas through meaningful design是one of the main skills that a graphic designer develops over their career. Lauren says that educating people onwhat good graphic design is and how it can be powerful是particularly important today with the multitude of pre-made graphic design templates online.
The technical skills of a graphic designer, such asAdobe Illustrator, Photoshop和排版软件名称,are also important, and you can begin learning these at any time through online tutorials.
Knowledge
平面设计师are well-acquainted withtechnical design- 诸如设计技术，工具和原则之类的东西，用于制定详细的技术计划，蓝图，图纸和模型。他们也很熟悉通讯和媒体，就媒体的生产，沟通和传播而言，主要是通过视觉媒体进行的。
Other knowledge they have include精美艺术andusing computers and electronicsfor computer design and editing softwares.
Skills
To be a graphic designer, one would need to have excellentreading comprehension— mainly for reading briefs and effectively shaping designs based on those demands.Critical thinking为了解决问题，也是必不可少的。
设计不仅意味着具有技术技能，还意味着能够与客户和利益相关者沟通。这需要积极的聆听和学习。
Abilities &活动
在图形设计中工作涉及很多brainstorming,oral comprehension, oral expressionandoriginality!
您还需要think creatively,保持最新知识(technology and ideas),建立良好的关系,plan and prioritise work, andcommunicate with the public.
成为图形设计师的步骤
What should you study?
You will usually need学士学位或图形设计文凭to work as a Graphic Designer!
Lauren推荐enrolling in a university course as opposed to a TAFE or private collegecourse if you want to go into graphic design, she says.
A university course willhelp you develop the thinking skills of design and thus provide you with more longevity and edge in your career，而TAFE or private college course focuses more so on the mechanical process of ‘doing’ (i.e. the software skills).
One of the most well-accredited graphic design courses in Sydney is UTS’视觉传播设计学士学位.
How long does it take to become a Graphic Designer?
Completing a graphic design大学课程通常需要大约3 - 4年，而TAFE的图形设计文凭大约需要34周。
Industry Knowledge
您很可能需要对图形设计人员使用的某些或所有主要计算机程序有牢固的技术理解：Adobe Illustrator，Photoshop和Indesign。
What will this career look like in the future?
这个职业如何需求？
Graphic design exhibits强劲的未来增长. This is likely due to the在所有行业以及我们的日常生活中的社会和数字平台的重点增加.
特别是，对图形设计师的需求正在增长advertising and marketing industries.
是否有成长或专业化的机会？
平面设计师可以专注于各种不同的行业和地区, as previously mentioned. This can be as specific as graphic design for cookbooks, or car manuals.
视觉交流的需求只是becoming increasingly important as companies move online.Some areas graphic designers might specialise in include:
-
- 品牌图形设计（徽标，名片等）
- Marketing and advertising graphic design (posters, infographics, flyers, etc)
- Publication graphic design
- Packaging graphic design
- Environmental graphic design (wall murals, public signage, work spaces)
薪水
| 年工资 | 未来的增长 | 技能水平等级 |
|---|---|---|
| $69,000+ | Strong over the next 5 years | 技巧非常高 |
Influential Trends
Graphic design isbecoming increasingly accessible for a larger number of people with access to the internet and cheaper versions of professional softwareavailable for download.
Although template sites may often distort what ‘good’ graphic design actually is,technologies also expose many young people today with high digital literacy通过提供增长的跃升点，可以实现图形设计生涯。
The Future of this Industry
对于图形设计师，在线平台的突出性也意味着不断变化的工作格局where graphic design is increasingly being viewed as something ‘anyone can do’.
Lauren states, “It’s such a booming time for marketing and graphic design —visual communication is just evolving so much. I think to cut through含义将有更多的价值。我认为脱颖而出必须非常好，如今人们很容易使用诸如Canva之类的东西。To make it good there has to be some sort of deeper thinking about it.”
Best Thing & Worst Thing
What do you enjoy most about this job?
“I really get a kick out of problem solving… it’s not so much the final product to me it’s aboutworking out what the problem is and solving it, which happens to be in a visual way.当您觉得自己已经得到它时，这真的很令人满意，之后一切都很容易流动。”劳伦说。
What do you feel is the worst part of this job?
“One of the frustrating things about being a graphic designer is that生产比创意时间更有价值。因此，您的输出（您能够做的事情）可以做多少个广告或可以布局的页面，the mechanical process rather than the higher thinking process.这在创意产业中很普遍。”劳伦说。
Advice for Aspiring Graphic Designers
What do you wish you had known before you started working in this career?
Being assertive in communicating your ideas是劳伦（Lauren）希望早些时候开发的主要技能之一，这是“任何职业”中经验的一件事！
也很重要重视自己和您的工作，以便其他人也这样做(even if you aren’t charging a lot for it), a key part of any creative career. “You’ve got to学会不要被利用, but I still do things for free if I believe in them — as long as it’s valued.”
她补充说她也spends much more time behind a computerthan she would have expected.
Why should people consider taking on this career?
Graphic design is an excellent career option if youenjoy problem solving, visual creation and working with other people in a team(whether it’s a client or a creative team).
它还可以让您work within an industry or area that you’re already interested in. For Lauren this has always been architecture, furniture and object design; “There’s sort of more joy than if I was designing a car manual or something.”
Additionally, if you want to have a flexible work-lifestyle that isn’t necessarily confined to an office space or a 9 to 5 working day, graphic design可能会为您提供时间的灵活性，并不断变化的各种项目以使您保持参与度.
Job Flexibility
图形设计师可能有可能具有a highly flexible lifestyle. “[It is possible] if you show the employee that you can do the role, and as you build up more experience. Most of the graphic designers I know nowmanage to balance lots of different jobs and family, so it’s great,” says Lauren.
Shepredominantly works from home, and also has young children.Lauren says she works in four hour chunks on her projects, and typically has a day off a week to fill with other activities.
“There’s a lot of swings and roundabouts when you’re trying to take in new work all the time. It’s hard to keep an even work flow,” she also says.Although consistency of workflow can be difficult to sustain through a project-based job, it is possible to do so by engaging in longer-term projectslike magazine publishing design.
What is the workplace culture like?
像每个行业一样，图形设计工作文化都有正面和负面的方面。经常生产可以低估，says Lauren, withtough time-frames that don’t provide space for deeper thinking and creativity.
然而，it is possible to make some amazing friends and co-creators as well.“I’ve worked with some really lovely people who have gone on to become friends… you’ve got to try and find a workplace that values your contribution, and they’re not [all] equal.”
Zara Zadro是Smart Art的内容作家，也是悉尼大学的现beplay体育官方任本科生。她在媒体与传播和英语专业学习艺术/高级研究学士学位。在业余时间，她喜欢阅读，听音乐并发现悉尼的新部分。她还为学生出版物Honi Soit和Vertigo撰稿。Zara毕业后，Zara希望在国外创作和直播海外硕士，她迫不及待！
