Graphic Designer Challenges - Essay Example

Student Name> Graphic Designer Challenges I am planning to start my career in Graphic Design and there are many challenges faced by the graphic designers when they are in job. Graphic design is basically a job where visual problems are solved by using different text and graphics aids. Graphic designer focuses to create something which is appreciable by others and also their aim is to satisfy their client. It requires a lot of hard work and creativity and thus demands a strong work schedule and patience. It is fun to be a graphic designer, as they work with the cutting edge technology and get a lot of appreciation on their good work, but the graphic designer must have a quality to be a good problem solver1. A good opportunity which is provided in the career of graphic designing is that I can work as a freelance graphic designer, which gave the freedom of working hours and working in the comfort of home. But here I will face a challenge to manage my time and to handle the distracters like family, guests, friends etc. If I, as a freelance graphic designer manages my work in a way that could not be disturbed by these distracters then I think it is a good opportunity. However, it is not considered as a secure way of earning money. But we can see that 25 percent of graphic designer are self employed. Even if a I want to work in an organization, I can easily earn extra money by working freelance as well. Though a high qualification is not a requirement in this field but mere talent is not enough, a graphic designer who is serious in a career should have at least a bachelor degree in order to enter a job. Apart form the degree, creativity, communication and problem solving skills are necessary for the designer.2 There is a keen competition nowadays in job market for graphic designers; I need to prove myself with my creativity and talent. A portfolio is a key for job in this career, and it is important for a graphic designer to make a good portfolio, which consists of the designers’ best work, and it plays an important role in getting a job.3 The first challenge, which I will face as a graphic designer is to find a suitable job for myself and to adjust myself in a new environment and to come up to the expectations of their boss. Like people say, “Hope for the best and prepare for the worst”. For this step, I should consult other people in their field, such as my teachers, or seniors, or any friend who is already working in any organization. This will gave me a clear view about the job scenario and I can take benefit from my senior’s experiences and wisdom. Instead of trying to reach the pinnacle of success right away, one must agree that success is a ladder and there is always a first step of this ladder. While starting a career in graphic designing, I should pay attention to the newsletter of career counseling and the ones which are being offered by the college, it helps a lot in job hunting. The graphic designer is expected to know the modern way of communication in the telecommunication field, such as file transfer, downloading and knowledge about web development, as it is one of the most important application of graphic designing. I would say that the biggest challenge for a graphic designer is to determine the needs of client and it is the first step also. Mostly customers are not familiar to the technical details of graphics and they usually express their desire in a non-technical way. So the graphic designer must have good communication skills so that he can deal with the customers and can get their point4. It is a common thinking that graphic designers are most of the times affective in planning and executing designs for the target audience. As a graphic designer I must keep my knowledge up to date; it helps me in being in touch with the latest technology, which I can apply on my work and thus can make a difference in my job.5 It is not necessary that every graphic designer gets a job in a well-reputed organization, where the working condition is according to one’s choice. It is a fact that working conditions of different organizations vary a lot. There are different places where I can get a job, such as advertising agencies, designing firms, which are involved in designing logos and illustrations, or magazines.6 The main point here is that advertising firms and large design firms generally provide a comfortable environment of office but most of the times, the working hours of graphic designers are not fixed usually. This happens due to the work pressure and sometimes unrealistic deadlines. The designers who work in smaller design firms and the ones who work freelance at their homes usually suffer more here, as the working conditions are not properly defined and managed and the designers have to do more work as there are less staff members in the office. If I work as a freelancer, then my work is more difficult as I work on contract or job basis. I can face difficulty in managing my schedule and I often have to adjust it according to their client’s schedules and deadlines. So over here I shall have to work much more than the regular job holder designers, as I work for more hours and also in congested environments of a small room in my home, which I might have designed as an office. I can overcome this problem by making tight working schedule and by making sure that my time shall not be wasted anywhere else. All the distracters like family, friends etc should be told not to contact in those hours. Like this I can complete their work on time and can easily meet the deadlines. As a freelance designer, I usually have work in a small office which I maintain in my home or sometimes I work in a studio or in their client’s offices. As a freelance graphic designer, one challenge which I can face is that sometimes designer is paid earlier by the clients, this results in more pressure and stress while working. The main thought, occupying my mind would be to please my clients so that they can be satisfied. It is not easier for every designer to handle the pressure of work, for some designers, it works in a positive way but for some it works in a negative way. It sometimes encourages designers to perform well and they work their level best to achieve their goals. But sometimes, the designers work really bad under work pressure, which affects the output of their work. In order to tackle this problem, I would try my best to pay attention to my work only, regardless of any external hurdle. The main stress in this regard is that I might be afraid of my reputation as well. If my work is not up to the expectations of my client, then I may loose the other clients as well. And if my work is considered good then I will find new clients too. This will increase my income and will stable my reputation as well. But the point here is that designer is not appreciated and accepted all the times, and it happens with all the designers. At some time, their designs are rejected by their clients or they do not come up to the expectations and demands of their clients. And this happens with new as well as experienced designers. Frustration is faced by many designers at this point, and this give an impression that their creativity is not appreciated this time. As we pay our time and efforts on the work and we show our creativity as well and it is disturbing when the work is rejected. At this point, I shall think realistically and realize that this happens with everyone and I am not the only one suffering. This kind of attitude will help me to move on without any stress and disappointment, I shall think about the success, which I have in my career and the appreciation, which I received in my profession life. It will surely reduce the stress and will encourage me to start the work with the same spirit. 7 Problem solving technique can be used here, whenever I will face any problem. The most common problem faced by all the graphic designers is that they could not meet the deadline, which was promised by them to the client. Instead of getting depressed and delaying other works in that stress, graphic designer should think about the method of solving that problem. There are six ways given below, which can help us in problem-solving: 1. What is the main reason that my client is unhappy? Is it that he did not get his work on time and I did not meet the deadline? 2. What were the reasons that I did not meet the deadline? Why did not I deliver our project on time? The project took more time than I was expecting and I estimated. 3. What was the reason that it took longer time? I was expecting it to be completed in less time and it took more, am I not much experienced to make the deadlines? Or have I underestimated the complexity of the project? 4. Why had I underestimated the project? Was I in hurry while doing so or was my mind somewhere else? Didn’t I thoroughly checked and studied the project to have an idea that how much time will it going to take? 5. Why did not I think like this earlier? Was I busy in some other project and I paid less attention to this one? 6. What affect will it have on my other clients and on my business? I think it will be a negative affect. So, by the above given techniques, it will be easier for me to solve my problems more affectively. It will help me in uncovering the root of the major problem and by solving that problem, my work will surely improve. This can be applied to other problems as well, but the graphic designer needs to answer these questions honestly in order to solve the problem. As a graphic designer I shall develop a habit of working independently and have an ability to work under pressure. These both qualities are very important for the graphic designer and should be there in every designer. If any person wants to be a graphic designer and wants to make a career in this field, then he or she must keep this in mind that they need to be self-disciplined and organized. As this is the key to success in this field. Even if they are working as a freelance or in any organization, they need to be self-discipline so that they can start a project on their own and can organize their time in a way that they and meet the deadline. The other ability which can help us in meeting success is our business sense and professional behavior. This demands responsibility and courage to accept our actions if they are wrong. This attitude will surely help us in maintaining our reputation which is very important everywhere and especially in freelancing. Working time and meeting deadline is the biggest challenge which as a graphic designer, we face, and we sometimes work on weekends and evenings, in order to meet the deadlines. This happens especially in the printing and publishing industries, when magazines have to be printed or some corporate sector is launching their campaign with a new logo and illustrations, now this is the tough time for us, as we have to work day and night for this.8 The deadlines by publishing and printing organizations are very short and they are demanding as well. But they are the biggest clients of graphic designers and corporate organizations are also an important client or designers as well as advertising agencies. Another good way of solving problem is the SWOT analysis, where we will analyze our Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. This will give us a clear view about our skills and it is a power tool, which is very helpful in problem solving. We can use this tool to develop our career in a way that can take maximum advantage of our strengths, talents and abilities. We can examine the opportunities which we have in our career and also we can analyze our weaknesses and realize our threats, which could be dangerous for us. SWOT analysis can be applied in business as well, and also in the business of our opponent firm or designer9. For applying the SWOT analysis, graphic designer should answer follow questions: Strengths: 1. What are the advantages, which my company is enjoying right now and my competitors do not have? 2. What is my company good at? What we deliver to our client, which is better than others? 3. What is the uniqueness of my company? What do we offer to our clients, which no one else offers? What is the low-cost resource which we use and only we have access to? 4. What do the other companies think about us? What strengths do they find in us, which they lack? 5. What measures do we have, which tells us that we are doing good in the market than others? Weaknesses: 1. Where can we improve in our company? Which area needs improvement? 2. What are the actions and projects which we should avoid in our business? 3. What do our competitors see as our weakness? What do they think put us in trouble and they are happy on it? 4. What are the actions which made us loose our clients and what made us loose our business? Opportunities: 1. What are the opportunities, which lie ahead? 2. What are the new trends and our company is familiar with them? 3. Are we aware of new technology and new markets? 4. Are we aware of new government policy, which will affect our company in a good way? 5. Which local event is coming along where we can exhibit our work and can make more clients? Threats: 1. What are the obstacles which are in my company’s way and can affect my business? 2. What are my competitors are up to and what are they doing which we are not doing and what skills do they have which we do not have? 3. Is the trend in the market changing? Are we aware of new trend? 4. Is my company burdened by debts and other financial problems? 5. Am I not giving proper time to my business or is my staff careless? Analyze your strengths carefully and do not overestimate yourself. May be things are not the same as they seems to be, for example, you believe that you are provide a high production process and you consider this as your strength but on the other hand, your competitor provides the high quality product, then your strength is not actually a strength. The same goes for the weakness, we cannot see our weaknesses as clearly as others can. So you should think that what is the weakness which I cannot see but others can and how my competitors are doing better than me, which policies and methods are they adopting? Here you might face some facts which are not so pleasant but are actually important for you to know in order to understand your weakness and to overcome it. Opportunities should be seen cleverly and keenly and you should keep an open eye to all the opportunities. It is not essential that you take advantage of already existing opportunities but you can create your own opportunities as well. By analyzing threats, one knows what are the dangers and threats that are being faced by my business and also what could be faced by the business in future. SWOT analysis is a simple test but it is very helpful in solving the problems of the organization and also in making new strategies for future. As the technology is advancing and new tools are making their way in the market, it is necessary for us to keep ourselves open to new ideas and influences, so that we can react quickly to the rapidly changing trends of the market.10 We can face the challenges, if we are well read. Another way of keeping one self update about the new knowledge and technology is the regular training sessions of new software and tools. These are like certification courses for the designers and it will help them in keeping their work up to the changing trends of market. Usually the firms themselves arrange the trainings for their employees. As a graphic designer, I can get different opportunities for work and if I am talented, hardworking and creative, I can make my way up to the ladder. I can get opportunity of working in entertainment industry, which is evolving with each day. But there are many challenges in working in this industry. First challenge is a lot of competition and the second challenge is that the work is demanding. It requires a lot of animation skills and this should be done all according to the director of the film, there is a little chance for the designer to show his creativity. That’s why it is said that only highly skilled developers are hired in entertainment industry. Website development is another important place for designers, and it is one of the most developing industries of the world. We can see that hundreds of websites are being launched daily and graphics designers can apply their creativity in these websites. An advantage of this is that our work of graphic designing is displayed all over the world and we can attract a number of clients like this. But we can face different challenges in this field, to face technical challenges, we should have knowledge about the web development, which itself is a wider subject. But after learning web development, a new horizon of success is opened for us and we can get the worldwide clients. This shows that all these fields are interconnected with each other and now a professional graphic designer cannot keep himself away from the other fields of telecommunication. Cell phones are also graphic oriented and if I want to work in cell phone graphics, then I must have knowledge about cell phones, their operating systems and the networks, then only I can develop the graphics regarding the cell phones, so that these graphics can execute and displayed properly on the phones. Web marketing is also a good platform for graphic designers as it is getting popular and different advertising agencies are developing advertisements for websites. The same thing over here, which we have already discussed in the website development that we should have knowledge of website development and internet, and then only he can be successful here. It is observed in recent years, that few computers, printing, and publishing firms have started using the basic layout and design work to design firms overseas. This is a new challenge faced by the graphic designers as this trend is expected to continue. This places a negative impact on the job market and employment growth for the average graphic designers. However, this will not affect the high-level graphic design jobs, which are likely to be remain in the country, but the average and low-level graphic designers, and the ones like me, who are just starting a career in graphic designing are directly affected by this trend and our job market is now not the same and we will going to face difficulty in getting jobs. Works Cited 1. Amber Schadewald (2007-05-03). "Not by design". Minnesota Daily. Retrieved on 2008-09-13. “In the most basic sense, a graphic designer communicates information in a visually pleasing form.” 2. Crouch, Christopher. 2000. Modernism in Art Design and Architecture, New York: St. Martins Press. ISBN 0312218303 (cloth) ISBN 031221832X 3. Gregory Thomas, How to Design Logos, Symbols and Icons: 24 Internationally Renowned Studios Reveal How They Develop Trademarks for Print and New Media, April 2003, pp:48 4. “Graphic Design History” Article Cat. Retrieved September 13, 2008. Read More

The first challenge, which I will face as a graphic designer is to find a suitable job for myself and to adjust myself in a new environment and to come up to the expectations of their boss. Like people say, “Hope for the best and prepare for the worst”. For this step, I should consult other people in their field, such as my teachers, or seniors, or any friend who is already working in any organization. This will gave me a clear view about the job scenario and I can take benefit from my senior’s experiences and wisdom.

Instead of trying to reach the pinnacle of success right away, one must agree that success is a ladder and there is always a first step of this ladder. While starting a career in graphic designing, I should pay attention to the newsletter of career counseling and the ones which are being offered by the college, it helps a lot in job hunting. The graphic designer is expected to know the modern way of communication in the telecommunication field, such as file transfer, downloading and knowledge about web development, as it is one of the most important application of graphic designing.

I would say that the biggest challenge for a graphic designer is to determine the needs of client and it is the first step also. Mostly customers are not familiar to the technical details of graphics and they usually express their desire in a non-technical way. So the graphic designer must have good communication skills so that he can deal with the customers and can get their point4. It is a common thinking that graphic designers are most of the times affective in planning and executing designs for the target audience.

As a graphic designer I must keep my knowledge up to date; it helps me in being in touch with the latest technology, which I can apply on my work and thus can make a difference in my job.5 It is not necessary that every graphic designer gets a job in a well-reputed organization, where the working condition is according to one’s choice. It is a fact that working conditions of different organizations vary a lot. There are different places where I can get a job, such as advertising agencies, designing firms, which are involved in designing logos and illustrations, or magazines.

6 The main point here is that advertising firms and large design firms generally provide a comfortable environment of office but most of the times, the working hours of graphic designers are not fixed usually. This happens due to the work pressure and sometimes unrealistic deadlines. The designers who work in smaller design firms and the ones who work freelance at their homes usually suffer more here, as the working conditions are not properly defined and managed and the designers have to do more work as there are less staff members in the office.

If I work as a freelancer, then my work is more difficult as I work on contract or job basis. I can face difficulty in managing my schedule and I often have to adjust it according to their client’s schedules and deadlines. So over here I shall have to work much more than the regular job holder designers, as I work for more hours and also in congested environments of a small room in my home, which I might have designed as an office. I can overcome this problem by making tight working schedule and by making sure that my time shall not be wasted anywhere else.

All the distracters like family, friends etc should be told not to contact in those hours. Like this I can complete their work on time and can easily meet the deadlines. As a freelance designer, I usually have work in a small office which I maintain in my home or sometimes I work in a studio or in their client’s offices. As a freelance graphic designer, one challenge which I can face is that sometimes designer is paid earlier by the clients, this results in more pressure and stress while working.

The main thought, occupying my mind would be to please my clients so that they can be satisfied. It is not easier for every designer to handle the pressure of work, for some designers, it works in a positive way but for some it works in a negative way.

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