Graphic Designer | Roles, Skills & Career Outlook

Graphics are often considered the most important elements of a design to grab the user’s attention and hook them to the website or application. Graphic design is not just about coming up with logos for a company, a Graphic Designer covers every aspect of design – from designing logos to the front pages of your books.

In this article, we will discuss who is a Graphic Designer, what are the responsibilities of a Graphic Designer along with the tools and skills required to become a Graphic Designer.

Graphic design is the art of visually communicating ideas through typography, imagery, and layout. It involves creating compelling designs for various purposes such as branding, advertising, and digital media. Graphic designers use color, composition, and visual elements to convey messages effectively and evoke desired emotions.

For more: Everything You Need to Know about Graphic Design

A Graphic Designer is a professional responsible to designing graphics for an application, website, billboard, ad, etc. as well as implementing those graphics in the overall design. In many cases a Graphic Artist would design graphics for the Graphic designer who would then refine those graphics according to the website or application design and implement those graphics in the website or the application design.

Graphic Designers develop design concepts, select appropriate imagery and typography, and use graphic design software to produce digital or print materials such as advertisements, logos, brochures, websites, and more by being updated on design trends and software advancements to continually refine their craft and meet the evolving needs of their clients.

Also, they collaborate with clients and team members, incorporate feedback, and ensure that final designs meet technical specifications and quality standards.

Roles and Responsibilities of Graphic Designer may vary from organization to organization, but here are the most common responsibilities that a Graphic Designer performs:

1. Creative Thinking

Creative Thinking is essential to both a Graphic Artist and a Graphic Designer. For a Graphic Designer creative thinking is more about coming with creative ideas about implementation of the visuals created by Graphic Artists.

2. Designing Graphics

As the name itself suggests, A Graphic Designer is responsible to design graphics and visual elements for an application or a website and implement them in the website or application design.

3. Manage Business and Clients

A Graphic Designer also has to be a business person in certain cases. They may have to manage client’s expectations like budgets, timelines and some other constrains.

4. Technical Knowledge

In addition to understand design, some of the companies also expect Graphic Designers to understand the fundamentals of software and the technical aspects of design.

These are some of the essential tools that are used by Graphic Designers:

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is most popular graphics editing software till date. It is the first choice of most of the designers for its extensive list of features.

Sketch

Sketch is a vector graphics editor for macOS. It is commonly used for wireframing and prototyping by web designers and graphic designers.

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editing tool that comes as a part of Adobe Creative Cloud suite and is used widely by Graphic Designers for designing Illustrations, Logos, Icons and other vector based graphics.

Adobe Indesign

Adobe Indesign is a software used by Graphic designers for editing and designing Graphics for media companies, this includes designing pages for book covers, PDFs, magazines, etc.

Adobe After Effects

Adobe After Effects is the most popular tool among professionals for designing effects and moving graphics. It is a highly professional software that is used by Graphic designers for designing animations, VFX and other effects.

Pen and Paper

Pen and Paper is still quite popular tool for graphic designers to create rough sketches at the beginning for their workflow. It help in picturizing the initial concept of the Graphics.

These are some of the important skills that are required from a Graphic Designer:

Graphic Designer Hard Skills

• Logo Design: Essential for any company or brand. Over 4,000 jobs on Upwork.
• Social Media Imagery: Crucial for brand presence online. 2,000+ openings on Upwork.
• Illustration Design: Requires expertise but pays well. 3,000+ positions on Upwork.
• Infographics: Increasingly used on websites. 2,000+ opportunities on Upwork.
• Brand Identity and Guidelines: Vital for brand recognition. Around 2,000 roles on Upwork.

Graphic Designer Soft Skills

Soft Skills are crucial for communicating and presenting your ideas when you work with or on any organization. The most important soft skills required as a Graphic designer are:

• Communication & Collaboration: Effective exchange of ideas and cooperative work to achieve common goals.
• Empathy for Others: Understanding and considering the feelings and perspectives of team members.
• Time Management and Punctuality: Efficient allocation of time and adherence to schedules to meet deadlines.
• Critical Thinking: Analyzing situations, evaluating information, and making informed decisions.
• Passion for Web Design: Enthusiasm and dedication towards creating visually appealing and functional web experiences.
• Being Up-to-Date with Trends: Continuous learning and adaptation to the latest advancements in web design and development.

Graphic Designing as a career comes with a handsome salary and good perks. The average Graphic Designer salary for a fresher without any experience in India ranges between 2Lakhs to 6Lakhs INR depending on the skill sets and the organization.

Meanwhile the average Graphic Designer salary for a fresher without any experience in the US ranges between $50k to $60k. This keeps on increasing as the experience adds up in your resume.

With opportunities in freelancing, specialization, and remote work, the career outlook for Graphic Designers remains promising due to ongoing demand for visually appealing content across industries.

Starting your journey in Graphic Design can be challenging. Here are the steps you can follow to learn Graphic Design easily:

1. The learning mindset
2. Understanding the basics
3. Work with Graphic designing tools
4. Learn UI & UX design
5. Create Projects
6. Look out of internships
7. Keep evolving and expanding your skills

To learn more about: Getting Started With Graphic Design

A Graphic Designer is a professional responsible to designing graphics for an application, website, billboard, ad, etc. as well as implementing those graphics in the overall design. The role of Graphic Designer has a lot of perks and a very handsome salary as well.

But they do have a set of roles and responsibilities to take care of to justify those perks. According to surveys conducted by IBISWorld, there are about 2,50,000 Graphic Designing jobs in 2024 alone. The Graphic Designing industry employees more than 400k professional world wide.

A median Graphic Designer Salary is expected to be around $60,000 in the US. Graphic design is quite a well paying profession and enables you to express the creativity inside you.

Is Graphic Design a good career?

Yes, Graphic Design can be a rewarding career for those passionate about creativity and problem-solving, offering versatility and opportunities for growth but its requires continuous skill development and adaptation to new technologies.

Can AI replace Graphic Designers?

It is less likely for AI to replace Graphic Designers since it can’t provide creative intuition and emotional intelligence that human graphic designers bring to their work.

What qualifications do you need to be a Graphic Designer?

To be a graphic designer, you typically need a formal education (like a bachelor’s degree in graphic design), technical proficiency in design software, and a strong portfolio.

Is Graphic Designer salary good?

The salary of a Graphic Designer can be rewarding with the average salary of a Graphic Designer being INR 7 LPA.

How long is a Graphic Design course?

A graphic design course typically ranges from a few months for certificates to four years for bachelor’s degrees.

Is there a future in Graphic Design?

Yes, as technology evolves and businesses continue to rely on visual communication, Graphic Designers will play a crucial role in creating engaging content for various platforms.