Graphic design is no longer one discipline. It has evolved into different branches, allowing graphic designers to pursue a career aligned with their interests and skills. With so many subsets in this industry, what types of graphic design careers should designers pursue?
Benefits of Having a Graphic Design Career
We live in a visual world. And graphic designers are the best people to create compelling graphics. The design assets they make for businesses go a long way and even help them reach their goals. Aside from that, here are some other advantages of pursuing a graphic design career:
- Help graphic designers earn some experience in the field and eventually take up manager and director-level positions
- Pursue different styles of graphic design
- Learn how to become versatile when handling different clients
- Allow creatives to express themselves
- Work with other designers to become part of their network and handle clients together
Types of Graphic Design Careers
1. Brand Identity Designer
[4 people sitting near a white table]
One job designers may pursue is focusing on brand identity. It’s one subset of graphic design that centers on brand identity, which includes these assets:
- Logos
- Business cards
- Typography
- Iconography
- Color
- Brand guidelines
With this in mind, a brand identity designer ensures that all of these visual assets work together harmoniously. In turn, this will give the business a strong, consistent brand offline and online.
2. UI/UX Designer
With more businesses needing websites, the demand for UI/UX designers has also gone up. Currently, over 80% of companies have websites. Some will need custom web design because of branding purposes, customer loyalty, and increased website traffic. UI/UX designers hired to create websites won’t only design one for the desktop. They also have to optimize the web for the phone.
Website pages that UI/UX designers can do:
- Home page
- Landing page
- About Us page
- FAQ page
- Contact Us page
- Product or services page
In some cases, UI/UX designers will be tasked to create app designs. Design isn’t the only thing they should worry about for apps, but also seamless transitions between app pages.
But should they learn how to code? The answer is no.
While it’s a plus if they have coding experience, UI/UX designers specialize in the aesthetics of the website or app. Plus, they know how to solve other design issues that could contribute to navigation and ease of use.
3. Marketing or Advertising Designer
One of the many types of graphic design careers design pros could pursue is marketing designer. Marketing or advertising designers are crucial to their campaigns. These designers should also know the business’ brand identity guidelines to keep everything consistent offline or online.
Designers can produce the following assets for businesses:
- Social media ads
- Billboards
- Email newsletters
- Flyers
- Banners
- Posters
4. Publication or Print Designer
Here’s another job that designers can pursue. Although news, magazines, and books have digital versions, consumers will still go for old-fashioned print materials or publications. Print or publication designers are key to organizing content and design and even creating or designing charts. The designer should know print color and typography combinations and images that suit printed materials.
Print or publication designers are not limited to commercial materials too. They can help businesses with annual reports and other documents that may require organization and visuals to illustrate specific points.
5. Packaging Designer
Businesses that offer products will need a packaging designer. Many packaging designers will rely on business branding to maintain consistency. Considering they handle printed materials, they may or should have experience in print-related design. These designers may have to work with different materials and packaging types. That said, they should also know what images, colors, and text work well on the kind of material they will create a design for.
6. Merchandise Designer
Print-on-demand has given graphic designers the opportunity to sell their designs and become their own boss. But merchandise designers can also work with businesses. For example, businesses may need giveaways. Merchandise designers know they will have to work with different materials such as:
- T-shirts
- Hats
- Mugs
- Pens
- Pen flashlights
- Stickers
7. Illustration Designer
Illustration took off in the late 2010s. Aside from it being the trend, many companies have integrated illustrations into their branding. And illustration designers are one of the types of graphic design careers to consider for creatives or artists. One thing many illustration designers can do is to help brands differentiate themselves through art.
Some illustrations that these designers can do:
- Comic book
- Line art
- Flat
- Cartoon
- 3D
8. Multimedia Designer
One of the few types of graphic design careers that designers pursue is doing multimedia work. You see their work in films or games. They can create computer-generated visuals or hand-drawn artwork. Designers who work in multimedia may be expected to make videos too.
9. Data-Driven Designer
While these designers are also considered graphic designers, this is a specialized subset. Most of these designers handle infographics, which can become a complex project. It’s essential they present data that are pleasing to the eye. Plus, they have to ensure that the details and data are accurate.
10. Typography Designer
Some designers may concentrate on this one field of graphic design: typography. This type of design can be lumped together with brand identity. Typography designers can create custom fonts or typefaces for several brands. Other times, they make typography for specific uses or designs. For example, they may develop typography meant only for print materials.
11. Presentation Designer
While these designers may fall under brand identity, presentation design is one other aspect of graphic design to consider. Speakers, for example, may need presentations regularly as they would be speaking to different audiences. Businesses would also need different presentations. Here are some presentation ideas:
- Investor pitch deck
- Sales
- Reports
