The job of a graphic designer is to convey ideas using pictures and words. Graphic designers create visual representations for ideas every day, around the globe. They work in a lot of fields such as entertainment, advertisement, games, web browsers, news, television and lots more. Graphic designers are a crucial cog in the wheel of modern business. Graphic designing is an artistic process that utilizes a lot of principles of photography and visual communication. With the rise of new technology, it has become important that graphic designers be well versed in new software tools and trends as the field is very dynamic and ever changing.
Graphic designing relies heavily on photography. In fact, one of the earliest forms of graphic designing was to create photographs that had words on them. This could be seen even now in the form of banner advertisements. Photography is very crucial to graphic designing and a good graphic designer must have good photography skills. A career in photography is a very popular choice among individuals who are willing to pursue an artistic goal. Photography has had a lot of history and it has evolved for the good with the advent of high level technology that now lets us capture images very close to reality. But, the principles of photography remain the same despite the huge improvements in technology.
A graphic designer needs photography to better convey his/her ideas. Hence, photography becomes a very crucial skill one can possess in the field. Photography with good lighting and proper subtext can result in a very beautiful graphic that conveys intended meaning. Indeed, pictorial communication did start with paintings but with the advent of photography, everything changed. Even the internet is filled with pictorial communications, some for fun in the form of memes, but communication nonetheless. Graphic designers are aware of the power of photography and ways to use photography to present an idea.
Developments in the past few decades have been mostly to technology, especially digital devices. This has led to a lot of changes in the way we perceive things. Animation is one of the breakthroughs of modern technology and it has seen a rapid growth. Even today, animation technology is growing at an exponential rate and it has revolutionized the way we communicate. Picture animations and video animations have changed a lot as increasing number of movies and advertisements are using animation to effectively communicate with their audience.
A career in animation seems to be booming with opportunities at present as many international firms, mainly in the gaming industry are looking for quality animators. A lot of colleges around the world offer graduate and undergraduate courses in animation. This is due to the sudden increase in the number of interested students in the field. The jobs are very promising and it wouldn’t be surprising if we see a further increase in the field. This is all because of how many industries have embraced animation in advertising, entertainment, news etc. Animation is just a very helpful and effective method of creating beautiful and engaging pictures and videos. And so, unsurprisingly, it does affect graphic designing as it brings forth a new way of representing ideas. Animation gives more control to the designer than photography as anything can be created through animation.
One can become a successful graphic designer only if one is proficient in the foundations of designing using photography. New technologies such as animation are also very important to the modern day graphic designer as they give them the edge in the industry. There are many courses in graphic designing developed by many universities all around the world. In India, the number of such courses is increasing because of the popularity of the field. But, graphic designing is more of practical and artistic skill and hence, companies look towards portfolios and previous experience to hire good graphic designers.
A graphic designer must have some experience in any field through means such as internships. Pro bono work can also be very important to any young graphic designer’s career as it can show case one’s skills. But, having a grip on fundamentals such as photography and new technologies such as animation is very crucial to becoming a good graphic designer. It is a very dynamic field and one must always be aware of the changes happening around the globe.
