GRAPHIC DESIGN CAREERS 

1. How many years of college did you attend in order to get your degree in graphic design, or the art design that you chose?

I am currently a junior at Liberty University pursuing my Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Digital Marketing and Advertising. My expected date of graduation is May 2017. If I graduate next spring, it will have taken me three years to complete my undergraduate degree.

Reflection: How might a degree in Science in Business Administration Digital Marketing and Advertising be different from graphic design, and could you possibly do more in terms of career fields with this bachelor.

2. What type of art classes were involved in the degree that you chose, and how did they improve your knowledge of this field?

I started learning graphic design in a Directed Studies class in eighth grade. I kept pursuing this as a self-directed study in multiple classes in high school. I did not take my first official graphic design class until my first semester of college. However, in my business and communication classes, branding and creative projects are required as part of my assignments. I constantly seek tutorials and I am part of social network groups in order to continue to strengthen and develop my graphic design skills to help me in my profession.

Reflection: That’s very interesting, I can relate to this too, although not specifically with graphic design, but I have always loved art and been in art classes throughout middle and high school. I always seek outside sources to better my skills in art specifically areas of calligraphy and watercolor painting. I am currently in a design technology class where we use CAD and learn about other graphic programs.

3. What types of professions are you aware of that a degree in graphic design can be used for?

Before my freshman year in college started, I was contemplating whether to change my major to graphic design. I researched the professions that were available with a graphic design degree and discussed the options with my academic advisor. With a graphic design degree, you can be a graphic designer, art director, or creative director. However, with the direction I was wanting to take in my career, a graphic design degree would have specialized me too much and not have given me the business and marketing education that I wanted. Therefore, I chose to pursue a digital marketing and advertising degree as it concentrates on business but adds in a creative component as well.

Reflection: It would be interesting to find out what different types of majors there are that involve graphic design, but that are less specific. Because like you said graphic design would have been to specific, and I do not want to end up with that problem. However I have researched the Art Director profession and it seems really interesting to me.

4. What profession are you hoping to go into after you complete college, or what profession are you pursuing?

Through my own Honors Mentorship experience and being in college, I definitely want to pursue a career in digital marketing that has a creative component that I can be involved in. Currently, I do marketing and graphic design work for local churches, local Christian non-profit organizations, and education non-profit organizations. After college, I would love the opportunity to pursue this profession in a church or nonprofit setting. The ultimate dream would be for the opportunity to become available for me to open my own marketing and graphic design firm that specializes in churches, non-profits, and small businesses.

Reflection: That sounds really great, I think it would be great to work for a nonprofit organization or church, because I think it is easy to forget about those types of places that use graphic design. I also love that you want to start your own business, because that is also a passion that I have for my art.

5. Was it hard to find a variety of jobs in this career field, or surprisingly easy and why do you think this is?

When I first started in marketing and graphic design in the ministry setting as an intern in high school, there was not a variety of ministry jobs in this field. However, marketing, communications, and graphic design are considered necessities in a church staff today. Media has become even more important in people’s everyday lives, and churches have realized that they have to reach people through the digital world and market themselves in a way that conveys their message and purpose in a visually appealing and effective way.

Reflection: That is a great point about technology and communication always changing, I have never really thought about how graphic design is affected by communication. However with social media in mind it adds a whole new aspect to this specific bachelor and what you can do with it. As well as the different majors that still involve graphic design, but may have greater flexibility in terms of career fields.

6. Did you complete any business minors or degrees while pursuing graphic design, and do you think this is an important part of this career?

When I was contemplating between a graphic design degree and a digital marketing and advertising degree, I decided that I would complete a minor in business if I chose the graphic design degree. Ultimately, I decided with the digital marketing and advertising degree because it better aligned with my career goals and with what I wanted to achieve with a college degree. If you choose a graphic design degree, I would recommend a minor in business to educate yourself about the way business operations work. However, after hearing testimonies from people that have graphic design degrees, I believe that it is possible to have a successful career in graphic design with only a graphic design degree. When choosing your degree and selecting majors and/or minors, select what fits you best and what you believe will help you better achieve your goals.

Reflection: That is great advice, and I can totally see how having a minor in business alongside graphic design can help with finding a career. Initially most graphic jobs contain technology and advertising and a number of businesses use these aspects to conduct commercials or social media projects. Having a minor in business would definitely help with finding out how businesses work and use graphic designers to promote their businesses and advertise products or services.

7. How long do you plan on staying in this career field for your entire life, or are there multiple options of careers when you have this degree?

With a digital marketing and advertising degree and my experience in graphic design, there are multiple options of career paths that I can take upon graduation. I would love the ability to integrate graphic design into my career somehow as I do in my current job. However, I have to remember that with this type of degree that I am pursuing, the career that I may have one day may not exist yet. My advice to anyone in this field of marketing and/or graphic design is to not limit yourself or get discouraged because technology and the way we reach people is constantly changing creating the possibility that your dream job may not be invented until the future.

Reflection: After hearing this response, it gives me hope that I will be able to change by career if I feel it will best affect me. Since there seems to be a numerous amount of careers paths that couple with these degrees it would be less complicated to find a new job. I have also never thought about the fact that the job I would want to pursue could be only a future away, there are definitely advances in the technology and art field all the time making this a great career field.

8. Do you find that most of the jobs involving graphic design have flexibility, or are most of the jobs highly demanding of time?

I believe that flexibility and demand in graphic design depends on the job. When working with churches, I definitely have had flexibility by being able to work from home and also work in the office. With my other clients that I have, I also have flexibility by being able to work remotely and being able to communicate through multiple communication methods. However, while I have had flexibility in my experiences, it is a highly demanding of my time. I have strict deadlines that I have to meet with all clients and I have working on multiple projects at the same time. For example, when working on a Vacation Bible School (VBS) promotional package, I create a promotion calendar as I do in other promotional projects to be able to finish the project to have time for advertising. VBS may take place in June, but I am about to finish this project in February to begin promotion. Through my years of experience, I have learned that flexibility in the job becomes more available once you develop successful time management skills to overcome the high demand time.

Reflection: This is one of my most favorite responses because I think this is an aspect that can be a “make it or break it” deal for most people. Learning how to manage your time and punctually turn assignments in for strict deadlines can be hard. However I am in the IB program currently, and am learning these two skills very quickly, as the year has gone by I have learned to organize my assignments in order to lessen the workload, otherwise it can become very stressful. I hope that through college I can continue to excel these characteristics and apply these skills to a future career in graphic design.

9. Have you found that most of the jobs that you can pursue through the degree of graphic design have high opportunities of advancement?

After researching career opportunities and through personal experiences, I strongly believe that there are high opportunities of advancement with a degree in graphic design or digital marketing and advertising. These are growing fields because of the numerous advancements of technology such as social media. My advice would be to not let your degree be the only thing to define you on your resume. Become well-rounded in the area of profession that you are pursuing. You do not have to know everything but always have a willingness to continue to learn. With the strong growth in the graphic design and digital marketing fields, I believe that there will be even more opportunities of advancement that will become available in the coming years.

Reflection: I am really excited to hear this because knowing that a career field that you are interested in is advancing will ensure that you will most likely always be secure in your job. As well as being able to become more advanced in your position at a business or firm in order to better your conditions. I will also be able to use this answer to know that I need to become even more well-rounded throughout multiple fields involving graphic design in order to advance in my career more easily.

10. Is there anything that you wish you could have known before choosing to take on this profession of graphic design?

Before choosing the profession that I have, one thing that I wish I could have known was the importance of a portfolio. A portfolio is important in this field to have evidence to support your skills and abilities and to showcase to potential clients and employers. Thankfully, I learned this early on due to having to build a portfolio in high school for a class project. Remember, that you make the decision of what goes in the portfolio and everything that you create does not have to be a part of your portfolio. Only put your best work and what you want to showcase in the portfolio. Also, the importance of a portfolio is not only for clients and employers but it is also for you as tool to reflect on what you have accomplished and how you have improved.  I always take time at least one time each year to look at projects that I have created every year since I started learning graphic design. It is amazing to see the progress that I have made and to note how I can continue to improve in the future.

Reflection: This response definitely helped me the most! I have seen talk about having portfolios in this field is very important, however I don’t think I have ever actually researched it. This definitely want to make me look into how portfolios are formed and what type of formatting I would need. As well as what type of art pieces I would need to include when applying to art colleges and future jobs depending on what type of work I would like to take on.