Graphic Design Career Options

Overview

Designers of tomorrow will be called on to be increasingly interdisciplinary – equally comfortable with design campaigns calling for coordination of print, web, identity and environmental solutions to communication problems.

What Our Grads are Doing

Graduates of Suffolk’s graphic design program are working as creative directors, art directors, graphic designers, web designers, production and broadcast designers, illustrators, photographers, magazine designers, media production specialists, product and production managers, educators and freelance designers. They work for book publishers, advertising agencies, television stations, museums, production companies, architecture firms, for in-house creative departments and for design studios.

If you are considering a career as a graphic designer, click on the links below to learn more about the range of opportunities within this dynamic field:

Graphic Design

Graphic designers often work in small firms focusing on specialized areas of design such as industrial and package design, brochure and catalogue design and corporate identity. Because they are small work environments where one can wear multiple hats, working for a design studio is an excellent way to be involved in all phases of the design process and to gain exposure to the business side of the field as well.

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Branding & Identity

Branding is not just logo creation but also involves planning how to create a company’s identity. The goal of branding is to create a family of designs that can be used on things such as letterhead, signage, annual reports, print publications and on-line marketing materials, which make the company’s image both consistent and easily identified.

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Advertising

Designers who work in advertising conceive and produce visual material to sell products or ideas. Artists employed in advertising agencies include creative and art directors, web and information designers, illustrators, photographers and production artists.

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Animation & Motion Graphics

Animation can be produced for web sites, television, cell phones, exhibition design, presentations, etc. and can be created electronically or using traditional techniques.

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Environmental & Signage Design

Companies specializing in exhibition signage and environmental design use graphic designers to design signage systems, trade shows and displays to help people navigate spaces and explain the world around us.

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Illustration

Illustrators supply their drawings to a variety of different clients on a project-by-project basis. The work is created using traditional art materials and/or illustration software.  Freelance opportunities include creating work for web pages, magazines, books, newspapers, etc.

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Product & Package Design

Package designers design containers that protect, dispense, store and announce the identity of a product. Some practitioners in addition to designing the packaging for a product may also work in conjunction with industrial designer on the development of the products as well.

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Publishing & Printing

Publishing includes books, magazines and newspapers that are produced both traditionally and electronically. Printing firms often supply their clients with design-related services, ranging from simple layout to full creative supervision of projects. back to top^

Presentation Graphics

Companies often need graphic designers to make professional visual presentations to sell or communicate their ideas. Presentations can vary from simple text, text with illustration or photography to complicated video and animated works.

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