Graphic Designer Duties and Responsibilities

Graphic Designers handle the visual side of your company. The content that Graphic Designers create is often the first time a customer or client notices your company. Someone may learn about your company from an advertisement, and if your branding isn’t clear, you won’t reach customers. An experienced Graphic Designer, however, can ensure your branding is consistent across all channels and that you’re making the most out of every penny spent on advertising. Other duties and responsibilities of Graphic designers include:

• Work with other creative team members to produce content.
• Create guidelines for how logos and other branding materials should be displayed and used.
• Help make design choices (e.g., fonts and colors) for all content your company will use.

Graphic Designer Skills and Qualifications

Graphic Designers need a wide range of skills. Even picking colors or fonts can be challenging for an inexperienced designer. For this reason, you need a Graphic Designer with an understanding of such things as negative space and color theory. Other important skills and qualifications include:

• Mastery of industry-standard software to create logos, design reports and complete other projects.
• The ability to clearly communicate the reasoning behind design choices.
• A compelling portfolio with projects showcasing skills that are relevant to your business’s visual content goals.

Graphic Designer Education and Training Requirements

Most Graphic Designers have a bachelor’s degree in art, graphic design or a related field, and you’ll probably come across applicants with master’s degrees. Many companies make exceptions, though, for candidates with stellar portfolios or real-world experience. Some applicants may also have associate’s degrees or additional training completed from community colleges or online graphic design programs.

Graphic Designer Experience Requirement

Even entry-level Graphic Designers need to have some experience. Many degree programs help future Graphic Designers build a portfolio while they’re still in school, so even candidates just out of college should have some pieces to show you. Midlevel Graphic Designers will have portfolios demonstrating professional work and should be able to tell you more about specific campaigns or projects they worked on.