The design industry is a huge circle of companies that are all creative and innovative, they design everything from pens, windows, cars, cameras, etc. There are a number of different talents related to art and design. There are a number of different professions in the design industry, some being:
Graphic design
Art
Illustration
Fashion design
Furniture design, etc.
Although these are different fields of expertise it all involves the same thinking and structure — for example an artist uses paints, paper and drawing techniques; a fashion designer uses fabric, sewing machines and models but they both have to come up with an initial concept and plan what they're going to do when given a brief by a client.
The design industry relates with other industries, including:
Marketing
Printing
Health and beauty
Food and catering, etc.
They all require design in some way, whether it be packaging, flyers or branding. For example, the print industry will often get the artwork from a designer and marketing companies are very dependant on designers as they are selling themselves to other industries so they have to portray themselves in a professional way so they stand out from all competitors.
The design industry is probably one of the most important links to making a business successful. Without a business having an identity these days they won't get noticed. For example, if Nike didn't have their tick branding they wouldn't be where they are. The tick makes them unique and their saying 'just do it' enhances their appeal even more. And to make Nike who they are they would've needed textiles designers to make the fabric, fashion designers to make the fitting and make the fabrics into clothes and graphic designers to create the brand, designs for the tags, packaging and any print on the clothes. After the design process has been completed, Nike would then need to send their designs off the print and then they would need to approach their marketing team and get it into stores for the right price — again, this shows how different industries work together effectively, and how they need each other to be successful.
The design industry gives other businesses a chance to become noticed and be unique by building them an identity, for example, a plumber will need all their pipes and tools designing and made by other people, they will need a logo and a whole brand built to fit them as a company. Most plumbers will have overalls and they would've been made by a textiles and fashion designer. Without design plumbers would struggle and their job would be ten times harder to achieve. It's the same with construction workers, someone needs to design the bricks, the scaffolding, the hard hats and everything else they use. With every industry design plays a huge part, without it there wouldn't be anything that would be sustainable.
Entry Opportunities Within Design
Over the past few years there has been an increase of training schemes and different ways to get into the design industry. A few examples are:
• Apprenticeships
• Internships
• Freelance
• Work experience
• Junior/ assistant designer
With an apprenticeship it starts you off young with little or no qualifications in design. You get to learn while having a full time job and getting paid a starting rate of £2.60 an hour. This gives you the opportunity to get a hands on approach of the industry without ridiculous fees while building a portfolio for your next employer. It opens up so many doors and allows you to build relationships with other designers and gain the knowledge and experience in order to get where you want to be. You will also be working towards a couple of qualifications during the apprenticeship.
Internships are similar to apprenticeships apart from they can be full time or part time and are mainly aimed at University students. An internship is usually paid, depending on the employer. It gives the person a chance to see if they enjoy their job role before committing to anything in the future. It also gives the person a chance to build relationships with people in that sector. An internship can last as long as the employee and employer agree on as the student will not be gaining any qualifications and their course isn't dependant on the work placement.
Freelancing is a great way to enter the design industry as it gives you a chance to monitor your own work load and build your own contacts. Freelancers do get paid if they agree it with their customer and often sign contracts to agree how many hours they work and what's required of them. The freelancers wage is never guaranteed as one month they colour earn double the average and the next month they could earn half. A freelancer has a good opportunity to build a portfolio to show potential future employers.
Work experience is usually for people who don't have any experience but they want to pursue a career in design. Work experience isn't paid but some employers may be generous. Work experience can work in the persons favour eventually because the employer may see the person has talent and want to employ them whether it be part time or full time.
Junior/ assistant roles are the best opportunities, because it gives people and opportunity to take on a job but still learn at the same times and constantly bring something to the company. Junior/ assistant roles are usually a really low wage but if it is something the person wants to do then they would stick at it and see the bigger picture.
Key job roles and responsibilities in a design company:
The key job roles within a design company are:
• Creative Director — They are in charge of a creative team. A creative director is often makes sure the creative team are inspired and check that the client is satisfied with their artwork. • Logo Designer — They are responsible for taking a clients brand and making it unique by being innovative and creative. Graphic designers often take on the role of a logo designer. Logo designers are often required to have a bit of marketing experience to keep up with competitors. • Packaging Designer — They are the people that create the technical bits to make the packaging work. They must be knowledgeable in cuts, paper types, creases, etc. A packaging designer may require 3D layout skills and be comfortable with using CAD software. • Layout Artist — They often deal with the structure and layout so it looks good. They layout magazines, brochures, books, discography, posters, etc. Layout artists are required to make it easy for the reader/ viewer to follow the 'flow' of the publication and make sure it's easy on the eye. • Photo Retoucher — They are required to take an existing image and enhance it however the customer would like it, for example, they may want the skin smoothing, they may want to restore and old photo (get rid of rips and creases) or change the overall toning of the picture. Photo retouchers produce their work digitally, the majority use Coral Paint Shop or Adobe Photoshop. General responsibilities people working within the design industry obtain are:• Attention to detail • Creativity • Communication skills• Being able to communicate as part of a team• Strong computer skills• Flexibility
How things impact the design industry:Globalisation: Globalisation has had a big impact on the design industry. It has caused a loss of cultural identity, for example, in the olden days you could tell what was made in Britain and what was made in China through the design of the product/ advertisements by the colours, patterns and techniques used, whereas these days most things are designed to be generic so it appeals to the bigger market and can be sold worldwide. Over time the industry has also became more competitive because companies are outsourcing to Eastern countries because they are often a lot cheaper than sending it somewhere locally. Although, there is a huge market out there for people expand into and there's always new opportunities all over the world. New Technology: New technology can have good and bad affects on the design industry, on one hand you have everything available and easy ways to get around things but it can also limit creativity. Before computers and the Internet everything was created by pen and paper which gave the designer full control over everything because there were no guidelines and it wasn't as competitive back then; there wasn't really anything to compare against. As the Internet and design software came into play it's a constant battle between designers competing for the same work. As the quality of the software and computers increased people were getting better and better but it also meant there were certain guidelines to follow like what colour stands out for your company, typeface, etc. But without all the new technology (which is only going to become more advanced) the design industry wouldn't be what it is today. There are also websites which offer basic business cards and websites for a low price and fast delivery — this also adds to the competitiveness of the industry because most customers do want it now and then because it's less hassle and they're doing it themselves. Convergence: Convergence has had a big impact on the design industry due to social networking. Social networking has bought people together from all over the world so there's companies finding freelancers on Linked In or Twitter. It's a good platform for people to advertise their services and it gives people the chance to find people suitable for a new project. Designers build networks across the world and it brings together a world of opportunities. There are a lot of different formats to design for (mobile Internet, tablet, computer,etc.) and this demonstrates the coming together of different technologies — designers need to design the software and the overall look of the publications and this would bring people of different expertise together in a creative way. Working across design disciplines: Designers are often expected to be able to fulfil any design requirements (marketing, printing, design, manufacturing, etc.) in order to be successful and a competitor in the industry. There aren't many opportunities for people to specialise in anything nowadays because the customer wants the least hassle possible and in the quickest time so by using a company that can offer everything would make the project run smoothly and efficiently.http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/about-design/Types-of-design/Graphic-design/Sources: http://www.ehow.com/about_6530472_job-description-photo-retoucher.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retouchinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphic_design_occupations
