Careers for Freshers

Graphic Designer

Ever been intrigued by the special effects in movies? Ever wondered what goes in making those effects?

Graphic designers of course! With the advent of the worldwide web, graphic designers have armed themselves with computers and the traditional brush has given way to the mouse!

• Job Profile
In this profession, it is imperative for the graphic designer to have the ability to visualise what they would be designing. They also need to be innovative by introducing new concepts and designs on the site to generate more traffic. The graphic designs play an important role when it comes to generating traffic to a site. A drab or lack-lustre site would only result in users moving on to other sites

As a graphic designer you will bear immense responsibility for making or breaking a site. The choice of colours and style of art will speak volumes about the site you design for. It is also your job to make the pages as interactive as possible without unduly overburdening the byte size of the page.

With this designation you can also be employed in newspapers, magazines, television, films, special effects companies, technical publications, advertising agencies, etc.

• Eligibility
A talent for drawing, sketching and illustrations. Creativity is more necessary than work experience.

Graphic designing is one of those few professions where you are appraised by your skills and not your qualifications. While applying to dotcom companies or publishing houses, you will be asked to take a test which will check your design and visual skills.

For a designer with a web site PhotoShop, Flash 4 and other animation packages plus knowledge of IBM and Mac platforms are the need of the day.

A graphic designer in the publishing industry is expected to have a thorough knowledge on packages like PageMaker, CorelDraw, PhotoShop. 3D Max, and Adobe Premier.

Familiarity with web programming and web writing are definite advantages in this field. If you have the knowledge of HTML (Hyper text mark-up language), Java Script, VB Script (Visual Basic), XML (Extended mark-up language), Perl and others, your job prospects will increase tenfold.

• Institutes
Some private design schools however, provide courses in graphic designing. They charge around Rs 15,000 for a two-and-a-half month course, which includes the basics of CorelDraw and PhotoShop along with other packages.

Advanced courses and higher-level classes cost more. Talking to ex-students is the best way of gauging the authenticity of the institute you plan to join. Some specialised private colleges offering a course in graphic designing are:

• Graphic designing course conducted by the Industrial Design Centre (IDC) at IIT, Mumbai

• National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad

• National Institute of Fashion Technology, centres all over India

• NIIT Centres all over India

• Aptech's Arena Multimedia Course centres all over India

• Wintech Computers' Zap Institute of Technology, in India has centres in Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore

• The early years
Candidates must assemble a portfolio to approach companies for work. Initially, the going might be a little tough as you have to depend on friends and acquaintances to get you work.

Graphic designers have to work under extreme time pressure and very defined financial and design limits to produce quality work.

Communication skills are also very important around here if you want your designs accepted. Graphic designers are expected to work long hours, brainstorming to discuss and improvise on ideas.

• Prospects
The scope for graphic designers in India is immense. The profession is expected to grow even further as computer technology becomes more universally available and as companies realise the importance of definitive, distinctive logos and product designs conceptualised by graphic designers.

• Money

For starters, you can expect a salary of Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 a month, which could go up to Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 after a year.

Seasoned professionals with 2-3 years experience could easily command a salary of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 a month. There are many instances of graphic designers earning more than half a lakh rupees in India.

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