Graphic Designer Job Description

Graphic Designers interpret the brand and marketing needs of clients to drive sales/revenue and convey a certain message to consumers.

What does a Graphic Designer do?
Graphic Designers interpret the brand and marketing needs of clients to drive sales/revenue and convey a certain message to consumers. Graphic designers can be found operating in almost all industries, such as advertising agencies, animation studios and publishers, usually using digital software to create visuals that will captivate or inspire a certain target audience.

Graphic Designer Duties
Your duties as a Graphic Designer will depend on the type of company you work for and the industry they operate in. Some of the more universal duties will include:

Bringing the brief and concept to life based on the client’s needs and vision.
Keeping budget, time and production constraints in mind.
Preparing mockups and presenting to clients before deciding on a final design/concept.
Editing proofs to client’s specifications and getting signoff/approval before finalising artwork.
Working and collaborating with art directors, copywriters, photographers and other designers.
Adapting and rolling out approved concepts to various media, above and below the line.
Adhering to a client’s brand identity and guidelines.
Communicating with internal and external stakeholders about progress of projects and any issues that may arise.
Working with external departments to extend concept and visuals to other internal and external marketing-related material.
Making sure artwork is correct and supplied in the right format/sizes/colour codes before being sent to press and production facilities.
Work on multiple briefs at the same time.

Graphic Designer Skills
Coveted Graphic Designer skills you will need:

Be creative, adaptable to trends and conceptualise original ideas.
Have a strong, well-rounded portfolio that showcases your individual design aesthetic.
Good communication skills to accurately convey your concepts to clients and team members.
Be a skilled user of design software such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign.
Mindful of client’s needs and the time and costs associated with what you will be delivering.
Have an active interest in art/design and passionate about the work you deliver.

Graphic Designer CV (and Portfolio) Must-Haves
Your CV should be short and sweet. Your portfolio and body of work you’ve produced is far more important though. You should have a physical portfolio you can easily take to meetings or interviews, as well as showcase your work online on free design portfolio websites such as Bēhance, Coroflot and Carbonmade. On your CV, highlight your ability to:

Conceptualise ideas and complete work within budget and on deadline.
Achieve or exceed relevant objectives based on briefs and input from clients.
Successfully managing the entire process from brief to final artwork.
Build trust with colleagues, clients and production companies such as printers.

Graphic Designer Interview Questions
The questions will depend on the job, industry and company. Here are some of the basic questions you will be asked:

What is your graphic design process, from brief to final artwork?
What have you learned from mistakes in the past as a Graphic Designer?
How do you handle negative feedback or outright criticism?
What qualities do you possess that makes you a great Graphic Designer?
Are you good at keeping to deadlines (be honest)?
Who is your favourite local artist, architect, musician etc.? Why?
How do you perform under stressful situations? What your technique?

Graphic Designer Qualifications
The qualification criteria will depend on the position. Most companies will require you to have some sort of post-Matric qualifications in design or similar field such as Art/Textile/Product Design. In most cases, the strength of your portfolio will usually determine if your hired or not. Some higher-education options to consider are:

A National Diploma/Degree in Graphic Art/Design or any related creative field.
Formal training/certification in the use of Adobe’s Creative suite of programs or similar.
Other software tools such Dreamweaver, HTML, CorelDraw or AutoCAD.

Graphic Designer Salaries
Your salary as Graphic Designer will range from company to company. Below are current salary levels based on actual salary offerings on the CareerJunction website (30 000+ jobs monthly) for the latest measurable period (October 2015 to February 2016).