career question

Steamer

I have a degree in IT, looking to get into the graphic design area as I am quite creative and have a great flair for putting things together, posters etc.

Do you need to so a fulltime course to get into this area? Should I do part-time (like online courses) or are these any good?
I've seen a lot of 4 year courses in Art & design colleges. I don't know if I could do that, mentally & financially.

Any help on this would be much appreciated

adie1988

I posted a similar question about a year ago. I am doing a Fine Art course and was wondering what I needed to do to get into graphic deisgn afterwards.

Apparently, to get a job in graphic deisng you need a decent portfolio. Qualifications are preferred but really not that important, if your creative skills excell. You need to be familiar with ALOT of programmes, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. You just need to show your creative skiils and computer skills, if they speak for themselves, you won't need a qualification.

Can you not do a post grad in graphic design or something similar?

mood

Well, not what you want to hear but I'm a graphic designer and if I was in the position of hiring I would want a designer with a degree in graphics AND an excellent portfolio. I have yet to meet someone who works in graphics with out a graphic design degree who is good.

Steamer

MSc in Applied Digital Media (HETAC) (Griffith College Dublin) is one of the only postgraduate courses I can find that will take IT graduates. Do you think it would be any good? Any suggestions or courses would be appreciated too. Thanks for taking the time to respond

robbiefa

If you want to make any kind of real carrer out of graphic design its alot harder then people may think. There is much more to it then just being able to put a poster together… Most people can do that in photoshop.

There are plenty of people who have no degrees in graphic design but are extremely talented. One way to learn about design before investing in a college course is to look at "good" design blogs such as www.formfiftyfive.com and check out design discussion threads on websites like www.underconsideration.com.

This will give you a good overview of whats out there, what's successful and exactly how serious people take graphic design.

Either way good luck!

enol

I'm a Graphic Designer who has been running my own small design agency for 3 years now, (without a degree, imagine that:eek:) I was working in the industry for about 10 years before I set up on my own.
My advice to anyone looking to get into it without wanting to do a 4yr degree would be:
1. Learn Adobe InDesign, Illustrator & Photoshop - they are the bog standard applications you will need to know, and preferably on a Mac. FAS run reasonably priced night courses in these (or used to!) I think Ballyfermot Senior College do too, you can find out on nightcourses.ie.
2. Get your foot in the door as a junior somewhere. You will most likely have to spend about 1-2 years working for pittance just to get some experience and become pro-efficient in Adobe InDesign, Illustrator & Photoshop. A printers might be a good place to start because you'll get up to speed quick and you'll get to know how to design for print properly; bleed, pagination, trapping, overprinting, dot gain, rich blacks etc etc..

As an employer, I would not necessarily consider a degree holder as a better candidate. 3 friends of mine (all same age as me) went the degree route, and only one is a genuinely good designer.

In my opinion: A person is either genuinley creative or they're not - degree or no degree. And if they are, they need to know the industry standard applications to convert their ideas into a finished printed/web published product. If they can do this at an efficient speed, then they have good earning potential given the right career choices.

I hope this helps

Pixelcraft

Enol - there's one vital thing you're missing, actually learning design and not just how software works.

enol

Pixelcraft wrote: »

Enol - there's one vital thing you're missing, actually learning design and not just how software works.

Pixelcraft: to expand on my previous statement, 3 of my friends spent 5 years in college learning "one vital thing".. "design", only 1 of them is any good - and employed at the moment. Like I said, person is either creative or they're not.

But I'm sure the OP has the picture by now; some designers believe you need to spend 4 years in college learning design and some don't.

mood

But your two friend as out of work because of the recession I'm sure not their lack of design skills. You won't make it through most Graphic Design courses if you are not creative.

p

Steamer wrote: »

I have a degree in IT, looking to get into the graphic design area as I am quite creative and have a great flair for putting things together, posters etc.
...
Any help on this would be much appreciated

One thing to know is that there's a big difference between putting together a poster and being a professional designer. It's a bit like people who go on X Factor thinking they're good singers. There's a big gap between hobbyiest good and proper commercial work, it's important to realise that distinction. But if you're really interested it's definitely possible to get into it, as ultimately your portfolio is the most important thing. It's hard to become a decent designer when you're teaching yourself, but it's not impossible. My main suggestion is to work on your XHTML & CSS and then try get a job as a front-end developer in a web design company. You won't be doing design, but what you will get is exposure to designers and get a feel for what professional design is like. Another avenue to use is your programming skills. If you can learn to program Flash & Javascript that can also be a very useful way to get in there.

Now, on to the actual designing part. First, try find a mentor or two. Someone who's experienced, is a good designer and knows the industry. Someone you can catch up with every few months and get feedback from. This would be invaluable. There's a Masters in Multimedia in DCU and TCD and maybe IADT which could be good since you can't dedicate the 4 years to it. They're not perfect but it'd give you a kick start. Also, consider doing painting or sketching courses to get you thinking creatively.

Read these two links, as they'll help you learn what you need to know. As the author says. There's a big difference between creativity and design.
http://www.andyrutledge.com/design-test.php
http://www.andyrutledge.com/creativity-is-not-design-test-2.php

Also, take a look at these posts from previous threads on the subject.
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055469516
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=61625693&postcount=3

Good luck!

p

mood wrote: »

Well, not what you want to hear but I'm a graphic designer and if I was in the position of hiring I would want a designer with a degree in graphics AND an excellent portfolio. I have yet to meet someone who works in graphics with out a graphic design degree who is good.

David Carson, one of the most famous graphic designers of all time is self-taught. It's difficult sure, and you need to develop a critical eye and get really good crits from good people, but i've seen tons of people who are self-taught and better than many people with degrees.

Steamer

Thanks a mill guys for all your feedback I really appreciate it. I will get some training done in my own time and take it from there.

p

Also, head over to creativeireland.com and put some of your work up for critique.

Check out some of NCAD's courses. The do some interesting evening ones, but also some 1/2 weeks courses in Easter and Summer that have introductions to typography and design concepts: http://www.ncad.ie/faculties/education/cead.shtml

Good luck!

ana_conda

Steamer wrote: »

I have a degree in IT, looking to get into the graphic design area as I am quite creative and have a great flair for putting things together, posters etc.

Do you need to so a fulltime course to get into this area? Should I do part-time (like online courses) or are these any good?
I've seen a lot of 4 year courses in Art & design colleges. I don't know if I could do that, mentally & financially.

Any help on this would be much appreciated

dont waste any time doing course you if you are any good using the internet you can do toutorials on line everything you need to know is at your finger tips ...just start doing projects build a work portfoilo do free work for friend

But be warned its a very compitive business anyone can be a graphic designer and work from home and lots do! Good luck