Designer of interior, interfaces, virtual reality, clothes; industrial, graphic design - this profession has dozens of specializations, and therefore, dozens of categories of specialists. Professional direction leaves an imprint on an employee's capabilities: a web interface designer will not be able to visualize a project of an apartment in 3D and create a concept for a future car if he does not acquire additional skills.
The profession of the designer is covered with a lot of rumors, myths and stereotypes. Let's learn the truth about it, so that you can decide whether it’s worth acquiring a design education.
Pros and cons of the profession
This specialty has both positive and negative sides. Many of them are conditional, the majority refers only to employees with low experience or frankly average qualifications. That is why we will pay attention to the averaged pros and cons to be at least somewhat objective in the analysis.
Advantages:
- A demanded, relevant and promising profession.
- Decent salary for qualified specialists.
- Unlimited opportunities for a good income in freelancing.
- Interesting, creative tasks.
- A real opportunity to improve the surrounding reality.
Disadvantages:
- A difficult job requiring an understanding of the industry.
- Often a subjective, incompetent assessment of labor.
- Low salaries for specialists without a popular brand, qualification, experience.
- Lack of instructions for solving specific problems.
- Almost always, an irregular working day.
It is worth noting that most experts emphasize the subjective assessment as a key shortcoming of the profession. Even with great experience and high qualifications, you will constantly face misunderstanding with customers, engineers and builders. This cannot be avoided even by specialists whose works have been repeatedly praised by the world community.
Where to acquire the profession of a designer?
It is not superfluous to finish an art school (but if you did not do it in time - it's not an obstacle). Such background will give significant advantages for admission. There are often exams on drawing and composition, but not at all educational institutions. It is necessary to clarify the list of entrance tests in advance.
For professional education, it is better to choose an authoritative university that provides training in specific areas. It is better to study the interior design at an educational institution with an architectural direction, web interfaces - with an emphasis on IT, clothes - with an emphasis on creative and artistic specialties.
It Is Time To Do The Design by TenneyTang
The authority of foreign universities often predetermines success. For example, fashion designers trained in France and Italy or experts in the field of industrial design trained in Germany have significant advantages in labor market.
What personal qualities do you need?
It is desirable to have the following character traits:
- Logical thinking. You will create not a picture but a real project. Therefore, it is important to be able to think logically and to take into account a lot of aspects within the specialization.
- Individuality. It fuses with a creative approach and helps to generate unique ideas that will make your design individual, recognizable.
- Mindfulness. One error in web design will result in sleepless weeks for the layout specialist, in the creation of an interior - a complete violation of its functionality.
- Ability to work hard. You will not become an artist who can spend years waiting for inspiration - you will work within the framework of strictly specified deadlines. Therefore, it is important to be diligent and efficient.
- Developed intelligence. You should be able to penetrate into the area you are engaged in and to understand what will reflect and visualize your design.
How to build a career and achieve success?
The presentation of the profession immediately loses its appeal and the image of "pure creativity" if it is filled with semantic realities. Think about what stands behind the usual logo of a large company, because it is very expensive corporate property (think of Nike or Mercedes-Benz). Behind the approved picture, there are the most complex marketing research, analysis, creation of corporate style, dozens of ideas thrown to a trash can and hundreds of sketches.
You can achieve success only if you do not build illusions and perceive the design as a picture. It is necessary to get a quality education in the chosen direction and continue learning throughout the whole life, to master a lot of software and technical tools, in particular, illustrators and visualizers - specialists do not work with paper anymore.
It is an ideal situation if you can get an education in an elite foreign university. If not, choose one of the accessible universities or colleges, continue professional development and strive to get as much experience as possible. Learn from your own mistakes, do not sit on one workplace, attend seminars and trainings, participate in professional competitions. Be in touch with the world community, study trends while maintaining your own individuality.
The salary of a designer depends on the direction of the profession, experience, degree of possession of software and technical tools, region, personal brand and many other factors.
Conclusions
When schoolchildren write essays on the topic "My future profession is a designer", they do not always realize the full scope of the specialist's responsibilities. Before entering the university, study the pros and cons. You should understand that design is not just drawing. First of all, it is the modeling of reality - material or virtual. It is a difficult job, which often does not find an objective assessment. You will need experience, ongoing training and continued work on a personal brand to succeed.
But there are no unattainable goals. In any area, graduates need to make significant efforts to advance their careers. If you are ready to follow your dream and just enjoy the design projects, it is definitely your path. It is much better to work hard in the favorite area than to engage in an uninteresting routine that has nothing to do with your natural inclinations. Remember that the most hardworking and talented professionals always make their way to the top. Good luck!
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