How To Become a Graphic Designer

Graphic design is all around you – it's a method of visually communicating. A good graphic designer communicates information a way that people understand. That means graphic designers need to understand the audience that they are designing for. 

Graphic designers use tools and strategies to communicate visually such as:

• Typography
• Images
• Moving image

Just as spoken and written communication relies on common language to be understood, good graphic design relies on visual language - elements such as dots and lines, colour, texture and positive and negative space. These elements can then be used to evoke meaning such as speed, distance, movement, and structure combined with underlying principles such as Gestalt (see illustration below). 

Grids and hierarchy are also used (and broken) to harmonise and structure elements within a layout. A solid grasp of how to use this language is the bedrock of a good graphic designer. 

Otl Aicher was a master of this. He, alongside Gerhard Joksch, designed the pictogram system for the Munich ‘72 Olympics.

Good graphic design can save your life, or help you find your way, or make you laugh, and it can win your trust. Bad graphic design can be dangerous, confusing, and offensive.

Make a note of everything you come across in the first hour of your day – there's a good chance a graphic designer was involved in most of it – the logo on your toothpaste, the design of your cereal box, the layout of your news app, the maps, symbols and signs you follow on your way to work. 

Using the skills mentioned above and more, graphic designers help communicate messages. Some tasks a graphic designer is given might be:

• Design a brand identity for a new company
• Design a catalogue to sell products
• Create social media assets to support an advertising campaign
• Use an existing brand to create graphics for an event
• Design a website or app

Good graphic designers are:

• Organised
• Excellent communicators
• Curious
• Appreciative of aesthetics
• Understanding
• Problem solvers
• Detail orientated. 

These are the transferable skills which will help you in your design work and collaborate with others. There are also tools which graphic designers use to bring their designs to life, such as sketching, creating by hand and design software. More on that below...

A typical route into graphic design starts with studying art & design at school then progressing to a graphic design degree at university. From there you can approach the kind of organisations you wish to work for (think industry type/ethics/benefits on offer/the people) or keep an eye on job boards and local recruitment listings. 

However, 3 years at university isn’t for everyone. It’s expensive, and for most people means you’re unable to work at the same time. You may not feel that the academic environment is for you. So, there are alternatives.

I have seen mathematicians, scientists and teachers swap to careers in design and flourish. Bringing your experience from other industries can also enrich your learning, so developing skills on the job, attending short graphic design courses and self-study can arguably make you a stronger, more well-rounded designer. 

There are a number of things you can do to improve your appeal to potential employers without a degree, such as:

1. Take a short course
2. Learn the theory
3. Learn the tools
4. Build your portfolio
5. Get a mentor
6. Get involved

Taking a short course can help you decide whether graphic design is for you, without the huge overheads of a long university degree. City Lit has a number of short courses to help you step into a career in graphic design. 

You can try a beginner course such as ‘Introduction to Graphic Design’, take a deep dive into a particular process like typography on the ‘Typography Workshop’  course or develop a project with expert support on the ‘Graphic Design Studio’ course.

All of the courses are delivered in our fully equipped design studios where students work collaboratively alongside industry professionals.

Read books on the fundamental principles of design and build up a picture of design history. The following books are a good place to start: 

• Graphic Design: A History (Stephen J. Eskillson) 
• Visual Grammar (Christian Leborg)
• A Smile in the Mind (Beryl McAlhone, David Stuart) 
• Graphic Design School (David Dabner, Sandra Stewart, Abbie Vickress)

Once you’ve learned the theory behind design through a course or independent study, then you need to become comfortable with sketching your ideas.

This can be daunting for some, but there’s no need to be an excellent artist to become a graphic designer – you simply need to be able to write or draw your ideas down so that they make sense to you. This is a much quicker way than using the computer.

Spending time ‘off-screen’ is essential in the early stages of a project so that you to avoid getting caught in ‘how to do something’ rather than ‘the idea’.

When you get to the stage that you want to refine and create your final design, you’ll need computer software to do so. 

• Adobe InDesign is used for combining text and images, such as poster, brochure, report design. 
• Adobe Illustrator is used for manipulating type and illustration work. 
• Adobe Photoshop is used for manipulating photographic images. 
• Then for animation and moving image there is After Effects and Premier Pro. 

Each of these programs is vast. You’re not expected to know everything, so concentrate on the area which is most useful to your work. You can download a free trial of each, or if you become a student at City Lit you are able to use them at the college. There are alternatives to Adobe such as Procreate and Figma, but Adobe is still the standard software most employers will expect you to be familiar with. 

City Lit also offer short courses in Adobe and alternative design software.

This is the most important bit - all employers will want to see the work you have created. This can be work created during a course or self-initiated projects.

Here are some ideas for projects you could set for yourself:

• Redesign a local café's logo
• Design a magazine for your child’s school
• Create a poster for your favourite band’s next gig
• Create social media assets for a cause you’re passionate about

For each project, include the following:

• Research you have done into who you designed for
• A sketchbook of your research and ideas
• A developed idea using computer software 
• Your final design in situ – you can do this by creating a mock-up of how it will look in its final place

Once you have 2-3 good projects under your belt, collate all of your work together in a neat package such as a pdf presentation or a tidy presentation folder. 

A mentor is someone who already works in the industry who is willing to share their knowledge with you and support you on your career journey. It’s a two-way relationship – you learn from their experience, and they are inspired by your learning journey.

It’s also a great way to get new contacts in the industry. There are a range of organisations which work to provide mentors to those starting out in the industry, such as the Creative Mentor Network and the Creative Circle Foundation. 

Attend events, exhibitions and talks about graphic design, and design as a whole. Join online communities and forums. Look up organisations such as London Design Week, The International Society of Typographic Designers, EyeMagazine, St Bride’s Foundation, who all hold regular events. The Design Museum and Wellcome Collection often have inspiring exhibitions.

Graphic designers are employed across all disciplines, from Government, banking, architecture, and retail. Designers can work in-house, within design agencies, and as freelancers. There are benefits and pitfalls to each. 

In-house graphic designers are employed to work one company or brand. Working in-house might mean you have decent job security and benefits, but you may have less creative control over your outputs as designers don’t make the final decisions nor do they have direct access to clients. You will, however, get the time to really know a brand, but the work might become repetitive over time. 

An agency is company that focuses on providing services for other businesses called ‘clients’. Agency working can bring access to exciting clients, exposure to a variety of brands, and you get to meet and with new people regularly. But working across a large range of clients means you’ll switch design styles frequently.

Freelancing gives you the freedom to choose your work. It means choosing your hours and how you work, and how much you earn. But, that also means you’ll worry that you never have enough work to meet your earning target!

Freelancers work with multiple clients and must balance doing their own sales, marketing, finances, and administration alongside their work. It can be lonely, so setting up a network that you can call on when you need advice, or just a mid-morning coffee away from the screen is invaluable. 

I’d recommend trying both in-house and agencies first before freelancing or setting up your own company. There are huge benefits to learning from others before going it alone.

Most will start as a Junior Graphic Designer, although some start as Technicians or Marketing Assistants. From junior level, most agencies will have positions for Midweight Designer, Senior Designers, Art Director and Creative Director.

There are also a range of specialisms which you could follow, such as Type Designer, User Experience (UX) designer, Editorial Designer or Virtual Reality (VR) Designer. With some experience you could move into teaching or tutoring.

Graphic design is a career which demands continuous learning. It’s a fast-paced industry which is influenced by technology. With the rise of AI graphic designers, transferable soft skills will become even more important and who knows what other technological advances are around the corner. It’s also important to stay inspired, and to do that you can keep attending courses, events and exhibitions, but also stay curious – talk to people, look around you, engage with what’s happening in the world. 

Graphic design can be a hugely rewarding career. Getting under the skin of your clients' passions is exciting and can bring great partnerships based on good communication and understanding. The best jobs are the ones you feel strongly about supporting and you become part of the client’s success.

It can be a big responsibility, and so it should be. But along the way, when you resolve a design challenge, you’ll get huge satisfaction. Just don’t look back on it in a month’s time because you’ll want to change it – a designer’s work is never done! 

Graphic design can be fast paced with lots of jobs to juggle and multiple deadlines to stay on top of. 

Graphic design can be a competitive market but with a well-thought-through portfolio, the right theory, along with good soft and technical skills, you can have a great career full of challenge, inspiration, and continuous learning.  

One of the best bits of being a graphic designer is seeing your work in use. This could be a poster on a billboard or someone leafing through an event programme you designed. In fact, being a graphic designer changes the way you look at the world. Everywhere you go you’ll notice design, good and bad. It’s a way of life.

Glassdoor reports that the average salary for a graphic designer in the UK is £37,000, with senior positions going up to £49,000. A junior role in London could start on £24,000 - £28,000.

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About the author

Becky Thomas
Becky Thomas (beckyismyname) is a graphic designer and illustrator with over 20 years industry experience in local authority, the private sector and freelance. Alongside her current freelance business Becky established Margate’s first post-graduate course in Visual Communication at The Margate School and launched the Margate Festival of Design. Becky's work spans industries including charity, fashion and construction. She has a passion for typography and clear modernist design, believing strongly that the epitome of good design is human-centred and easy to understand. As well as teaching at City Lit, Becky runs screen printing workshops in her hometown of Margate.