Graphic artists design advertisements, displays, packaging, signs, computer graphics and games, book and magazine covers, interiors, charts, maps, diagrams, and logos. This is how they design logos. First, they come up with ideas for the logo. Then, they computerize them. After that they pick the best idea. Finally, they advertise it.

Graphic arts have been around almost as long as mankind has been around.  Cavemen did graphic art by drawing on walls.

Here are some of the careers related to graphic art.  Promotion designing, corporate art directing, record cover designing, municipal graphic art, and lettering are some.  Another one is auto visual designing.

Painters, sculptors, and illustrators get around $35,000 dollars per year. They also get paid vacations, health insurance, sick leave, and other benefits.  Art directors get around $62,000 dollars per year.

Graphic artists usually use computers to make art these days, but in the past they drew pictures with their own hands.  Here are some tools they used: pastels, special art pencils, color pencils, crayons, pens, markers, etc.  Computers today can make it look like they created the picture with crayons and materials like that.

Some bad things about graphic design are that people use the computer just to design and some don’t know how to come up with ideas or know how to be creative.              

In the future, there are a couple of things graphic artists will probably have to learn, like motion or animation.  Just sitting down with a piece of paper won’t be enough.

Graphic artists are mostly self-employed.  To be a graphic artist you have to have courses in electronic art. They might begin with a two year Associate degree.  Bachelor degrees (four years of college) are preferred.  Graphic artists also need techniques that are taught in graphic communication at two or four year colleges or art schools. They also need to study techniques.  If someone wants to be a graphic designer they need some training and some schooling.  First of all, they should take as many art classes as possible.  They should also take some computer classes.  If they want more practice, they could also do the school newspaper or the yearbook. People entering the field need two to three years of designing school after graduating from high school. To be a graphic artist you need a good portfolio.  The portfolio needs to be kept up to date.  The portfolio needs to show their work from art classes and work from jobs.

Freelancers can work whenever they want but in-house designers have to work when their clients or supervisors want them to.  Graphic designers work in studios, offices, or in organizations with design departments.

Here are some things you need to be a good graphic artist. You need talent, ambition, perseverance, and to always try for high quality.

Some job responsibilities for graphic artists are to design logos and to advertise.  For instance, the Memorial Hospital logo is a flower and when there are ads about the hospital, they show that logo.

Graphic artists need self-discipline if they want to be good .  If you work for a company you need to finish the project you’re working on by a deadline.  You also need to go to work every day.  Freelancers have to set assignments for themselves, but they still have to finish them on time.  Freelancers don’t have anybody to boss them around. Graphic artists can work for advertising agencies.  Sometimes big agencies have a graphics department and sometimes they even have two!  One is for materials and the other one is communications. One communication is training.  Some others are Internet and intranet web pages, technical manuals, and newsletters.  Graphic artists could also sell designs for packaging companies and to film studios.  Graphic artists could work for a book publisher or they could work in a film studio, television studio, or national or local government.

Working conditions for graphic designers are sometimes nice and sometimes not so nice.  Some Graphic artists work full time work in noisy, busy places but freelancers spend a lot of time working alone and they have more flexible hours.

Graphic designers could be a freelancer, in-house designer, or staff designer.  In order to be a good graphic designer you need to be good at drawing or painting.  You also need to keep up with the latest fashion.

Graphic artists create objects, products, and materials.  Some create graphics for television and some work in publishing.  They work in developing layout and designs in magazines, books, and they work in developing newspapers.

Advertising is a form of mass communication to make money.  People send $50 billion dollars per year on advertising!  Advertising is used for selling products and services.  In the United States about 60,000 ad agencies make ads in lots of varieties. Graphic artists make maps, charts, and diagrams.  Graphic artists who specialize in layouts and designs can make newspapers.  They could make a lot of things for the newspapers like news stories, headlines, advertisements, photographs, and illustrations. Graphic arts can be used in fine arts.    Graphic arts can also be used commercially, especially in advertising.  Graphic artists use advertising to prepare brochures, newspaper drawings, magazines, posters, and pamphlets. There are two kinds of ads in newspapers.  One is called display ads and the other is called classified ads.  Display ads are on the same page as news and features. They feature drawings and photos.  Classified ads offer apartments to rent and jobs and properties for sale.  Classified ads also have messages from people.

Who I interviewed And What I Learned On December 20, 2004, I interviewed Matt Thompson at his company at 1006 W. Yakima Avenue.  I think Matt was a good choice for my interview because he’s been a graphic artist for about 20 years and he knows a lot about it. Matt told me that his job is to come up with ideas and designs. Matt said his title was a creative director. His dad was an art teacher and that was how he got interested in art.  Mr. Thompson also told me that when he got interested in art he was in high school and that he made a comic strip and it was in the high school paper. He got his training at private schools in Seattle. Matt Thompson’s favorite thing about art is coming up with ideas.  He said that Andy Warhol and Paul Rand were important graphic artists.  Some things that have changed the most these days are the software, Internet, and how people view art, and communication. Mr. Thompson told me that entry level graphic artists make about $27,000 dollars a year and experienced graphic artists $70,000 dollars per year.  Matt said that graphic arts have been around since mankind has been around.  He said that in the future graphic artists would probably have to learn motion or film. Mr. Thompson said that a major problem facing the field of graphic arts is that people use the computer to design so less people know how to design by hand and how design and how to be creative. After our interview Mr. Thompson showed me a bunch of ideas he came up with and told me what graphic artists do along with work samples. So I would just like to thank Mr. Thompson for all the good information he gave me.

Bibliography “Advertising.” Microsoft Encarta.  2002 edition.  CD-ROM.  Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2001. “Artistic Careers.” Jist Work, Inc. 1995. Cosgrove, Holli R.(Editor). “Graphic Designers.”  Career Discovery Encyclopedia. 2000. pp. 36-37. Cosgrove, Holli R. (Editor). “Graphic Designers.” Encyclopedia of Careers and Vocational Guidance. 2000. pp. 222. Ebert, Marjorie and Gisler, Margaret. Careers for Culture Lovers and Other Artsy Types. Illinois:VGM Career Horizons, 1921. pp. 11. Thompson, Matt.  Personal Interview.  December 25, 2004

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