On warping young minds

Recently I spoke to two classes of freshmen art & design students at the University of Michigan about graphic design and what working in the field is all about.



Without being too brutal, I told them exactly what to expect if they continue to pursue a career in graphic design. Most of them had declared graphic design as their major, so they should know what they're in for after graduation - something I had to find out for myself. Nobody really prepared me for life after the degree; gave me any help in preparing a portfolio or resumé. These were things I had to learn on my own. Through trial and error, I eventually got it right and was lucky enough (in Michigan's current job market) to find a job in my field.

In a nutshell, this is what I told them:

• Don't expect to be the next great graphic artist right after graduation. It's not going to happen. You're going to be on the bottom rung for a while unless you get incredibly lucky. Most of the time you'll be doing production work, but there are some times when you'll get a project where you can show off your creative skills.


• Be diverse. Don't just focus on design; study anything and everything you can, including typography, colour theory, photography, etc. The more skills you have, the better designer you'll be down the road and the more attractive you'll be to potential employers.


• The term "graphic designer" is a misnomer; it really should be "graphic artist." As a designer, you still deal with composition, colour theory, etc. - everything fine artists deal with. The only real difference is the tools.


• Graphic design is a very technical field, with its own exclusive vocabulary and dialect. Know what each term means and how to apply the related skill (ex. "kerning" means spacing between letter pairs; "tracking" means spacing between groups of letters or words).

Hopefully I didn't scare them away from a career in the graphic arts.