You’re creative, and you love your tech. You’ve dabbled with a lot of different things, but it’s time to find something you can fully commit to. While a career isn’t quite like a marriage (your career won’t get upset if you want to break up), it always helps to feel like you’ve found “the one” before you put forth all that time and effort.
Every design niche is a little different. Designers across all platforms will collaborate with each other from time to time, but you’ll need to find a design niche you feel as though you can learn and grow with. If you’re still deciding, it helps to look at the ins and outs of each job. Use your creative imagination a little bit, and picture yourself sitting in a few different chairs. You’ll have your Goldilocks moment, you’ll know which one feels just right.
Is Graphic Design Right For You?
The best graphic designers are people who are able to communicate in visuals. They’re more of the “show you” kind of people than “tell you” kind of people. Graphic design is generally seen as most similar to conventional art – after all, a deep sense of aesthetics is an integral part of the job. You need to have an artist’s eye in order to be able to effectively translate a vision for a client.
It’s easy enough to find graphic design jobs online, and a whole host of industries use graphic designers. Some successful graphic designers even go on to work in animation, on both small and large scales. There are opportunities in the gaming and cinematic industries for graphic designers with experience who want to broaden their horizons.
Needless to say, graphic design skills open the doors to many different careers, some of which may suit your other preferences and interests more than others. That’s why you should give the matter some thought and decide what area of specialization you’d like to pursue.
Here’s a closer look at two areas that successfully combine artistic and technical skills – and you can be sure that there’s huge demand for this unique skill set right now.
How Does Web Design Sound?
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Web design is a technical kind of design. While there are creative aspects to it, web designers are more like architects than they are like painters. Math and code make up a significant portion of the job, but there are also aspects of the job that dabble with stylistic elements and making the final product look appealing. It’s a middle ground for people who would consider themselves equally right and left brained.
There are many ways to get web design jobs. Almost every business needs someone to build a website, and small businesses will even search for web designers on regular job boards. A lot of web designers decide to go the freelance route and advertise their services in a way that allows them to choose their clients, but some prefer to work with larger design firms who research and scoop up clients for everyone.
What About App Design?
Image Source:www.smashingmagazine.com
App designers are also developers. This is the most technical of all of the design jobs. Things like graphics are often outsourced to separate graphic designers, where the app designers themselves do most of the hard work. The majority of the design work that an app designer will do involves the interface, making it intuitive to use and easy to understand. This is a design job for people who are more concerned with function than form.
Getting app design jobs is a little trickier than getting other kinds of design jobs. While apps are being released every day, the process is a lot more complicated and nuanced than the kind of groundwork that graphic designers or web designers do. It’s mostly larger companies who have already established themselves that will need your services, which pushes the competition for talented app developers up to the highest level.
Final Thoughts
Every modern tech design niche comes with distinct advantages and disadvantages, but that’s the beauty of it all. Every kind of creative person can find a niche that addresses their specific kind of creativity, whether it be with technical specs and code or creating something that’s beautiful to look at.
