State of Graphic Design

2012 EDITION THE STATE OF GRAPHIC DESIGN smartpress.com BROUGHT TO YOU BY So what DO graphic designers thìnk about graphic design? In the 2012 edition of the State of Graphic Design, Smartpress.com aggregated the opInlon of dozens of the best and talented graphlic designers in the Industry to find out what takes to be successful in this industry. Whether you're starting out in the field of graphic design or a you're a seasoned art director, this Infographic will Survey questions conducted are based on a rating system from “Not Important" (1) to “Very Important" (10). 10 be useful and Informative. NotImportant Very Important HOW TO LEARN THE FIELD IN 2010 8.5 Continuing education and always expanding your knowledge will make you a more versatile and flexible designer. We asked our experts to rate the value of each of the educational opportunities below. The chart shows the average rating for each category. The average entry level position required a BACHELOR'S DEGREE 7.5 7.0 6.5 6.0 / Graphic Design College / Portfolio School / Graphic Design Online Tutorials / Internships Books WHAT DESIGNERS NEED TO KNOW 11 As a student, live by these words, "Quantity rather than quality." The more you design the better your quality will become and you will continue to grow. " We asked our panel of graphic designers to rate the Importance of having additional knowledge In fields outside of but related to graphic design. The chart shows the average of the ratings for each knowledge area. TONY MONTANO KEY SKILLS Drawing Technical macro skills like Typography, Page Layout and Color theory are Important tools for graphic designers. The graph shows the percentage of people who rated each skill Very Important (10). painting 4.2 6.7 Typography 64% 5.2 6.7 6.0 Color Theory 51% Copywriting 44 |wish that I had majored In graphlc design In college. I thìnk It's really Important to have a solid foundation on which to build Page Layout 42% your skills. D JEFF ARCHIBALD 1 CALIFORNIA 2 NEW YORK 29% TOP 5 STATES WITH HIGHEST GRAPHIC DESIGNER EMPLOYMENT TEXAS 4 FLORIDA s ILLINOIS OF GRAPHIC DESIGNERS WERE SELF-EMPLOYED IN 2010 (Highest to Lowest) WHICH TOOLS MATTER All graphic designers agree that Adobe software Is key to their success, as are a couple of Autodesk products. The chart belows reveals how our panel ranked several of the most popular design programs. Adobe lllustrator 9.4 Adobe Photoshop 9.1 Adobe InDesign 8.5 Adobe AfterEffect 5.4 Adobe Dreamweaver 5.1 Adobe Lightroom 4.6 DESIGNER'S CHOICE Autodesk Maya 3.6 Autodesk 3ds Max 3.7 7 Adobe Flash 4.4 14 There is one tool in the Adobe world called the "Pen Tool". If you learn the Pen Tool first you can master almost all Adobe products. "" BERTO HERRERA 44 The clients aren't always right. It's okay to disagree with their demands If you can back up your own opinlons with professlonal theory. 77 $48K IN 2011 THE AVERAGE GRAPHIC DESIGNER EARNED CHRIS SPOONER ($23.41 per hour) FAVORITE TOOL. FONT DOCTOR SENSIBILITY ABOUT TYPOGRAPHY EXTERNAL HD Weasked our panel to list one tool that every designer should have and use. The word cloud below showcases their responses by displaylng the more important tools In a larger sze. TEMPLATES CRITICAL EYE A BRAIN CMYK KNOWLEDGE WACOM TABLET ILLUSTRATOR PANTONE BOOK SKETCHBOOK PAPER DROPBOX LAPTOP ADOBE CREATIVE SUITE NOTEBOOK CRITICAL THINKING COOD MONITOR 41 Simply having Illustrator and Photoshop Is not enough to make someone a graphic designer; having a frylng pan doesn't make you a chef. It's how you use the tools at your disposal that makes PENCIL ERASER MOUSE PEN TABLET PHOTOSHOP INDESIGN SCANNER PAPER SAMPLES STENCILS COMPUTER you a graphic designer. "" MAC BOOK PRO LUKE LISI $77K 41 Get as Involved as possible whlle still In school. Go to portfollo revlews and competitions, lectures, extra design classes and tutorlal classes. Take advantage of all the tools at hand while you are still learning. " IN 2011 THE TOP 10% OF GRAPHIC DESIGNERS EARNED ($37.20 per hour) SASHA PROOD MARKETING & SELF PROMOTION TIME SAVERS We asked our panel to rank the Importance of the different ways you can promote yourself. The graphic below shows the percentage of people that the rated each opportunity as Very Important (10). 44 Making connectlons with people OUTSIDE of your Industry Is an essential part of networklng. "" Sometimes a graphlc designer will look for ways to make the design process more efficient. The graph below shows the average rating assigned to the top ranking time-savlng methods. MICHAEL MURDOCK 71% 67% 49% Callaboration 1.6 TTT 17% 7% Stock Photog • Personal • Networking • Online • Printed • Freelance Website & Personal Portfolio Portfolio Portals Connections SPECIAL THANKS BROUGHT TO YOU BY smartpress.com WE WOULD LIKE TO THANKS THE FOLLOWING DESIGNERS WHO NOT ONLY PARTICIPATED IN OUR SURVEY BUT WERE ABLE TO TAKE TIME TO BE PART OF OUR INTERVIEW SERIES. Mark Butchko Michael Murdock Neil tasker Berto Herrera Chow Hon Lam Jayson Whitmore Mark Gmehling Joff Archibald Tang Yau Hoong Jerod Gibson Tony Montano Danielle Aldrich Matt Chase Stephen Chan Jessica Walsh Luke Lisi SOURCES Chris Spooner Tatiana Plakhova Dan Kuhlken Jordan Metcalf Jacques van Heerden http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Arts-and-Design/Graphic-designers.htm http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes271024.htm Mark Brooks Sasha Prood Photography Blogging 61 6.4 Outsourcing