Becoming a Graphic Designer: A Guide to Careers in Design

by Steven Heller, Teresa Fernandes

Here is the complete guide to today's graphic design careers - a clear and concise survey of the many types of opportunities available in the field. Filled with interviews and advice from leading designers, it covers graphic design media, work types and settings, educational training, portfolio preparation, getting a job, and much more.The world of graphic design now boasts more opportunities in more industries using a broader range of media than ever before. Becoming a Graphic Designer gives you the information you need to start taking advantage of them - with a clear and comprehensive survey of today's graphic design careers filled with thoughts and advice from top working designers.Drawing on years of experience in the business, veteran designers Steven Heller and Teresa Fernandes cover everything from education and training, design specialties, and work settings to preparing an effective portfolio and finding a job. They profile the major industries employing graphic designers and explore advertising, corporate, editorial, and other key design disciplines.Both traditional and electronic media are examined in detail - including print, film titles, TV graphics, Web design, motion graphics, and more. Dozens of up-front interviews with leading graphic designers let you see how companies such as Wired magazine, Martha Stewart Living magazine, and MTV hire and work with employees. These inside perspectives offer invaluable real-world insights on what different industries and positions are really like. And a resource guide to design publications and organizations points the way to further information and guidance. Complete with easy-to-use, compact sections, useful sidebars, and sample design pieces, this outstanding guide is invaluable for anyone interested in launching or developing a career in graphic design.

Genres: Design, Nonfiction, Art Design

288 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 1998

About the author

Steven Heller writes a monthly column on graphic design books for The New York Times Book Review and is co-chair of MFA Design at the School of Visual Arts. He has written more than 100 books on graphic design, illustration and political art, including Paul Rand, Merz to Emigre and Beyond: Avant Garde Magazine Design of the Twentieth Century, Design Literacy: Understanding Graphic Design Second Edition, Handwritten: Expressive Lettering in the Digital Age, Graphic Design History, Citizen Designer, Seymour Chwast: The Left Handed Designer, The Push Pin Graphic: Twenty Five Years of Design and Illustration, Stylepedia: A Guide to Graphic Design Mannerisms, Quirks, and Conceits, The Anatomy of Design: Uncovering the Influences and Inspirations in Modern Graphic Design. He edits VOICE: The AIGA Online Journal of Graphic Design, and writes for Baseline, Design Observer, Eye, Grafik, I.D., Metropolis, Print, and Step. Steven is the recipient of the Art Directors Club Special Educators Award, the AIGA Medal for Lifetime Achievement, and the School of Visual Arts' Masters Series Award.

Reviews

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in college. Awesome book— love the real life examples from successful designers.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very helpful and imformative for my interest in graphic design. It provides an insight look on the different careers available for graphic designers today. I leanred a lot about major design industries and people assiociated in graphic design. It gave me a lot of ideas on how to start out and how to get a job doing graphic design. The book wasn't what I expected it to be but it was still interesting to read. Most of the content was in forms of interviews with various people involved in graphic design. It made me think of different ways I could make a living doing graphic design and made me want to learn more. I think this book would be helpful for people interested in graphic design but they aren't quite sure what career they could follow. Overall the book was a good read and there was a lot of useful information.

[Iris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the different interviews of designers actually currently in the field, particularly when they talked about how they got started as designers or into that specific field.

Some of the questions may need to be reworded or presented to interviewees differently because they end up kind of pointless and repetitive when most of the answers are more or less the same.
For example:
"Do you have a personal style?“ 90% said, “No personal style in graphic design is bad!”
“What has changed in the field since you started?” 97% said, “Computers”, and only about 30% of those actually had interesting stories about the pre-desktop-publishing age.

[Novi Maizir · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book made me realize...becoming a graphic-designer is easy, but also difficult....;)

[CJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as the hype. I was expecting something more. But maybe that'll change as I go through it.

Update: Couldn't finish this book. Bored.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Appreciated the expert insights on the interviews. Great if you're looking for industry advice. Wouldn't recommend as a primer, as the interview format makes it better as a reference.