Tag: Graphic Design School Degrees

A portfolio of all of the designs you have created during your time in graphic design school is one of the most important items you will have when you graduate college. Second to a degree, the portfolio will show future employers and clients the kind of work they can expect from you and the level of your expertise in the art of graphic design.

For this reason, many graphic design schools use the student portfolio as an important part of the grading process and many consider a student’s portfolio to weigh heavily in determining the overall score that student will receive. So what goes into a student’s portfolio in graphic design school and why is it so important?

According to GraphicDesignBlog.org, there are five not-so-secret ingredients when formulating the perfect graphic design portfolio:

It’s always GDB’s top priority to bring helpful tips and resources for aspiring Graphic Designers. Therefore, before you start getting inspired with “38 Impressive Designer Portfolios” from net, I would like you all to know “5 must-have” features of an ideal portfolio.

Logo: An exclusive portfolio helps us to promote our self as a brand, therefore it is important to have a dependable logo. First thing a visitor checks on your portfolio is a logo and it should be catchy to tempt the user to check your complete portfolio.

Tagline: Your tagline should well define your services and creative abilities. It should be short, snappy and summarize about your goals. Your tagline should be catchy enough, to change an ordinary user into a potential customer.

Services: This feature of your portfolio should be detailed and well explained. This is the feature where you get to explain your area of expertise like web design, development, video, copywriting, branding, etc.

Blog: We all know blog is always a casual and successful way of sharing your creative thoughts with your visitors. It helps to promote you and prevent your website from lying static. It allows people to search you on different social networks and drop comments about your portfolio.

About Me: To cut the long story short, a portfolio is all “About Me” Share your family background, education and interests with people. The more details you give, the better a bond of trust is created between you and your users.

Apart all these listed features, just remember that an online design portfolio should be easy to use, should be clearly sectioned and simple in design to allow your design artwork to shine.

Anyways, now without squandering any more time, let’s start with the tour… 38 examples of most exclusive portfolios have been put together here for your inspiration.

You can read more about portfolios from GraphicDesignBlog.org and view 38 of their favorite portfolio designs here.

Read more about designing a portfolio from graphic design school:

Portfolio Center

Preparing Your Portfolio for College Admissions

12 Steps to a Super Graphic Design Portfolio

There are few self-taught graphic designers, so most people rely on a quality program at an accredited graphic design school to learn the skills of the trade. By utilizing the resources available at a college or training program near you, there are two ways to become a high-paid graphic designer: through a long-term commitment to education or through a long-term commitment to work.

In essence, students have the choice of becoming a successful and well-paid graphic designer through an advanced graduate program at a graphic design college or by completing an undergraduate program and working their way to a higher-paying job. Both methods are feasible ways to earn a great income in the field of graphic design and each carries its own set of benefits and sacrifices.

Regardless of the path a graphic design student takes, the traits of a graphic designer remain the same. Successful graphic design school students and professionals are creative individuals with artistic talent. They are able to take an idea or emotion and translate it into a visual retelling that motivates buyers, motivates a person to pick up a magazine, call a phone number, or simply click on a banner ad on the internet.

Graphic design schools, regardless of the level of the degree program, will arm students with the skills they need to work toward their personal and career goals. It is important for graphic designers to remain flexible because the industry and the standards in the profession can change rapidly. Graphic designers for print publications must be ready to take on the role of an online graphic designer. Likewise, graphic designers who specialize in online publications need to be always ready to take on a billboard or store advertising challenge.

The success of a professional graphic designer hinges on his or her ability to take a larger portion of the graphic design industries client-base. However, many graphic designers find great success by focusing on a niche within their profession, provided that there is little competition or that the designer has proven himself worthy of higher-paying jobs or contracts. Graphic design schools prepare students to face these types of challenges and decisions with confidence.

Become a Graphic Design through Long-Term Education vs. Long-Term Work

A long-term commitment to education at a graphic design school can expedite the student’s efforts to find a high-paying job immediately following graduation. By spending less time in the job market, however, the student loses work-experience opportunities. Some internships can help offset this sacrifice, however, and those with a higher degree from an accredited graphic design school often find it easier to land a higher paying job.

Long-term commitments to building a reputation as a graphic designer can help students graduating with a lesser degree earn more money over the long-run. While students who choose this route earn less money immediately following graduation from a graphic design school, they spend more time in the job market making connections and earning higher rate.

Graphic design schools are a great place to learn the art of advertising as it relates to graphic design. Nearly every piece of advertising we see on the internet, in the mailbox, at a retail outlet, on the television, and on billboards was created by a graphic design school graduate. It is a lucrative market that is highly competitive, but obtainable for students who complete an advanced graphic design program that specializes in advertising.

The U.S. Department of Labor and Statistics estimates that there were nearly 300,000 graphic designers working in the U.S. in 2008. This number is likely well over 300,000 by now. They also estimate that the job market will continue to grow through the rest of the decade, but that there will be keen competition among employees.

Although it is a competitive market, there are ways to make it easier to become a graphic designer that specializes in marketing; especially if he or she intends to become an online marketing graphic designer. The BLS says that those with specialized training in animation and web design have the best chances of landing a high paying job. But at minimum, hiring companies typically look for a graphic design school graduate who has earned a bachelor’s degree in graphic design.

A bachelor’s degree program at a graphic design school typically incorporates print and advertising classes into the program’s curriculum. These classes are designed to teach graphic design students the principles and theories behind the graphic advertising profession and build confidence in their ability to apply what they’ve learned in a real-world market.

After completing a bachelor’s program at a graphic design school, graduates will be able to develop and clearly present graphic design solution to a client. This is a key principle in advertising, where pitching ideas is the common method of getting a contract for an advertising campaign. Research and analyzing a graphic design project for a marketing campaign is another core function of the graphic designer specializing in marketing and advertising, so many of a programs classes will be geared toward fine-tuning these skill sets.

The remaining classes in an advertising focused graphic design program will revolve around the art of graphic design; without which the other classes are unimportant. Therefore, schools include heavy art studies in the curriculum.

Art studies in a graphic design school include drawing skills that help with items such as logo development, communication of ideas, portfolio development according to the industry’s standards, typography and using type sets and fonts to influence emotion and behavior, and colors and composition classes. Colors and compositions will enable graphic design students to balance colors and designs within a graphic design concept as well as using layout and flow to influence the end user or viewer.