Are you thinking about a career in graphic design? Although graphic design is occasionally considered to be a single subject, there are really many different specialties within the discipline. While some graphic designers are generalists and can handle several project kinds, others focus on more specialized areas of graphic design.
Read on to learn about the most sought-after job choices for graphic designers in 2022, whether you’re a novice who wants to learn how to become one or an experienced professional wanting to change careers.
8 Graphic Design Careers to Consider in 2022
Discover the most sought-after careers for graphic designers in 2022. Choose the graphic design expertise that best fits your abilities and interests.
-
Brand Identity Design
Most people instinctively think about creating logos when they think of the graphic design. However, brand identity is a more comprehensive subfield of graphic design, and logo design is but one component of it.
Identity designers also develop the overall look and feel of a company’s visual presence in addition to logo design. As part of this, they develop color schemes, choose the kinds of photos a business will employ, choose the font, and provide additional supporting visual components.
Brand identity designers create the visual identity of the businesses they work for. In order to influence the work of other designers, such as marketing designers and web designers, they are typically in charge of developing brand style and usage rules.
Graphic designers specializing in branding work typically work on things like:
- Typography
- Brand Strategy
- Color Palettes
- Business Cards and/or Stationary
- Logo Design
- Brand Guidelines
- Icon Systems
-
Marketing & Advertising Design
Marketing and advertising designs are essential components of every company’s promotional strategy, whether they appear in print or online.
Graphic designers working in these fields need to have a good grasp of behavioral psychology when it comes to purchasing behavior since the purpose of marketing and advertising is to persuade people to buy or sign up for a product or service.
Graphic designers with an emphasis on advertising and marketing create materials like:
- Social Media Graphics
- Print & Digital Advertisements
- Podcast Cover Art
- Marketing emails
- Banners
- Billboards
- Brochures & Posters
- Pitch Decks & Presentations
- Vehicle wraps
-
Packaging Design
Packaging is necessary for tangible goods. Someone has to create everything, from cereal boxes to the tags on luxury apparel. Packaging designers can help with it.
To build packaging that compels people to make purchases, these graphic designers require a solid understanding of branding as well as consumer behavioral psychology.
They must be knowledgeable about all applicable rules and regulations regarding the information that must appear on packaging, as well as color theory and typography (such as nutrition information).
-
Web & User Interface Design
Websites and applications are designed by web and UI designers. They must be well-versed in design ideas, as well as in user experience design and fundamental coding concepts.
Web and UI designers are more useful members of any design team, even if they may not actually do any coding, since they know the code’s strengths and weaknesses that underpin websites and applications.
Working on tasks like landing pages, marketing websites, app designs, gaming interfaces, or WordPress sites may be your lot as a graphic designer with a focus on web design or user interfaces.
-
Print & Publication Design
In the past, graphic designers only worked in the print industry, and there will still be a large demand for this type of print design work in 2022.
In the print and publishing sectors, graphic designers must be familiar with both the rules of excellent design and the technical requirements for producing print-ready files. They also need to be well-versed in typography, color theory, and which kinds of photos are most effective in print-versus-digital settings.
Print & publication designers frequently work on a variety of print-related projects, including:
- Magazine & Newspaper layouts
- Album Covers
- Menu Design
- Merchandise & Apparel
- Book covers
- Stationery
- Brochures & Flyers
-
Lettering & Type Design
Lettering and type design are sometimes underappreciated aspects of graphic design. These graphic artists produce anything from hand-lettered designs to typefaces and fonts.
Designers of type and lettering must have a solid understanding of typographic principles, including what makes a typeface readable and how elements like kerning and line height affect the readability of a typographic design as a whole.
In addition to wordmark logos, hand-lettering artists frequently design signs, posters, murals, and other items. They have the option of using digital or hand-drawn designs.
However, font designers frequently place a greater emphasis on developing typefaces (though they may also create one-off custom projects). The work that lettering and type designers undertake often overlaps.
-
Graphic illustration
Illustrations may not come to mind when you first think about graphic design. But in 2022, firms will still need unique illustration work—also known as product illustration—for their online presence, so graphic illustrators will be in high demand.
Typically, graphic illustrators are entrusted with producing graphics for editorial and commercial use, as well as for use on websites and social media. These graphic artists frequently utilize digital tools to make their drawings, although some may also employ more traditional analog techniques before digitizing their artwork.
When you work as a graphic artist professionally, you may create images for anything from:
- Digital Products
- Books & Magazines
- Blog posts & articles
- Games
- Apparel
If you work as a graphic illustrator, you could also produce stock images for use by other people. This might help you generate passive money and establish your credibility as an illustrator.
-
Data Visualization & Info graphic Designer
Designers of data visualization and info graphics must have a thorough grasp of how to effectively and understandably depict data.
You must be able to work with enormous data sets and present that information in a way that is understandable to others who aren’t data scientists if you want to work in this sort of graphic design position.
Infographic and data visualization designers benefit from having at least a basic understanding of and experience in data science. The more thoroughly they comprehend the information they are presenting, the more ready they are to transform it into understandable pictures.
Final Word
You should remember that those with a focused specialty may frequently command higher pricing and are often more in demand for the work that they perform, regardless of whether you decide to become a jack of all crafts or specialize in a certain sort of graphic design. Additionally, logo designers in the US earn a good amount of income from their design careers. Hence, whatever design job you decide to pursue, keep in mind that you should create a strong design portfolio that showcases the kinds of work you want to get hired for.
