In the career field of graphic design there has been discussion surrounding the changes and differences in the field. Much of this discussion includes input from Steven Heller, Saul Carliner, and Rick Poynor. Graphic design used to be a more secretive career, where designers were hired by major companies to work on producing things like logos, branding, and advertising. Now it has grown exponentially. Not only are there these original big-business designers, there are now a lot more free-lance graphic designers starting their own small graphic design businesses. Some of these self-made businesses still produces the same products; designs for companies that include logos, branding, and such. But now we also see the development of free-lance designers creating apparel lines, or web designing, or other small retail design businesses. And even more recently there have been developments in “graphic designers” who deal very little with the “graphic” aspect of design. Instead they deal with more theatrical, sensual, and abstract ideas. They focus more on the concepts and meanings of the work than on the usefulness or commercial aspects of it. Now all these differing focuses are great for the design field. They open more doors for designers and clients alike. The problem lies in the terminology. “Graphic design” used to only apply to my first example of designers working for major commercial corporations; now the term apples to people in all these different areas, and more. Graphic design is not a licensed field so anyone who wants to call themselves a graphic designer can. There are not many terms and titles available at the moment to tell one type of graphic designer apart from another; at least not formally. There are a few more informal terms floating about the industry, such as “information designer,” but these terms don’t yet have definite definitions or applications. And they are not really being introduced to those outside the field. How are designers supposed to set themselves apart from one another while this terminology issue stands? How is an individual with a degree in graphic design supposed to appear different from someone who just knows how to use a couple computer programs when they both share the same job title?
In my research I looked into what titles exist in the industry of graphic design, and what areas were lacking. My research revealed areas which have received attempted titles, which do not stay consistent or known throughout the graphic design community. One such term is “information designer”(Carliner, Technical Communication). This specialty of graphic design has also been referred to as “info-designer” (Bonsiepe, Design Issues), “information developer” (Carliner, Technical Communication), and “communication designer” (Van Der Waarde, Visible Language). This kind of graphic designer focuses on the organization, content, and rhetoric of the design, rather than on the visual aesthetics. Professionals have recognized that this “graphic design” area was in need of its own classification, and they attempted to address the issue by giving it a title. The problem is the inconsistency and informality that the new title met. Obviously the name has been hard to keep the same across the community, and chances are most people who are not part of the graphic design community don’t know that this job exists.
Information designers are not the only graphic designers to struggle in the area of proper labeling. In freelance graphic design it is very difficult to distinguish between designers. Since freelancers create their own businesses, they fall even less into the realm of classification. There is no one above them to give them proper titles. So I looked further into freelance design to address how it should be broken up so titles can be established. Since anyone can start their own graphic design business, there are many levels of experience. The main separations between experience are those who know little about graphic design, those who are self-taught professionals, and those who are college educated designers. Those who are just starting up their own graphic design business often are undereducated on the subject. They may have little knowledge of different design programs and little to no knowledge of how to operate a successful business. These individuals are the most difficult to label since they will either get better in the field and be able to move up a level, or they will just drop out of the field altogether. The next level involves those who are self-taught, but professional, designers. They have vast knowledge of all the vital computer programs to make successful graphic design, and are successful at running a business. But they have learned all this without formal education on the subject. Finally, there are those who have gone to college or some other higher education to learn graphic design and/or business.
These different areas hardly, if ever, get distinguished from one another. They all just get classified as graphic design. In my research I attempted to come up with preliminary informal titles for these areas. As someone with very little knowledge or education about this career community, I am hardly qualified to name these areas, but I have still come up with attempted suggestions. Some of these terms include independent designer, pre-professional independent designer, and graphic communication design expert.

Bonsiepe, Gui. "A Step Toward the Reinvention of Graphic Design." Design Issues 10.1 (1994): 47-52. Print.
Carliner, Saul. "Emerging Skills in Technical Communication: The Information Designer’s Place in a New Career Path for Technical Communicators." Technical Communication. 2nd ed. Vol. 48. N.p.: Society for Technical Communication, 2001. 156-75. Print.
Heller, Steven. “What Do We Call Ourselves Now?.” Eye (Croydon, England) 16.63 (2007):    77. OmniFile Full Text Mege (H.W. Wilson). Web. 1 Oct. 2012.
Poynor, Rick. "A Report From The Place Formerly Known As Graphic Design." Print Magazine (New York, N.Y.) 65.5 (2011): 30-32. OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson). Web. 30 Sept. 2012.