Research Project
In the career field of graphic design there has been discussion surrounding the changes in the field. 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 designer” 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 that 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?
My research project addresses this issue over titles in the graphic design industry. I did further research into what titles and terms exist for people in the industry, including information from the articles from my annotated bibliography and literature review. There still needs to be more differentiation between those designers with experience and those without it. I did learn that there are a select few kinds of designers that have developed differentiating titles recently. The titles still are not very formal, and exact terms are different from one place to another. One of these new titles is Information Designer. These designers work on the organization and contact of a project rather than its design, but for a while they were still called graphic designers. This is the same issue that affects other areas yet to gain unique titles.
To address these issues I did some research into what areas of graphic designs could most use new titles. I am not very qualified to totally name these areas, but I have done my best to address some and attempt possible titles. Right now the area that has the least amount of differing titles is a pretty general area of freelance design. For the purpose of this project I have focused on freelance because it is the broadest, most general, and easiest to explain. Once again anyone can consider themselves a graphic designer, which can be good for some freelancers and bad for others. There are no titles to identify beginners, self-made professionals, or actual educated professionals. As long as they all work in freelance graphic design they are all called graphic designers. I think there need to be separate titles for these three areas.
The three distinct areas in freelance graphic design are:
1. New/inexperienced designers. They might have just stated work in the field. They have not sold or commissioned many designs yet but plan to make it their business. Some might not even have much knowledge of computer programs or business needed in order to be successful in the field. This group is very hard to label because they will probably get better and more knowledgeable or drop out of the industry all together. But from the outside to people looking to hire designers it can be difficult to distinguish them from more experienced designers. All they need is a good looking portfolio in order to pass for the real thing.
2. Semi-professional designers. The have successful graphic design businesses, many customers, vast knowledge of graphic designs, and business skills. The only thing that makes them any less than completely professional is that they are self-taught and self-made. They did not necessarily attend college for design or get an art related degree.
3. Professional designers. They have all the knowledge and expertise as listed before and more, because they have gone to college and earned a degree in an art related field.
It is easy to see why it would be helpful to designers and clients for there to be titles available to classify these kinds of freelance designers. But as of yet there are not any formal ones. Of course every field has its own terms that float around within but these terms are not known to all designers, used by all designers, consistent, or known to those outside the field.
Terms I am working on:
Graphic communication designer
Graphic communication design expert
Pre-professional graphic designer
Independent communication designer
Independent graphic designer
Sophisticated design expert
Interview Questions
(I am attempting to conduct a minor interview from three graphic designers that I know personally. As of yet I have not gotten any responses, and if it remains that way I will carry on with my research in a different way.)
As a graphic designer yourself, have you noticed that there seems to be a lack in terms used to differentiate between kinds of graphic designers? Since the field is changing to a point where graphic design is so broad, and it is easier for people with less experience to get into the field, are there enough titles to classify different kinds of graphic designers?
Do you know of any informal titles floating around the graphic design field that don’t often get mentioned in more formal settings? Are their titles that only those in the field are aware of?
Since graphic design is not a licensed field, technically anyone can call themselves a graphic designer, no matter how much experience they have. Do you think it could be helpful for clients and designers if there was more terminology applied to designers to differentiate according to qualifications and experience? Do you think it would harm or help self-made designers who have their own businesses?
Do you have any suggestions as to how more terms and titles could be established and applied to graphic designers to set them apart from one another? Should more be done when educating people coming into the field to start developing these differentiating terms?
How do you suggest that those who are more experienced and qualified in graphic design should go about differentiating themselves from those that are self-proclaimed designers but have little knowledge of the field?
