3 answers
Julian
Student
Elk River, Minnesota
3
Questions
Asked
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What would the average day of a graphic designer look like?
I'm looking to see the basic day to day work performed by graphic designers
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3 answers
Chris Watkins
Principal User Experience Designer
6
Answers
Boston, Massachusetts
Updated
Chris’s Answer
Hi, Julian--
Just like Kim Matthews said, there are lots of types of graphic design work, and many ways graphic designers might approach it. I started my career in graphic design for the web, and over time, I have also freelanced as a designer and illustrator, and eventually I moved into user experience design.
When I did web graphic design, I worked at a small agency. Every day, I would review emails or messages from colleagues and clients about current or upcoming projects, I would estimate the time it might take me to complete certain pieces of work for our project managers, and I would meet--sometimes with colleagues like project managers and software developers, sometimes with clients directly--to talk about project requirements, collaborate on ways to solve challenges, and to review work I had done. And, of course, I would spend some time in front of my computer in common applications like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator "mocking up" site designs or occasionally building interactive protypes with tools like Flash. (That was quite a while ago! Flash is long gone.) These days, a lot of design work for web and other apps is done in other applications like Sketch, Figma, and beyond (although Photoshop and Illustrator remain very common and popular design apps for all sorts of things). But one of the best tools I've found throughout my design career is still good old pen and paper (or a marker and a whiteboard)!
Nowadays, I help lead a team of user experience designers for an e-learning platform. User experience--or UX--design covers a number of different skills, but graphic design is still an important part of it. The day-to-day process is also still very similar! Meeting and collaborating with colleagues, understanding the needs of the user, and applying an understanding of graphic design principles to new challenges. Our team of designers spend more of their time building design mock-ups than I do; as a design leader, I tend to spend more time bringing team members together and fostering communication between them.
And just like Kim Matthews, I hope you get more responses to give you other perspectives!
Just like Kim Matthews said, there are lots of types of graphic design work, and many ways graphic designers might approach it. I started my career in graphic design for the web, and over time, I have also freelanced as a designer and illustrator, and eventually I moved into user experience design.
When I did web graphic design, I worked at a small agency. Every day, I would review emails or messages from colleagues and clients about current or upcoming projects, I would estimate the time it might take me to complete certain pieces of work for our project managers, and I would meet--sometimes with colleagues like project managers and software developers, sometimes with clients directly--to talk about project requirements, collaborate on ways to solve challenges, and to review work I had done. And, of course, I would spend some time in front of my computer in common applications like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator "mocking up" site designs or occasionally building interactive protypes with tools like Flash. (That was quite a while ago! Flash is long gone.) These days, a lot of design work for web and other apps is done in other applications like Sketch, Figma, and beyond (although Photoshop and Illustrator remain very common and popular design apps for all sorts of things). But one of the best tools I've found throughout my design career is still good old pen and paper (or a marker and a whiteboard)!
Nowadays, I help lead a team of user experience designers for an e-learning platform. User experience--or UX--design covers a number of different skills, but graphic design is still an important part of it. The day-to-day process is also still very similar! Meeting and collaborating with colleagues, understanding the needs of the user, and applying an understanding of graphic design principles to new challenges. Our team of designers spend more of their time building design mock-ups than I do; as a design leader, I tend to spend more time bringing team members together and fostering communication between them.
And just like Kim Matthews, I hope you get more responses to give you other perspectives!
Grace Yip
UX/UI Designer
2
Answers
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Updated
Grace’s Answer
Hi Julian!
In terms of basic day-to-day work performed by in-house graphic designers, it depends on where in the design process the team is on. Earlier on in the process, it may involve meeting with colleagues involved in the project (e.g. marketing and communications folks) to understand the context and scope of the work. Brainstorming sessions are also held with the team at times to explore a range of design concepts/directions.
Afterwards, the work generally becomes a bit more independent which includes, as Chris mentioned, utilizing common software applications like Adobe Photoshop and Illustration to draft the graphic designs. During this time, I also search design inspiration sites such as Behance to create a mood board and steer the direction of my work.
Certain days are dedicated to receiving feedback on design work. This can be fast and informal or an in-depth review depending on the project and how far it has progressed. Afterwards, revisions are executed as needed.
Overall, depending on how big the project is, I sometimes juggle a couple of different (small to medium-sized) projects at the same time, which are all in different design stages. When that’s the case, my day may be a mix of designing and meeting with my teammates to receive feedback on another design I’ve worked on.
In terms of basic day-to-day work performed by in-house graphic designers, it depends on where in the design process the team is on. Earlier on in the process, it may involve meeting with colleagues involved in the project (e.g. marketing and communications folks) to understand the context and scope of the work. Brainstorming sessions are also held with the team at times to explore a range of design concepts/directions.
Afterwards, the work generally becomes a bit more independent which includes, as Chris mentioned, utilizing common software applications like Adobe Photoshop and Illustration to draft the graphic designs. During this time, I also search design inspiration sites such as Behance to create a mood board and steer the direction of my work.
Certain days are dedicated to receiving feedback on design work. This can be fast and informal or an in-depth review depending on the project and how far it has progressed. Afterwards, revisions are executed as needed.
Overall, depending on how big the project is, I sometimes juggle a couple of different (small to medium-sized) projects at the same time, which are all in different design stages. When that’s the case, my day may be a mix of designing and meeting with my teammates to receive feedback on another design I’ve worked on.
Kim Matthews
Graphic Production Designer and Sculptor
18
Answers
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Updated
Kim’s Answer
Hi Julian,
That's a big question because there are different kinds of graphic design and different situations. I'm freelancing right now and trying to get enough clients so I can be totally independent.
Today I'm waiting for a piece of text from a client, which I'll then have to quickly drop into an InDesign document I'm working on and return, because they're on deadline. I'm also waiting for a bunch of copy from another client for a workbook revision I'm doing in InDesign, which I'll first have to copy edit (though that's not typical for designers--I write and design and do print production art).
In the meantime, I'm fielding calls from recruiters and looking for more work. Tomorrow I have a Zoom for a very part-time, long term proofreading/editing job for a school and a phone call with another recruiter.
I'm seeing quite a few job posts asking for multimedia, web, and print skills, as well as project management and writing skills. Hopefully by the time you're in the working world, things will settle down, because every employer seems to be looking for a unicorn right now!
I hope you get enough responses to see how much variety there is in this field.
That's a big question because there are different kinds of graphic design and different situations. I'm freelancing right now and trying to get enough clients so I can be totally independent.
Today I'm waiting for a piece of text from a client, which I'll then have to quickly drop into an InDesign document I'm working on and return, because they're on deadline. I'm also waiting for a bunch of copy from another client for a workbook revision I'm doing in InDesign, which I'll first have to copy edit (though that's not typical for designers--I write and design and do print production art).
In the meantime, I'm fielding calls from recruiters and looking for more work. Tomorrow I have a Zoom for a very part-time, long term proofreading/editing job for a school and a phone call with another recruiter.
I'm seeing quite a few job posts asking for multimedia, web, and print skills, as well as project management and writing skills. Hopefully by the time you're in the working world, things will settle down, because every employer seems to be looking for a unicorn right now!
I hope you get enough responses to see how much variety there is in this field.