I need to interview someone working in the graphic design field...

[iamamoogle]

I'm currently in my last year of college majoring in Graphic Design and for our Senior Seminar class, we have to interview a professional in our field (graphic designer/web designer/etc.). I've tried to contact some of my previous professors, but not one of them would get back to me.

So if there is anyone here thats currently in the graphic design field, I would greatly appreciate if you could answer some of these questions. If you have a website too, I'd be interested in seeing your work as well. Not only will this help me for my class, but it would really help me figure out what the heck I'm going to do with my degree, heh.

Thank you in advance and I'm sorry if this isn't the right forum to post this in.

Interview Questions

· What is your current job title and what are some important aspects and responsibilities of your job?

· What was your first full time graphic design job, and how did you go about acquiring it?

· What other jobs have you held in the graphic design field and which have been the most rewarding and/or enjoyable?

· What are some of the salary ranges in the graphic design field? Are they generally an hourly rate, determined by individual projects, or something else entirely?

· Have you done any freelance design work, and if so, what sort of time frames do you have for project deadlines compared to design work for a full time company?

· Do you prefer doing design work for the web or for print, and why?

· What has been some of the biggest difficulties you've faced as a graphic designer and how have you overcome them?

· How many hours a week, on average, does a full time graphic designer work, and how much work can be done at home?

· I know this must vary, but how much input do clients have on the actual design work?

· Where are some of the best places, in your opinion, to look for design work locally (Southern California) and/or nationwide?

· How important are grades and academic history in the job hiring process?

· Most of the graphic design curriculum at my school is based around branding and corporate identity, but what are some other lucrative graphic design fields?

· Do you have any other advice for someone preparing to enter the graphic design workforce?

 

[peteloaf]

· What is your current job title and what are some important aspects and responsibilities of your job?

Head of the graphic design department of the print shop I work for. My day to day includes the actual design work for customers as well as the managing all of the jobs coming in and going out of my department.

· What was your first full time graphic design job, and how did you go about acquiring it?

This is my first full time graphic design job. As far as acquiring the job, I lied to get the job, claiming I had a bunch of experience and just faked it through the first few months. I am currently on my sixth year there, and just got named head of the department.

· What other jobs have you held in the graphic design field and which have been the most rewarding and/or enjoyable?

I worked as a PC tech and did a little web design. I also left my current job and worked for about 4 months designing print ads for local auto dealers. I enjoyed both of the jobs, but I think the auto ad design was the most rewarding work of the two because of the fast pace (when ad space pops up in a newspaper you have as little as an hour to get the ad to the press) as well as the freedom offered by the dealers. Most had no suggestions on the design so it was wide open.

· What are some of the salary ranges in the graphic design field? Are they generally an hourly rate, determined by individual projects, or something else entirely?

Everything I've had is hourly so I can't really say.

· Have you done any freelance design work, and if so, what sort of time frames do you have for project deadlines compared to design work for a full time company?

I've done a little design work for local bands and a few other things, most people have no idea how much work goes into a design job, so it's usually a rush.

· Do you prefer doing design work for the web or for print, and why?

Print definitely, there is far more that you can do with it. With web design you have to design for the oldest and slowest web browsers, since nobody wants to potentially miss out on customers because of compatibility issues, however if you know the kind of press that will be printing your work, either by working at a print shop, or keeping a good relationship with the print shop that will be doing the printing, you won't be held back.

· What has been some of the biggest difficulties you've faced as a graphic designer and how have you overcome them?

Deadlines, deadlines, and deadlines. The best way to deal with them is to realize that they never go away, and that you have to adapt.

· How many hours a week, on average, does a full time graphic designer work, and how much work can be done at home?

I've always worked 40 hour weeks. As far as work at home, feelance work is fine at how, provided you have a laptop that you can take with you to your clients to make minor changes. Working for a shop however, I couldn't do any of my work at home. Too ofter do we get rush jobs that need immediate attention as well as the huge amount of customer interaction that I do.

· I know this must vary, but how much input do clients have on the actual design work?

A lot of input actually. They are paying for what you are doing so it all has to be what they want.

· Where are some of the best places, in your opinion, to look for design work locally (Southern California) and/or nationwide?

Couldn't say bout California, but I've always preferred smaller mom & pop companies over huge businesses. The smaller the shop, the better relation ship you can have with your boss, and that is very important.

· How important are grades and academic history in the job hiring process?

As I said I lied to get my job so I can't really say.

· Most of the graphic design curriculum at my school is based around branding and corporate identity, but what are some other lucrative graphic design fields?

Signs. The sign industry is exploding, especially in the vehicle wrap department.

· Do you have any other advice for someone preparing to enter the graphic design workforce?

This is VERY important: learn how a press works. We frequently get files from design grads that are unusable because they have NO idea what the difference between CMYK, SPOT, and RGB is. They have never head of gutter or gripper margin. Also remember, under NO circumstance is Photoshop a layout program. Never, ever lay out a print job in Photoshop unless you want to get on the bad side of whoever is printing your work.


Hope that helps.