Freelance Graphic Design Career

Freelance Graphic Design Career in the Digital Age - Interested in entering the world of graphic design professionally, but still have doubts about the graphic designer career path? In today's digital era, graphic design is one of the most interesting, challenging, and promising fields of work.

Many consider that the world of graphic design is only a discipline that is just designing. Though it is a false perception. There are actually a variety of different specialties within the field of graphic design with quite wide job vacancies. 

Graphic design is a skill where professionals produce content in visual form. His task is not only to produce visual works, but also to produce different types of visuals capable of communicating ideas that are inspiring, informative and captivate the target consumer or audience. A freelance graphic designer can also work with print or digital media. The work process can be done manually or using computer software.

What Does a Graphic Designer Do? 

A graphic designer works by combining art and technology to communicate ideas by using various design elements to produce visuals with artistic or decorative effects. Graphic Designers apply visual hierarchy, develop page layouts, as well as use shapes, colors, typography, images to convey ideas to the audience. 

To be precise, the main task of graphic designers is to create useful, meaningful, and functional visual concepts using various technological facilities and infrastructure. There are various types of visuals that can be produced, ranging from posters, billboards, packaging, logos, and marketing materials. However, his work depends largely on the needs of the client or the company he works for.

How to Become a Self-Taught Graphic Designer

You can do yourself diving into the world of graphic design by yourself. Here is the guide:

• Learn the basics of graphic design
• Learn the right Graphic Design App
• Create an attractive portfolio
• Expand Networking
• Keep honing your design skills

Freelance Graphic Design Career in the Digital Age

The development of technology has made the industry and design trends continue to develop. This makes freelance graphic design a highly considered career option. Here are some job openings for a freelance graphic designer in the digital age:

Brand Identity Designer

Brand Identity Designer is a Graphic Designer who specializes in branding. Usually they work on things like the following:

• Brand strategy
• Typography
• Color palette
• Logo design
• Business cards and/or stationery
• Icon system
• Brand guidelines

Marketing & Advertising Designer

Marketing & Advertising Designer specializes in advertising & marketing. They focus on creating assets such as:

• Print & digital advertising
• Graphics for social media
• Cover for podcasts
• Banners
• Email marketing
• Brochures & Posters
• Billboard
• Pitch decks & presentations

Packaging Designer

This type of graphic designer needs to have a strong understanding of branding as well as the psychology of consumer behavior to create packaging that can increase customer purchasing interest. In addition to providing the information that needs to be displayed on the packaging (such as nutritional data), they must be proficient in color theory and typography.

Web & User Interface Designer

Web & UI designers create designs for websites and apps. They must have a solid understanding of design principles, as well as an understanding of user experience design and the basic principles of coding.

Print & Publication Designer

Print & publication designers usually handle all kinds of projects for print media such as:

• Book cover
• Magazine & newspaper layouts
• Menu design
• Album Covers
• Merchandise & clothing
• Brochures & Flyers
• Stationery

Letter & Type Designer

Type & Lettering Designers need to have a thorough understanding of typographic principles, what makes typography easy to read, concepts like kerning and line height. These things play a huge role in the overall readability of typographic design.

Graphic Illustrator

As a professional graphics illustrator, his work includes:

• Digital products
• Blog posts & articles
• Books & magazines
• Games
• Clothes

Data Visualization & Infographic Designer

Data visualization and infographic designers need to have a solid understanding of how to accurately represent data and in a way that makes it easier to understand and engaging.

Read Next: How to Quickly Make Money for Beginner Freelancers

That's the discussion about the Freelance Graphic Design Career in the Digital Era. In addition to the still many job openings, there are more advantages for people who are interested in this world. In today's digital age, formal high school is no longer the only way for you to get a career as a Freelance Graphic Designer.