Graphic Design Requires a Multi-faceted Approach

In his article, 6 Non-design Skills you need as a Designer,  Roberto Blake makes some very valid points that we as Graphic designers must keep in mind. It’s not all about Design. To succeed in this business, a designer must develop and nurture additional skills. Communication, marketing, illustration, technical skills, networking, and research are all essential to succeeding, especially as a freelancer. In a business where visual communication is king, we can’t forget that our interactions with clients include oral and written communication. Where we might specialize in hand drawn illustration we have to keep in mind that we must also be masters of Adobe and if we are proficient with technology we may need to polish our sketching skills. This is a multi-faceted industry and we must keep that in mind.

While Blake reminds us that a successful Graphic designer must wear many hats, he doesnt necessarily give us much in the way of resources to pursue the necessary knowledge. I wish he had included some links to websites that would be able to aid us in development of the skills he advocates. The article is a good reminder of aspects of the business that we may neglect, especially those of us who are new to the Design world. Our education does not always include methods to develop and foster these additional skills. It is up to us to recognize in which areas we may need to work harder, even if they fall outside the traditional definition of the job. We already know that a Graphic Designer these days may need coding skills, motion graphics skills, animation. Graphic Design is no longer just the creation of static images for advertising purposes. Now we must be Marketers and Researchers too. In short, there will never come a point in time where we stop learning. And it is up to us to seek out knowledge. To practice everything we learn. To know that the journey never ends. That there will always be more to learn. And we will never be bored. And I, for one, am eager to get started.