Pivoting to a career in graphic design? Overcome your skills gap 🎯

I decided to study graphic design after a 12+ year career in learning and development.

You may wonder what prompted this detour from my already existing career path.

Studying graphic design gave me the opportunity to follow a new and exciting career path as an instructional designer with a skillset many people in traditional learning and development don't have.

And this is what I love about graphic design: it's a versatile skill that gives you a stepping stone into many different career paths. 

But before you consider pivoting to graphic design, you'll need to address your skills gap and develop some key skills that you'll need to prepare for your new career.

Before identifying your graphic design skills gap, briefly take a look at what graphic design is:

Graphic design is a craft where professionals create visual content to communicate messages.

Graphic design has many pathways:

• Publication, illustration, and typographic design: design of visuals primarily for print purposes.

• Web design: design of visuals for web pages or social media.

• User interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design:design of visuals along with navigation paths for users in websites, computer software, and mobile phone apps.

• Motion design: design of moving visuals, also known as animations.

Generally, you'll need the following skills to be a graphic designer.

• Technical skills: the skills you'll need to use the software needed to create designs.

• Design and soft skills: the skills needed to work with people and design a high-quality product.

Knowing how to use design software is a way to start closing your skills gap. This software can be broken down into two categories:

1. General design software: regardless of your areas of specialization, you must know how to use Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, or at the very least, Canva.

2. Specialized software: needed for each area of specialization as shown below.

Publication, Illustration, and Typographic Design 

• Adobe InDesign

• ProArt

UI and UX design

• Figma

• Adobe XD

Web Design 

• Programing languages (HTML, CSS, jQuery)

• Website development platforms (Webflow, Wordpress, Shopify or Google sites)

Motion Design

• Adobe After Effects

• Adobe Animate or Character Animator

• Blender

It’s time for honest reflection on your current technical skill level. Think about the following and answer yes or no as you go along:

1. Do you know how to make a basic poster like the one below using design and typographic principles, with Adobe Illustrator, Canva, or similar software?

Image courtesy of Freepik

2. Do you know how to import a raster image into Adobe Illustrator, Canva, or similar software?

3. Can you remove the background of this photo using Adobe Photoshop, Canva, or similar software and export it as a .PNG file?

Image from www.freepik.com

How did you do?

If you were able to answer yes to all three, then...

...you have the entry-level technical skills needed to be a graphic designer.

If you weren't able to complete these tasks, don't worry! You just need to take the next steps to work on your skills gap.

Photo by Rob Thompson on Unsplash

Here are some resources you can use to close your technical skills gap:

• Adobe software suite: Adobe Learn is a great place to start learning about their software (Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe XD, Adobe After Effects, etc). But you can also check YouTube for some great free trainings from creators.

• Web design: If you're interested in this pathway, there are many free resources that teach you coding for the web, such as freeCodeCamp.You can also check out our Byte How do I learn coding for free?

• Blender and other niche software: Almost all software providers have their own training material, and YouTube has a lot of free resources too, like this Blender for Complete Beginners Tutorial.

Next, think about whether you have some basic design skills and soft skills such as:

Design Principles

• Apply design principles — balance, repetition, alignment, hierarchy, contrast, etc.

• Select appropriate typography and color palettes

Media Selection

• Pick appropriate, high quality imagery

• Respect copyright laws

• Catalog image assets

Formatting and Copywriting

• Identify your audience

• Write compelling messages

• Ensure grammar and spelling accuracy

Soft Skills

• Effective communication

• Time management

• Iterative thinking

Self Study

Review the areas you need to improve on through online self study. There are tons of free resources out there, especially on You Tube that will teach you almost everything you need to know.

Short Online Courses

For a more structured learning experience, consider a free or paid online course through a platform such as Coursera or Udemy. You can also check with your local library or community center for free or low cost programs.

College or University Programs

If you are considering a career in graphic design or want a qualification that is recognized by an employer, consider a university or college program in graphic design, multimedia design, design arts or related topic.

Freelancing or Volunteering

There is no better way to learn than by doing. Look for volunteering opportunities in your community or look for entry-level freelancing work. You will learn many of the skills you need as you work, especially soft skills.

Start closing that graphic design skills gap today!