How to become a graphic designer in India

With the growing social and digital presence of businesses and individuals alike, Graphic design is getting more attention. Graphic designs are everywhere right from your Instagram feed to gaming applications; cereal boxes to roadside billboards. Continue reading this article to understand how to become a graphic designer in India. 

Know more about graphic designer salary, graphic designer scope, qualifications, eligibility, top institutes, salary, employment opportunities, pros and cons, and many more. 

What is Graphic Design?

Graphic Design is a digital technique to create visually appealing content to communicate with the intended audience. It can see everywhere right from the cover of a book to the flight boarding pass; billboards to mobile apps to online games. Graphic Design incorporates digital and emotional principles to influence perceptions. It brings visual concepts to life. 

Who is a Graphic Designer?

A Graphic Designer is a creative professional who creates visual concepts using computer softwares, tools, and techniques to visually communicate ideas and information to consumers.

They are also called graphic artists. They use digital tools to create websites, images, social posts, brochures, flyers, magazines, gaming and application graphics, billboards, and many more promotional formats. 

Types of Graphic Designers

1. Web Designers:

They create graphics for websites and online platforms.

2. Packaging Designers:

They specialize in designing graphics for material packaging like food products, electronics, etc.

3. Animation and Motion Graphics:

They mainly work in video graphics for movies, games, etc.

4. UI/UX Designer: 

They design graphics for frontend and backend of mobile applications. 

5. Gaming Designers:

They design graphic content for gaming applications.

6. Illustration Designers:

They create vectors, stock images, animation creatives, etc. 

7. Ads and Marketing Designers:

They specialize in creating graphics for outdoor promotions like banners, billboards, brochures, etc. 

Skills Required to Become a Graphic Designer

    • Creativity and Innovation

    • Communication and interpersonal skills

    • Branding and Marketing skills

    • Social Media skills

    • Powerpoint Presentations

    • Photoshop softwares

    • HTML and CSS languages for web and app designing

    • Design illustrations

    • Portfolio management

    • Problem-solving skills

    • Strategizing campaigns

What Does a Graphic Designer Do?

    • Plan and Create concepts based on work order, brief, or material information. 

    • Submit prepared concepts and illustrations for review and approval. 

    • Utilize necessary applications, tools, and softwares to complete the creatives.

    • If necessary, coordinate with clients, colleagues, marketing teams, etc. 

    • Be a team player by contributing to collective efforts. 

    • Have clear communication with the client to understand the expectations. 

    • Be well versed in designing techniques and new upgrades and innovations in the market.

    • Review and suggest changes to the final layout, if necessary.

Eligibility to become a Graphic Designer

    • Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design.

    • Advanced Certifications in Graphic design from unconventional academic institutions are also welcome. 

    • Strong Work Poroflio and demonstration if necessary. 

    • Proficiency in design softwares like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign Quark, etc. 

    • Understanding of different creative formats for information, promotional, marketing, social media, print formats, web design, and many more purposes. 

How to become a Graphic Designer? A Step-by-Step Guide

Here are the steps to become a Graphic Designer in India:

    • Graphic designing can be started at a young age. The basics of graphic designing can be learnt soon as the aspirant has mastered the computer basics.

    • However, going professional needs some basic academics at least till 12th standard.

    • After the 10th standard, take up commerce or arts for the 12th standard. 

    • After successful completion of the 12th standard, aspirants can opt for degree, diploma or certification programs offered in graphic design. 

    • Enroll in institutions offering graphic design courses and start training-led sessions and understand different softwares and their outcomes.

    • Create and maintain a portfolio of different graphic designing works you have created. 

    • After completion of the course, apply for graphic designer roles. Parallely, you can opt for upskilling in graphic design extensions like web design, UI/UX designing, etc.

Top Institutes in India to study Graphic Designing

    • National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad

    • Arena Animation

    • Pearl Academy, New Delhi

    • United World Institute of Design, Ahmedabad

    • Acharya School of Design, Bengaluru

    • Arch Academy of Design, Jaipur

    • Zee Institute of Creative Art

    • Auro Design School, Surat

    • Centre for Creative Arts and Design, Jain University, Bangalore

    • Chetana College of Media and Performing Arts, Thrissur

How to Create a Graphic Design Portfolio? 

A Graphic Design Portfolio gives an outlook of a graphic designer’s past work. It is a public profile portraying the biography, work profile, skills, options to hire, etc. There are two options to create a portfolio; one by using a social platform and the other by creating your own website.  

    • Creating your own website must have a public domain, hosting, and social media handles to promote the work. 

    • There are many social platforms to create a portfolio for graphic designers. Some of the popular platforms to showcase graphic design creatives are
        • Behance

        • Dribble

        • 500px

        • ArtStation

        • SquareSpace

        • DeviantArt

        • Ello

        • Cargo

Salary of a Graphic Designer in India

The average salary of a Graphic Designer in India is 6 LPA. There are many extensions of graphic design work such as web design, UI and UX design, etc. The salary of Graphic designers with additional skills can get salaries upto 12 LPA. It also greatly depends on the skills and experience.  

Top Graphic Designers Recruiting Industries in India

    • Social Media Managers

    • Digital Marketing Agencies

    • Web Development Companies

    • Mobile Application Developers

    • Advertising Agencies

    • Animation Companies

    • B2C Startups

    • Content Development Companies

Pros and Cons

Pros of Becoming a Graphic Designer:

    • A Creative job profile

    • Work across different domains and formats

    • Option to work remotely

    • Stable work hours

    • Highly demanded and paid job

Cons of Becoming a Graphic Designer:

    • Limited options for career escalation

    • Too many deadlines to adhere to

    • Usually working alone

    • High competition

Summary

    • Graphic Designing is a high-potential and highly-paid job profile. An aspirant can become a graphic designer not just through academics but also through training and certification.

    • Graphic Designers work on a wide range of marketing and promotional content formats. They get to work with brands across different domains and clients.

    • Apart from a regular job, graphic designers can take up freelance projects as well; it is a high-paying option but inconsistent. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Graphic Design Portfolio can be showcased by creating your own website or using public portfolio platforms. The common platforms for creating Graphic Design Portfolios are Dribble, Behance, 500px, Art, Squarespace, etc.

There are many independent trainers posting videos to teach graphic design on youtube. Starting here could be a good thing. 

There are many academic and certification institutes across India teaching Graphic Design. Taking an academic approach is a good call. Studying at the National Institute of Design may be a great fit for your resume.

At the core, HTML and CSS are not required for graphic designing. Its extension like UI and UX Designer need programming languages like HTML and CSS.

Graphic Design is not so stressful. But, not adhering to deadlines and taking on hefty work will take a toll on health and peace.

Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, XD, Lightroom, Sketch, etc are the most efficient and commonly used softwares in Graphic Design.

Multiple startups and training institutions provide online graphic design courses which can be learnt from the comfort of home. 

Many Graphic Design courses are available online. Check the program reviews and features before enrolling.

It is hard at first for a beginner. It is definitely easy once you have built familiarity with the tools and techniques. Read our article above to understand how to become a graphic designer in India.

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