What is needed for the profession of a designer. Designers. Designer is one of the most demanded professions

Although there are many types of design, and more and more new ones are created every year, the number of its main industries is very small. In particular, there are three main areas: industrial design, graphic and architectural.

Industrial Design

This industry is also called industrial design, product or industrial design. Among the varieties of this area are: transport design, furniture design, household appliances etc.


This industry began in the 18th century, and is believed to be Josiah Wedgwood, an English painter and master of arts and crafts. The active development of industrial design falls on the second half of the 20th century, that is, at the time when the visual design of products began and the marketing direction began to develop rapidly.


Industrial designers set themselves the goal of decorating the objects around a person and at the same time giving them the greatest functionality. After all, it depends on how much the product is necessary for a person, how aesthetically it looks and how convenient it is to use it depends on its success in the market and the demand among buyers.

Graphic design

This industry is considered the most widespread and versatile. It is with the results of graphic design that people come across every day. Although this trend was officially formed in 1964, when the First Congress of the International Society of Graphic Design Organizations was held, its origins can be seen in the rock paintings of the most ancient tribes.


The purpose of graphic design is to increase the level of harmony in the environment, improve the effectiveness of communication impact. Graphic design is responsible for creating the individual external characteristics of an object, for the emotional impact on people. There are several varieties of this design industry. In particular, it includes: print design, web design, mobile design, font design, etc.

Architectural design

The third branch is architectural design, or interior design. It is directly related to the design and harmonization of the surrounding structures. This design industry has been the most influential different styles(modern, constructivism, minimalism, baroque, hi-tech, etc.)


Architectural design contains a great many smaller industries. These include: interior design, industrial design, urban design, landscape design, color design, interactive design, etc.

The main difference between design and what laymen understand by it is this: design does not end with appearance. Find out all the features of the profession: where to get training, how and where to get a job, features of the work process, demand in the labor market and much more.

Demand

Payability

Competition

Entry barrier

Perspectives

A designer is a serious, complex and endlessly interesting profession.

Consumer designs

The main difference between design and what laymen understand by it is this: design does not end with appearance. Let's take the face of a person: behind it is a complex organism with thoughts and feelings. So looking at the result of design work, the layman sees only a picture, the designer - a ton of work behind it.

What does a designer do?

The designer constructs. It constructs the world for the user - comfortable and attractive. He knows what is well designed and what is bad. Someone needs to decide this. Imagine that this someone looks at the blueprints of a spaceship, touches the wires, sits in chairs, puts on spacesuits, breathes oxygen - and puts his signature: “Verified. Approved. Everything is good, convenient and safe. " This person thinks like a designer. The main task of a professional is to transform into the one to whom the design is addressed and decide what is good for him and what is bad.

Everyone expects beauty, style, lightness, energy from a designer - meaning by this the picture drawn by the consumer on the TV package. But what does a packaging designer actually do? He makes a tool for storing goods. In fact, any design item is a tool. If the tool is useless, then the design has not even been run through here. The box for storing goods should be beautiful and eye-catching; be convenient for storage in a warehouse, in a store, at home; comfortable to carry; it should have readable and convenient designations for quick search in the warehouse and in the catalog. Will the packaging be lightweight? Will it take up a lot of space for transportation in a container from the other side of the world? Can you save money on this? Will it get wet if you carry it in the rain? How does it feel to put the goods in it, take it out, fold it again? How much material will it take to make it? How expensive, environmentally friendly and technologically advanced is this material? How attractive is he? Maybe it will be an innovative polymer or cardboard, without images and inscriptions? Is it laborious to manufacture packaging from such a material? How much time and money will it take? Is this packaging recyclable?

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Web Designer

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The designer answers himself to a million questions, makes a lot of decisions, foresees everything. If he thinks only about beauty, he will not do a good thing - and this is what he does: a designer creates good things. Many things. Every day. He decides: how will people get to work tomorrow? Will the patient be saved? Will Apple sell billions of its new laptop? Will everyone know in the morning that the clock has been changed? Isn't it time to modify traffic lights to save dozens of lives at a treacherous intersection? Or maybe your toaster will tell you the news tomorrow and remind you to take an umbrella?

I will repeat myself and am ready to repeat myself a hundred times: design is not art, not a picture, not an appearance. The designer creates a solid structure, frame. Each next job - new task, interesting and challenging.

The solution to this problem is your responsibility. You can invite an illustrator, photographer, programmer or psychologist to help, or you can do everything yourself. You can make a book cover incredibly attractive or revolutionary comfortable, you can reinvent the dollar bike or make it an unexpected shape - but you have to make the cover and you have to make the bike. Whether you use your mathematical mind or your senses and taste is up to you.

Industrial and graphic design

Industrial, or industrial design (industrial design) is one of the most interesting areas in the profession. Create a new thing - your own - and release it all over the world; to make it cheap, durable, economical, environmentally friendly, beautiful and as convenient as possible - these are the tasks of the industrial designer. A car, a vacuum cleaner and even a paper clip, that is, industrial products - this is the business of an industrial designer's life.

The work of a graphic designer is sometimes more boring, but varied. And in it, unlike industrial design, an animated person can more easily prove himself - observing simple technical rules, he will get complete freedom of action. The graphic designer creates a ton of things: packaging, print and online ads, logos and branding, websites, magazines and books, CD and DVD covers, navigation systems (signposts) and infographics (diagrams and graphics), presentations and promotional brochures , newspapers, even computer game interfaces. What a graphic designer does not do: he does not draw (there are illustrators for this), does not write slogans and press releases (this is a copywriter's task), does not deal with business plans and sales (this is the manager's prerogative), does not repair and maintain computers ( system administrators reign here), does not make films (operators and directors do this), does not program sites (web makers are responsible for this), does not place ads (there are advertising managers for this). All these skills are useful and sometimes applied at the will of the designer, if it is beneficial to him in a particular case. However, they have no right to impose them on him.

A designer doesn't draw - should a designer be able to draw at all? I will answer the question with a question: does a doctor need to know anatomy? Design exists in visual categories, the ability to draw is the only way to understand from the inside the processes of creating a visual space. We are not talking about high artistic skill: the designer is only partly an artist. Drawing skills are just this part. The courage of the self-taught is not enough here, however, the art school will not help much. University education or private lessons will give much more high quality drawing, thereby bringing you closer to understanding your future work... The practice of drawing will develop a sense of form, light, color, proportions, composition - as well as instill skills in working with the material and will contribute to the education of artistic taste. Drawing skills will come in handy to varying degrees in different areas of graphic design; as for industrial and technical, clothing and interior design, illustration, photography, 3D graphics and visualization - the skills of a draftsman are needed directly. Design is not a drawing, for artists there are academies of arts, but handicraft skills should not be written off as junk: Japanese, Poles, Iranians - all manual labor designers are held in high esteem. The drawing itself is just a tool among others; you can choose it, or you can not choose it. The main thing is not to put it in front of the essence of the design task.

Orders and money

The superficial attitude to the specialty and the Russian "designer himself", which is widespread among the customers, knocks down the prices. Therefore, companies often hire self-taught inept people who create $ 100 “masterpieces”. The same ones that we see on signs, in magazines, in packaging, in advertisements - everywhere. After all, someone did it all. Someone who considers themselves to be a designer. Low qualifications are not uncommon. To become a designer, it is not enough just to study at a university or just to have work experience. You need to work, study at a university, study outside the university on your own (there are plenty of websites and books around) and, along the way, love design, and not everyone does such feats. So this work in Russia is estimated in proportion to the general level of professionalism - not high.

Despite the fact that pseudo-specialists are content with $ 100 orders, and customers are satisfied with the $ 100 work received, there are also European-level prices, and they are accepted among real specialists in the field of design. Prices in a good studio start, for example, from 1500 euros for a logo. Eating is easier, eating harder; form style for a medium-sized company it can cost both 10 and 20 thousand euros; You won't surprise anyone with a website for several tens of thousands of conventional units. The amount of an order from well-known freelance designers can greatly exceed these values. However, you must be aware that this money is not allocated for "beautiful something" or even "nothing": good design requires a lot of work, both mental and manual, a lot of time and the work of a number of specialists. Professional marketers, copywriters, photographers, illustrators, technical designers, programmers, flashers, technologists, 3D designers and visualizers, psychologists are involved in serious work ... “All in one” does not happen here: a designer quickly finds his own narrow specialization, adheres to it; because of his specialization, he is also appreciated.

However, there is no inappropriate work either - there is an unprofessional approach to business.

For a professional, any order arouses interest and gambling excitement, the solution of a new unusual task spurs, long-term monotonous work trains the will and strengthens the skills.

For everyone, of course, there are topics that he will never tackle, but I cannot imagine a designer who, as ill luck would have it, only religious sects, political parties and pirates (religion, politics, crime are a standard set of taboo for a designer).

The professional environment is ambiguous. Quite often people in design think more about themselves than about their work - and produce mediocre design, thereby leaving Russia in the backyard of the world. But not everything is so hopeless. You just need to keep in mind that there will be another obstacle that needs to be overcome; there will be resistance, there will be windmills - and there will be Everest to climb. We are strong and brave. We are young. Finding a large order is a very real task. Serious business customers are well aware of the importance of a professional solution to a design problem, since it is design that directly affects the quality of the product, its relevance, the efficiency of production and transportation, and in general - the profit.

Who is the profession suitable for?

Only a strong and purposeful person will become a designer, a passive and a whiner will be screwed up. Don't believe in cheap education; don't think that drawing is everything. There will be a lot of boring disciplines. You also don't need to assume that you will be taught everything: the professionalism of a designer is, first of all, artistic taste, visual experience, erudition, the ability to think in an original way, soberly and quickly. You cannot teach anything about it - you can only learn. But the university will provide you with quite fertile soil for independent growth.

Where to study

Design education takes diligence. Design does not tolerate lazy people. Don't confuse design with illustration or photography, advertising or website building. Do not choose a design if you have not enrolled in another specialty: you will quickly get tired.

A number of universities, not necessarily well-known, offer a high level of design education. It's easy to tell them apart. It is enough to come to exhibitions (they are always in the halls of universities) - and ask yourself: is what I see is applicable in life? The works are always exhibited, made in the spirit of this educational institution and from this point of view are considered the best in the university. They are applicable in life - great. But if, apart from beauty and shocking, you did not notice anything, no matter how much you looked, then in this university they teach beauty and shocking, and not design at all.

As a rule, people with a modest character, specialists of a narrow profile, who, in addition to teaching, have design practice (I have met such people only three times), teach design well.

Alas, teachers sometimes misunderstand the essence of design, and as a result, the catalogs “ Best design packaging "or" The best industrial design "we see a lot of works, although nice - but, alas, not adapted in the best way for the consumer, and therefore unprofessional. Their exact diagnosis is a product of the university. Creative, famous, charismatic people are detrimental to the design learning process. They do not always know how to teach. Even having taste and having his own point of view, the star will consider it beneath his dignity to argue in its favor - and will simply try to impose it on you by incessantly evaluating your work. The grades will set the student on the wrong path - and after graduation, the skills acquired there will be inapplicable, and such a graduate will not be able to work at all.

How training is structured

Preparatory courses begin a year before admission. Even if you don't know how to draw, taking a year's lessons with a teacher can give you a shoe. It is also worthwhile to be like the preparatory courses of this university in composition. Firstly, they will get used to you, and secondly, the fundamental course of the so-called propaedeutics is often shifted during this period of study time. In general, composition (which will be called both propaedeutics, and introduction to the specialty, and design, and construction, and engineering) is the main subject. It is in these classes that you will receive 60% of all useful information - if you are lucky with a teacher.

After the preparatory courses, you will have to pass exams. Traditionally it creative competition(average mark from exams in drawing, painting and composition), languages ​​Russian (Unified State Exam) and foreign - orally. Examinations in creative disciplines are held as follows: a simple staging is put on a drawing and painting and it is given to create a masterpiece for two days, 4 hours for each subject. (Other options - 6 hours, the exam is taken in 1 day, etc.) The composition is submitted in one day. It is impossible to take away the work: everything is sealed together with the audience.

In the first two courses, interesting subjects and assignments will involve you in your specialty, and the teachers will try to instill in you their taste and dispel the stereotypical thinking that has stagnated in us throughout our studies at school. Getting a person to think in an original way is quite difficult, and when you are asked to portray hatred or longing using only black cardboard squares that cannot be torn or painted, you really think about the fact that until now you have thought flatly. Throughout your training, you will be taught computer technology- you have to master a completely new set of programs - as well as drawing, painting and, of course, composition.

In your third year, you will study special subjects more deeply. Things will go more interesting and fun: contests, exhibitions, the first work will begin ... True, one should not forget that all art specialties require a six-year education, and design is no exception. You can limit yourself to a bachelor's degree, but then you will waste four years of your life mediocre: short term just impossible.

The diploma is defended in the sixth year. The task is to reproduce a large project - for example, to develop a design for a glossy magazine. According to the general opinion of all graduate students, only if you start work in advance, you can do everything on time. Start it in your fifth year and you will be rewarded: your classmates will lag behind simply because they started when they should - in the sixth year - and did not have time to give their projects a final shine.

If you successfully defend your diploma, you will probably receive a recommendation for further education in this or other educational institutions- and this will allow you to study even, maybe, for free. Some universities send for internships abroad, others give directions to work ... However, remember that not a diploma, but acquired knowledge will work for you, and only willpower and hard work will help you save the world.

The profession aims to optimize the appearance of the product. Art, technology and marketing are the three components of this field of activity. For successful implementation goals, the professional is looking for high-quality prototypes and analyzes ready-made market samples. With the help of three-dimensional modeling, he solves the problem of correlating the appearance and functionality of an individual product. The specialist calculates how to reduce costs and make the product safe. The industrial designer gets the maximization of the efficiency of activity when using graphic programs: 3D Studio Max, SolidWorks, solidThinking, Rhinoceros, Pro / Engineer, 3D CAiD, Solid Edge.

Personal qualities

The harmonious combination of technical and artistic inclinations is optimal for industrial design. Industrial specialization requires a practical mindset. In addition, the designer is an esthete with a perfect sense of style. A well-developed eye and accurate color perception are required. The designer is not an artist, therefore, for the result, not inspiration, but perseverance plays a more important role.

Where to study for this profession.

Admission to a designer requires the results of the Unified State Exam in Literature, or. Also, the variability of the list is increased by Mathematics or Foreign language... The applicant must pass a creative test, which consists of two parts: Drawing and Composition. To submit documents, you should select the "Industrial Design" profile.

In the first two courses, the student is taught basic Drawing, Painting, Composition. With the help of non-trivial tasks, the teacher teaches the student to think in an original way and see things from a different angle. In parallel, students receive training in the use of professional software. In the last years of the bachelor's degree, all special subjects will be studied in more depth. However, in order to master the profession on a full scale, it is desirable to increase the training period to six years.

Examples of universities:

Pros and cons of the profession.

Career. Places of employment.

Job openings for an industrial designer are usually posted by production and art workshops and design studios. Also, employment is possible at various enterprises cities. Sometimes designers become freelancers and later found their own agencies. The initial level of salaries fluctuates at the level of 20-30 thousand rubles. Experts with experience can count on an increase in the base rate to 55 thousand rubles.

Related professions.

Web designers are also related specialties.
An industrial designer is a rather rare specialist in Russia. Because of high demand to the profession, designers from other fields tend to change specialization. With a great desire and a competent approach to business, the process is not so complicated. It is worth studying professional literature and mastering the necessary software.

The profession of a designer is interesting, creative and creative. In addition, now it is in great demand. Getting a job as a designer is easy, even without experience. Its main plus is that you can master the profession at any age.

Interior designer profession

The profession of an interior designer appeared not very long ago. And immediately became very popular.

Previously, everyone arranged their own apartment or house. And now, many people are increasingly using services.

A specialist will help you choose the most suitable housing design option or will do it in the style that you choose. But taking into account the necessary aesthetic requirements and acceptable combinations.

Landscape designer profession

The profession of landscape designer has replaced the profession of a gardener. It appeared in the 16th century and was constantly being improved.

The clothing designer has good taste and spatial creativity. In addition, he is well versed in fabrics, their combination and applies all the acquired knowledge to tailoring.

Advertising designer profession

An advertising designer must competently apply his knowledge and skills within the advertising agency and the image of the client company. This involves balancing creativity and putting your ideas into practice.

The design profession has its advantages and disadvantages.

This is one of the most prestigious and well-paid activities. The designer has an unlimited field of activity for his imagination. He can realize all his ideas and get paid for it. But a designer must have perseverance and hard work, be able to accept someone else's point of view, compromise with his beliefs, and in some cases - insist on his own and convince the client.

The profession of fashion designer plays an important role in the fashion world. A specialist in this field creates new models of clothing, hats and shoes. A fashion designer can achieve a lot and become a famous couturier. But it takes a lot of work.

This article will help you work on an essay, preparation for a report, presentation, or classroom hour.

reference

Since ancient times, a person has been engaged in the arrangement of his home, where the criteria of convenience and safety were in the foreground. There the first roots of the word "design" were conceived. In English, it means "creative concept, composition, project." Back in the 19th century, with the development of industrial production, the need for design and art activities arose. A little later, in the 20th century, the first design schools began to appear. Accordingly, specialists appeared who began to be called designers.

The demand for the profession

Quite in demand

Representatives of the profession Designer are in high demand on the labor market. Despite the fact that universities produce a large number of specialists in this field, many companies and many enterprises require qualified Designers.

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Description of activities

The activities of a designer are quite diverse and have their own classification. This is the design of landscape, printing, internet, clothing, interior, dishes or human image. Therefore, how many spheres human activity, there are so many design specialists who are guided by it. Therefore, the scope for the implementation of creative ideas for a designer is unlimited.

Wage

average in Moscow:average in St. Petersburg:

The uniqueness of the profession

Quite common

Most of the respondents believe that the profession Designer cannot be called rare, in our country it is quite common. For several years, there has been a demand for representatives of the profession in the labor market Designer despite the fact that a lot of specialists graduate every year.

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What education is needed

Secondary vocational education (college, technical school)

In order to work by profession Designer, it is not necessary to have a higher professional education in the relevant specialty. For this profession, it is enough to have a high school diploma vocational education, received in a college or technical school, or, for example, it is enough to complete special courses.

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Labor responsibilities

Labor type

Exceptionally mental work

Profession Designer refers to professions of exclusively mental (creative or intellectual labor). In the process of work, the activity of sensory systems, attention, memory, activation of thinking and emotional sphere. Designers are distinguished by erudition, curiosity, rationality, analytical warehouse mind.

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Features of career growth

If a designer is a master of his craft, then he can easily realize his professional skills in any field of activity, despite the fact that this profession has little career opportunities. Often, the promotion of a specialist on the career ladder only implies an increase wages, primarily due to an increase in the volume of work performed. Which is also, in general, a good positive point. To achieve professional growth, a specialist can engage in self-education. For this, there are various master classes, as well as specialized literature.

Career opportunities

Minimum career opportunities

Based on the results of the survey, Designers have minimal career opportunities. It does not depend at all on the person himself, just a profession Designer does not have a career path.

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About the profession of designer

Most of us believe that everyone can be a designer - just think, rearrange the furniture in the apartment, choose wallpaper to match the color of the upholstery or curtains to match the color of the walls. However, design is a rather philosophical concept and means the union of the material with the spiritual, that is, complete harmony in everything.

History concept term design

The word design (design) appeared for the first time about four centuries ago and was used unambiguously throughout Europe. The Italian expression "designo intero" meant - born from an artist and inspired by God - the concept of creating a work of art. The Oxford Dictionary of 1588 gives a similar interpretation of the word: "A man-made plan or scheme for something to be realized, the first draft of a future work of art."

More recently, the specialty of a designer simply did not exist in our country. Architects-designers “stamped” typical residential areas, shops, schools, kindergartens and cinemas, which were not distinguished by a variety of either external or internal decoration.

Description of the profession:

Design - from the English "design" - a project, plan, drawing - a term denoting a variety of artistic and design activities, covering the creation of a subject environment (cars, things, interiors) and based on the principles of combining convenience, economy and beauty.

The designer is the creator of the surrounding world. He seeks to cover all spheres of life of a modern person, and he is interested not only in the appearance (shell) of objects, but also in their inner essence and functional relationship. V pure form the profession of a "generalist" designer does not exist as such. Even if you manage to find courses or a university specialty where they will teach everything at once, then in any case, for your further professional activity you will choose one, maximum two specializations.

There are about 10 areas of design and the same number of specializations in each of them. We will look at the most popular areas of modern design.
Industrial design is subdivided into the design of tools, household appliances, furniture, transport design, and even design of mechanisms.

Graphic design is a wide field of work not only for the designers themselves, but also for artists and decorators, who at one time relied on the study of the latest technologies, and not on the centuries-old experience of world art culture. Today they are on a horse, as can be judged by the level of salaries and the development of the very sphere of graphic design, which includes printing, web design, TM design (trademarks and signs) and other types of visual design using computer graphics.

One of the most promising areas of modern design is 3D design (it has emerged from graphic design into a separate direction). The most promising areas of "volumetric" computer design today, in which you can already work and earn money, are 3D animation, 3D presentations and interior design (layouts). Many experts consider this area to be the most promising, since it is closely connected with the multi-media sphere, which is developing by leaps and bounds. The “conveyor” for the production of 4D and 5D products is just around the corner.

Landscaping includes the work of a specialist both on a computer and directly on the ground. The main areas of activity where the knowledge of landscape designers is in demand and changes are the creation of artificial and living ones, as well as the reconstruction of destroyed landscapes, decorative dendrology, greening of the environment and living quarters, floristry.
Architectural design has more to do with the job of the architectural engineer than the job of the designer. The qualification of an architect requires more knowledge than is given by training in the specialty "Architectural design". Therefore, when choosing the profession of an architectural designer, you should evaluate your strengths as an engineer. If you are not sure of yourself, you will have to take refresher courses or unlearn again, but this time as an architect.

The designer of clothes, shoes and accessories is an employee of the fashion industry. An extremely demanded specialty, however, many specialists are faced with the fact that it is very difficult, and sometimes almost impossible, to find a top job in this field. You can make good money, but the brand owner will most likely get the glory.

A designer is one of the most demanded professions.

In what areas do designers not work: interior design, clothing, cars, gardens and much more! Designers work in a wide variety of fields where conventional design skills may be less pronounced. In what areas do designers not work: car designers, set designers, fashion designers, jewelry designers, game designers, graphic designers, industrial designers, interior designers, landscape designers, system designers and web designers. »Household appliances and cars, clothes and footwear, skyscrapers and cottages, etc. And they do it taking into account the tastes of the customer, fashion and convenience.

“Designers are creative people who feel nature, dynamics, light,” says Professor Andrei Efimov, head of the design department of one of the universities. - Applicants first hand over drawing and drawing, and only then general education subjects. "

But you shouldn't take the work of a designer as a process of coming up with things or objects. The lion's share of his work is the creation of diagrams, drawings, projects that serve as a staging post between an idea and its implementation. For this, those who have discovered in themselves the desire to become a designer, and it can come at any age, go to special training courses or receive an appropriate education, the course of which will necessarily include the study of drawing and special programs that will be useful to a future specialist.

A designer is a broad definition that characterizes a person who designs a variety of things. Design means creation, and being a designer means being a creative person in a specific field. Typically, the word "designer" refers to someone who draws or uses other visually perceivable images to organize their work. Designers are usually responsible for creating a model that will explain step by step the entire process of creating an item, including the concept of how the product will be used and from what, how and how much it will be made.

Personal qualities:

To master the profession, you need: a combination of technical and artistic talent in a person, practical intelligence, developed visual-figurative thinking, rich imagination, good aesthetic taste, a sense of style, developed color perception and an accurate spatial eye. Perseverance, perseverance, strss-resistance, accuracy, the ability to long-term painstaking work, self-criticism, sociability, high efficiency are required. You will also need the ability to feel and understand your contemporaries, take into account their needs, preferences, national characteristics, age, financial situation.

Education (What you need to know?):

Good knowledge of humanities, aesthetics, skills in graphics and painting, technical knowledge of the field where this specialist works.

At the center of events

However, the coveted diploma of a designer is only the beginning of a career. After graduating from the institute and independently choosing the profession you are interested in (after all, there is practically no distribution now), it is best to start working right away. And even if at first you will not receive a lot of money, the main thing is the accumulation of experience. Try, say, with friends who are engaged in design. There are no such? Make contacts at the institute, at exhibitions, in salons.

As a rule, designers take some time staff position in companies or enterprises, but, if they have talent and skills that are quoted in a particular area, they often begin to work for themselves as soon as possible. On the other hand, industrial designers cannot exist in isolation from their production, and since their work is highly valued, they can work in one place until retirement, and, in special cases, even not have the right to consult outside the enterprise.

Start with a small amount of work. Acting as if in the role of an apprentice. The final result, called the author's work, must be photographed with the prior consent of the customer. And then show your future clients - they say, this is just the beginning! Not ready for independent work yet?

Get a job in a private or public company. Just do not "drop out" of the professional environment, because everything changes very quickly in the market of design services.

Place of work and career:

At home, in the office, in the field of printing and printing, on the Internet, at work. Own agency.

Both director and creator

Even the most brilliant specialist alone will not be able to equip an apartment, cottage or office. He needs a variety of contacts, acquaintances with professionals in related fields. This is followed by something without which further design of the project is not possible. This is a careful and sensible measurement of the proposed premises. The designer should not just rewrite the dimensions of the walls, he should write out all the vertical dimensions, estimate the amount of daylight in the premises, check the sewer and ventilation ducts, measure the height of the openings and window sills, all these parameters will come in handy during further work.

In addition, the designer must know where to buy this or that building material. And of course, it is the designer who must negotiate with clients - wealthy people and often capricious. During the first meetings, the designer must understand and "figure out" all the requirements and wishes of the customer, draw up a plan for further work and explain to the customer which of his wishes can come true and which are not desirable to fulfill.

Figuratively speaking, a designer is at the same time an actor, director, psychologist to some extent and director of his own "theater", which sometimes resembles the theater of the absurd. But at the same time you need to find more time for creativity!

He is the creator of the world around us. This is due to the fact that design is present in all spheres of life of a modern person. There are several areas in this area, which also have their own specializations. Design professions are very diverse.

The activities of an industrial designer are divided into the following categories: design of household appliances, furniture, Vehicle, tools, mechanisms, tools, machines and much more.

Depending on the chosen direction, a person is engaged in the selection of visual characteristics and the development of the appearance and configuration of the product.

An interior designer deals with the decoration of buildings and premises. He creates a unique style that fills the house, apartment or office with a certain energy and aura.

The use of various accessories and design elements add personality to any room. An interior designer has a creative mind. It harmoniously combines a variety of decor items and maintains color and semantic stylistics while working on a project.

Design elements are used in their profession by marketers, PR managers and employees of advertising agencies. Business plans, ceremonies, programs require design. Their appearance plays a huge role during implementation and often the success of the event directly depends on it. Therefore, in this area, design elements are often used to implement various projects.

Graphic designers have a wide range of activities. Artists and designers work in the printing industry, art and periodical publishing houses, they are engaged in design trade marks.

They develop and design projects using graphic programs on a computer. In addition, they use graphics to create layouts of various items, select the best option for their design, taking into account the wishes of the customer.

Computer design has become a separate area of ​​graphic design. Specialists of this profile are working on the creation of a volumetric computer image, 3D animation and presentations. Their services are used during filming and design of films, animation and computer games.

A landscape designer is engaged in the design, reconstruction and creation of artificial and living plantations, plots, parks and gardens. He uses his knowledge and applies it in practice in landscaping the territory.

Creates various compositions from plants and is engaged in floristry. He selects plants, taking into account their compatibility and the conditions in which they will grow. Also, a specialist in this profile is also engaged in landscaping premises.

Architectural design is a major part of the architectural engineer's job. it creative profession, requiring an artistic approach and abstract thinking. It takes a lot of work and knowledge to develop architecture projects. Any work begins with a sketch, but in order to realize all your ideas and ideas, an architect-engineer needs to involve many more different specialists.

The main difference between design and what laymen understand by it is this: design does not end with appearance. Find out all the features of the profession: where to get training, how and where to get a job, features of the work process, demand in the labor market and much more.

Demand

Payability

Competition

Entry barrier

Perspectives

A designer is a serious, complex and endlessly interesting profession.

Consumer designs

The main difference between design and what laymen understand by it is this: design does not end with appearance. Let's take the face of a person: behind it is a complex organism with thoughts and feelings. So looking at the result of design work, the layman sees only a picture, the designer - a ton of work behind it.

What does a designer do?

The designer constructs. It constructs the world for the user - comfortable and attractive. He knows what is well designed and what is bad. Someone needs to decide this. Imagine that this someone looks at the blueprints of a spaceship, touches the wires, sits in chairs, puts on spacesuits, breathes oxygen - and puts his signature: “Verified. Approved. Everything is good, convenient and safe. " This person thinks like a designer. The main task of a professional is to transform into the one to whom the design is addressed and decide what is good for him and what is bad.

Everyone expects beauty, style, lightness, energy from a designer - meaning by this the picture drawn by the consumer on the TV package. But what does a packaging designer actually do? He makes a tool for storing goods. In fact, any design item is a tool. If the tool is useless, then the design has not even been run through here. The box for storing goods should be beautiful and eye-catching; be convenient for storage in a warehouse, in a store, at home; comfortable to carry; it should have readable and convenient designations for quick search in the warehouse and in the catalog. Will the packaging be lightweight? Will it take up a lot of space for transportation in a container from the other side of the world? Can you save money on this? Will it get wet if you carry it in the rain? How does it feel to put the goods in it, take it out, fold it again? How much material will it take to make it? How expensive, environmentally friendly and technologically advanced is this material? How attractive is he? Maybe it will be an innovative polymer or cardboard, without images and inscriptions? Is it laborious to manufacture packaging from such a material? How much time and money will it take? Is this packaging recyclable?

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The designer answers himself to a million questions, makes a lot of decisions, foresees everything. If he thinks only about beauty, he will not do a good thing - and this is what he does: a designer creates good things. Many things. Every day. He decides: how will people get to work tomorrow? Will the patient be saved? Will Apple sell billions of its new laptop? Will everyone know in the morning that the clock has been changed? Isn't it time to modify traffic lights to save dozens of lives at a treacherous intersection? Or maybe your toaster will tell you the news tomorrow and remind you to take an umbrella?

I will repeat myself and am ready to repeat myself a hundred times: design is not art, not a picture, not an appearance. The designer creates a solid structure, frame. Each next job is a new challenge, interesting and challenging.

The solution to this problem is your responsibility. You can invite an illustrator, photographer, programmer or psychologist to help, or you can do everything yourself. You can make a book cover incredibly attractive or revolutionary comfortable, you can reinvent the dollar bike or make it an unexpected shape - but you have to make the cover and you have to make the bike. Whether you use your mathematical mind or your senses and taste is up to you.

Industrial and graphic design

Industrial, or industrial design (industrial design) is one of the most interesting areas in the profession. Create a new thing - your own - and release it all over the world; to make it cheap, durable, economical, environmentally friendly, beautiful and as convenient as possible - these are the tasks of the industrial designer. A car, a vacuum cleaner and even a paper clip, that is, industrial products - this is the business of an industrial designer's life.

The work of a graphic designer is sometimes more boring, but varied. And in it, unlike industrial design, an animated person can more easily prove himself - observing simple technical rules, he will get complete freedom of action. The graphic designer creates a ton of things: packaging, print and online ads, logos and branding, websites, magazines and books, CD and DVD covers, navigation systems (signposts) and infographics (diagrams and graphics), presentations and promotional brochures , newspapers, even computer game interfaces. What a graphic designer does not do: he does not draw (there are illustrators for this), does not write slogans and press releases (this is a copywriter's task), does not deal with business plans and sales (this is the manager's prerogative), does not repair and maintain computers ( system administrators reign here), does not make films (operators and directors do this), does not program sites (web makers are responsible for this), does not place ads (there are advertising managers for this). All these skills are useful and sometimes applied at the will of the designer, if it is beneficial to him in a particular case. However, they have no right to impose them on him.

A designer doesn't draw - should a designer be able to draw at all? I will answer the question with a question: does a doctor need to know anatomy? Design exists in visual categories, the ability to draw is the only way to understand from the inside the processes of creating a visual space. We are not talking about high artistic skill: the designer is only partly an artist. Drawing skills are just this part. The courage of the self-taught is not enough here, however, the art school will not help much. A college degree or private lessons will give you a much higher quality drawing, thereby bringing you closer to understanding your future work. The practice of drawing will develop a sense of form, light, color, proportions, composition - as well as instill skills in working with the material and will contribute to the education of artistic taste. Drawing skills will come in handy to varying degrees in different areas of graphic design; as for industrial and technical, clothing and interior design, illustration, photography, 3D graphics and visualization - the skills of a draftsman are needed directly. Design is not a drawing, for artists there are academies of arts, but handicraft skills should not be written off as junk: Japanese, Poles, Iranians - all manual labor designers are held in high esteem. The drawing itself is just a tool among others; you can choose it, or you can not choose it. The main thing is not to put it in front of the essence of the design task.

Orders and money

The superficial attitude to the specialty and the Russian "designer himself", which is widespread among the customers, knocks down the prices. Therefore, companies often hire self-taught inept people who create $ 100 “masterpieces”. The same ones that we see on signs, in magazines, in packaging, in advertisements - everywhere. After all, someone did it all. Someone who considers themselves to be a designer. Low qualifications are not uncommon. To become a designer, it is not enough just to study at a university or just to have work experience. You need to work, study at a university, study outside the university on your own (there are plenty of websites and books around) and, along the way, love design, and not everyone does such feats. So this work in Russia is estimated in proportion to the general level of professionalism - not high.

Despite the fact that pseudo-specialists are content with $ 100 orders, and customers are satisfied with the $ 100 work received, there are also European-level prices, and they are accepted among real specialists in the field of design. Prices in a good studio start, for example, from 1500 euros for a logo. Eating is easier, eating harder; a corporate identity for a medium-sized company can cost both 10 and 20 thousand euros; You won't surprise anyone with a website for several tens of thousands of conventional units. The amount of an order from well-known freelance designers can greatly exceed these values. However, you must be aware that this money is not allocated for "beautiful something" or even "nothing": good design requires a lot of work, both mental and manual, a lot of time and the work of a number of specialists. Professional marketers, copywriters, photographers, illustrators, technical designers, programmers, flashers, technologists, 3D designers and visualizers, psychologists are involved in serious work ... “All in one” does not happen here: a designer quickly finds his own narrow specialization, adheres to it; because of his specialization, he is also appreciated.

However, there is no inappropriate work either - there is an unprofessional approach to business.

For a professional, any order arouses interest and gambling excitement, the solution of a new unusual task spurs, long-term monotonous work trains the will and strengthens the skills.

For everyone, of course, there are topics that he will never tackle, but I cannot imagine a designer who, as ill luck would have it, only religious sects, political parties and pirates (religion, politics, crime are a standard set of taboo for a designer).

The professional environment is ambiguous. Quite often people in design think more about themselves than about their work - and produce mediocre design, thereby leaving Russia in the backyard of the world. But not everything is so hopeless. You just need to keep in mind that there will be another obstacle that needs to be overcome; there will be resistance, there will be windmills - and there will be Everest to climb. We are strong and brave. We are young. Finding a large order is a very real task. Serious business customers are well aware of the importance of a professional solution to a design problem, since it is design that directly affects the quality of the product, its relevance, the efficiency of production and transportation, and in general - the profit.

Who is the profession suitable for?

Only a strong and purposeful person will become a designer, a passive and a whiner will be screwed up. Don't believe in cheap education; don't think that drawing is everything. There will be a lot of boring disciplines. You also don't need to assume that you will be taught everything: the professionalism of a designer is, first of all, artistic taste, visual experience, erudition, the ability to think in an original way, soberly and quickly. You cannot teach anything about it - you can only learn. But the university will provide you with quite fertile soil for independent growth.

Where to study

Design education takes diligence. Design does not tolerate lazy people. Don't confuse design with illustration or photography, advertising or website building. Do not choose a design if you have not enrolled in another specialty: you will quickly get tired.

A number of universities, not necessarily well-known, offer a high level of design education. It's easy to tell them apart. It is enough to come to exhibitions (they are always in the halls of universities) - and ask yourself: is what I see is applicable in life? The works are always exhibited, made in the spirit of this educational institution and from this point of view are considered the best in the university. They are applicable in life - great. But if, apart from beauty and shocking, you did not notice anything, no matter how much you looked, then in this university they teach beauty and shocking, and not design at all.

As a rule, people with a modest character, specialists of a narrow profile, who, in addition to teaching, have design practice (I have met such people only three times), teach design well.

Alas, teachers sometimes misunderstand the essence of design, and as a result, in the catalogs "Best Packaging Design" or "Best Industrial Design" we see a lot of works, albeit pretty ones, but, alas, not adapted in the best way for the consumer, and therefore unprofessional. Their exact diagnosis is a product of the university. Creative, famous, charismatic people are detrimental to the design learning process. They do not always know how to teach. Even having taste and having his own point of view, the star will consider it beneath his dignity to argue in its favor - and will simply try to impose it on you by incessantly evaluating your work. The grades will set the student on the wrong path - and after graduation, the skills acquired there will be inapplicable, and such a graduate will not be able to work at all.

How training is structured

Preparatory courses begin a year before admission. Even if you don't know how to draw, taking a year's lessons with a teacher can give you a shoe. It is also worthwhile to be like the preparatory courses of this university in composition. Firstly, they will get used to you, and secondly, the fundamental course of the so-called propaedeutics is often shifted during this period of study time. In general, composition (which will be called both propaedeutics, and introduction to the specialty, and design, and construction, and engineering) is the main subject. It is in these classes that you will receive 60% of all useful information - if you are lucky with a teacher.

After the preparatory courses, you will have to pass exams. Traditionally, this is a creative competition (average score from exams in drawing, painting and composition), Russian (USE) and foreign languages ​​- orally. Examinations in creative disciplines are held as follows: a simple staging is put on a drawing and painting and it is given to create a masterpiece for two days, 4 hours for each subject. (Other options - 6 hours, the exam is taken in 1 day, etc.) The composition is submitted in one day. It is impossible to take away the work: everything is sealed together with the audience.

In the first two courses, interesting subjects and assignments will involve you in your specialty, and the teachers will try to instill in you their taste and dispel the stereotypical thinking that has stagnated in us throughout our studies at school. Getting a person to think in an original way is quite difficult, and when you are asked to portray hatred or longing using only black cardboard squares that cannot be torn or painted, you really think about the fact that until now you have thought flatly. Throughout your studies, you will be taught computer technology - you have to master a completely new set of programs - as well as drawing, painting and, of course, composition.

In your third year, you will study special subjects more deeply. Things will go more interesting and fun: contests, exhibitions, the first work will begin ... True, one should not forget that all art specialties require a six-year education, and design is no exception. You can limit yourself to a bachelor's degree, but then you will waste four years of your life worthlessly: it is simply impossible to fit a voluminous program in such a short time.

The diploma is defended in the sixth year. The task is to reproduce a large project - for example, to develop a design for a glossy magazine. According to the general opinion of all graduate students, only if you start work in advance, you can do everything on time. Start it in your fifth year and you will be rewarded: your classmates will lag behind simply because they started when they should - in the sixth year - and did not have time to give their projects a final shine.

If you successfully defend your diploma, you will probably receive a recommendation to continue your education in this or other educational institutions - and this will allow you to study even, maybe, for free. Some universities send for internships abroad, others give directions to work ... However, remember that not a diploma, but acquired knowledge will work for you, and only willpower and hard work will help you save the world.