Graphic design
Whether you work for a consultancy or set up your own studio, a degree in graphic design opens the door to a range of creative and design-related careers
Job options
Jobs directly related to your degree include:
- Advertising art director
- Animator
- Artworker
- Concept artist
- Exhibition designer
- Graphic designer
- Illustrator
- Multimedia specialist
- UX designer
- Web designer
Jobs where your degree would be useful include:
- Creative director
- Digital marketer
- Fine artist
- Game artist
- Interior and spatial designer
- Medical illustrator
- Multimedia programmer
- Printmaker
- Production designer, theatre/television/film
- Urban designer
Remember that many employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.
Work experience
Courses often provide the opportunity to work on projects with leading businesses and organisations. There may also be opportunities to take an optional work placement in industry either in the UK or abroad.
Only a few graduates get jobs because of their final degree shows. Internships are a more common way of finding work and building up experience, making contacts and increasing your portfolio. The design world is small and design agencies will recommend interns who have impressed them or contact them if there are suitable opportunities in the future.
Participating in relevant competitions and exhibitions can help you to promote yourself and build up your network of contacts. You could also try and get some work experience, for example working for a film production company, television channel or even a magazine, or do some voluntary work on local projects.
Search for placements and find out more about work experience and internships.
Typical employers
The main employers of graphic designers include:
- advertising firms
- branding specialists
- creative agencies
- design consultancies and studios
- media and communication companies
- packaging companies
- PR agencies
- publishing companies.
In the public sector, you could also find employment with museums, local authorities, schools, colleges and hospitals. Other options include working in fashion, television and film or architecture.
Some graduates set up their own studios and work as exhibiting artists or work as part of a studio collective.
Find information on employers in creative arts and design, marketing, advertising and PR, media and internet and other job sectors.
Skills for your CV
A graphic design degree develops your understanding of effective graphic communication and enables you to build a good mix of subject-specific and technical skills, including:
- animation
- branding
- coding
- computer software skills, e.g. Adobe Creative Cloud software and web design skills
- digital media
- editorial design
- drawing and sketching
- information design
- interactive design
- moving image
- photography
- printmaking
- typography
- UX/UI.
You also develop a range of other skills that are sought after by many employers. These include:
- creativity - to effectively convey ideas or meanings
- communication skills - essential for discussing projects with the client and colleagues
- teamwork - collaborating on a range of creative projects with other graphic design students and those from other creative courses, e.g. filmmakers, fine artists, dancers, philosophers and writers
- time management - managing and delivering a range of creative projects to deadline
- analytical skills
- research skills
- ability to work independently - to produce your own work and build your portfolio
- presentation skills - for presenting your work or a project to others
- entrepreneurial skills - your portfolio must be creative, imaginative and commercial.
Further study
Studying for a Masters degree can help you develop in-depth knowledge of a specialist topic, for example typography or illustration. Alternatively, it can enable you to move into a related area such as multimedia, landscape architecture or interior design.
Some Masters courses offer the opportunity to collaborate - either formally or informally - with other creatives, such as fine artists or film makers. Studying at postgraduate level also gives you time to enhance your portfolio and build a bigger network of contacts in the industry.
Short, further education courses are another good option for learning new technical skills or honing existing ones.
For more information on further study and to find a course that interests you, see Masters degrees and search for postgraduate courses in graphic design.
What do graphic design graduates do?
Physical scientists (17%), civil engineers (14%), environment professionals (14%), engineering professionals (3%) and business associate professionals (3%) are all among the top five jobs held by geology graduates.
| Destination | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Employed | 81.6 |
| Further study | 1.6 |
| Working and studying | 5.3 |
| Unemployed | 5.8 |
| Other | 5.6 |
| Type of work | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Arts, design and media | 53.9 |
| Retail, catering and customer service | 13.1 |
| Marketing, PR and sales | 8.6 |
| Clerical, secretarial and administrative | 4.8 |
| Other | 19.6 |
Find out what other art and design graduates are doing 15 months after finishing their degrees in What do graduates do?
Graduate Outcomes survey data from HESA.