If you have always known one thing about yourself, it’s that your choice of career has to allow your creative side an outlet. Not only do you want to spend your time exploring your creative side, you want to be paid for being creative too. If you find yourself drawn to a career in graphics design, it certainly could answer all these requirements. The great thing about choosing graphics design as a career option is that if you wish to learn your skills entirely online, there are many professional degrees run by major universities that allow you to do exactly that. In the end, you’re likely to come out with a valuable degree, and great opportunities for jobs that can pay well. It could be tempting to look up the most popular choices in online graphics design courses and sign up right away; but before you put your money down for such a course, there are a few things you need to consider.
Learning a hands-on skill such as graphics design online, you do want to know that there are employment opportunities waiting for you on the other end. If you were learning at a regular college where you attended in person, you could be reasonably sure of having businesses looking in to employ graduates who they finish their courses. You want to make sure that your online school has contacts with companies in the area that will sign you up for an internship and even offer you employment opportunities. You’ll need to check your choice of school Googling around for the kind of placement success it’s had in the past. Make sure that you write to the college counselor to ask about their placement process. Since an online graphics design course does cost you quite a chunk in tuition, books and your time, you really owe it to yourself to really check out what you’re getting into.
The best schools offer more than one kind of graphics design degree. They will surely offer a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree to be certain; but for those who need introductory training, a certificate course or an associate course are also to be expected in some of the best schools. Of course, no degree of any level can do you any good if it isn’t an accredited one. As far as graphics design is concerned, the accrediting body is the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. Make sure that you check with your online institution of choice to learn if they do have accreditation for the course you have in mind. You’ll find plenty of resources that help you check out how legitimate and competent any institution is. Look in all the forums online to find out what everyone has to say about it. If other students love it, they are certainly not going to be quiet about it.
Graphic Design Learning Options
The creation of images and motion make up the focal point of the graphic design industry. The areas of work that students can enter are vast leaving them with several learning options. Colleges offer degree programs most prominently at the associate’s, bachelors, and master’s level within a variety of concentrated fields.
Students that enter a graphic design degree learn how to create visual images that can be used in a plethora of mediums. Degree programs at the undergraduate level teach students the fundamentals of the industry when it comes to using type, color, and photography to generate a graphic. General education studies center on 2-D and 3-D design, animation, digital imaging, color theory, visual composition, and illustration. Graduate degree programs explore advanced concepts. Students can expect to learn to develop graphic design for newspaper layouts, advertising campaigns, videogames, and websites. Professional work consists of creating animation for movie credits, magazines, book covers, promotional brochures, and more. Some standard courses include:
Typography
Students learn the structure, history, technology, and application of typography. The visualization of language is explored by looking at the functional and experimental areas of typography. The interaction of form and word meaning is also discussed.
Graphic Design Principles
This is a beginner’s course that examines visual communication and its application. Design methodology, problem solving, and visual meaning are all areas this type of course teaches.
Online graphic design course at both the undergraduate and graduate level can be completed with a concentration. Concentrated areas allow students to enter parts of the industry they have the most talent in or careers they want to work in. Areas can include advertising design, animation, motion graphic design, and website design.
An advertising design concentration prepares students to work in the industry by creating ads for companies and business. Study centers on the different visual mediums professionals use to not only create ads but also distribute them. Education works to mix the graphic design side and advertising side of the major together. Students can expect to learn about demographics and the latest industry computer software. Design skills in this field can be gained at the associate’s and bachelor’s degree level.
Students that want to work to create websites by building them from scratch can enter a degree program in website design. This concentration teaches students to work with the specific computer software that they will use to develop interactive websites and databases. Students learn by working through courses in web design, technology, and graphic design. Courses examine how to identify bad and good layout principles and incorporate the right industry techniques into a design.
Whether students work towards a general graphic design degree or decide to branch off into one of the sub categories education is essential. Students have plenty of options when it comes to deciding on what type of accredited degree they would like. Accreditation is provided by agencies like the national Association of Schools of Art and Design (nasad.arts-accredit.org) to programs that offer students the quality education they deserve. Colleges recommend students research various options before choosing a program. Educational study is waiting; begin the search for the right degree today.
