Advertising Design
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Advertising design is a specialized career, often grouped under graphic design, that focuses on the creation of aesthetically attractive designs and materials that will be used for the promotion and characterization of a project or company operating with a business mindset. Advertising designers are counted on to demonstrate traits that are expected from similar creative artists; like all graphic design artists, ad designers devise, assess, and produce visual answers to questions and problems of a communicative nature. Font, color, illustration, animation, photography, and myriad other creative materials are at their fingertips toward the end of developing aesthetically appealing and effective advertisements.
Beginning with a serious analysis of their client's needs, designers spend significant time gleaning inspiration from their own research, in addition to working with clients and art directors. They then prepare sketches or mocks of prospective designs. After receiving feedback, ad designers work to perfect their product. The pressure to please and produce a quality product typifies the profession.
As a first step on the road toward becoming an ad designer, students should earn a bachelor's degree in a field such as commercial and advertising design. Conversely, they can choose to study another relevant subject, such as art history for their undergraduate years, and subsequently head to professional design school for to enhance their visual creative skill set. Significant and regular continued study of the latest in computer graphics design is an absolute must, even after graduating, in order to either stay marketable. Advertising designers are included in the overall boom anticipated for employment opportunities in the graphic design industry; a liberal arts education is a strong step toward capitalizing on this growth.
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Career Specializations
Being that advertising design is already incredibly specialized in and of itself, no deeper concenetrations have yet emerged. However, some ad designers might tout a talent for a particular type of ad, such as cartoons, photography, or work based in text.
Degree Levels
- Associate Degree: 2-3 years to complete
- Certificate: 2-3 years to complete
- Bachelor's Degree: 4 years to complete
- Bachelor of Fine Arts: 4-5 years to complete
- Master's Degree: 2 years to complete
- Master of Fine Arts: 2-3 years to complete
Education & Certification Requirements
The large majority of entry-level jobs in advertising design demand a minimum of a bachelor's degree. A liberal arts education is actually an advantage in this field, helping those who attain it to secure employment after the education concludes. Students, therefore, have two choices: Concentrate on a classic choice for graphic and ad design, such as commercial and advertising art or graphic design itself, or major in another field less related to design, such as psychology, sociology, or art history. It is advised that these students also learn a foreign language and double-major or minor in business or marketing to heighten their marketability. Those who choose the latter can proceed to a professional school or master's program, bachelor's degree diploma in tow, to shore up their specific skills in graphic and ad design. No matter where graphic design training takes place in an academic career, classes to be expected include studio art, printing techniques, and some web design.
The Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees provide more practical and hands-on graphics design training for students. After graduating, students should work on a portfolio to demonstrate their best work. Advancement in the world of ad design is possible after one to three years of quality work, to such lucrative positions as chief designer or creative director. Alternatively, business-minded and highly experienced designers can explore entrepreneurship and open their own firms. (BLS)
Salary Information
Most ad designers who are at the outset of their careers can expect to receive around $26,000, and up to $35,000, for their first years on a job. As they progress in the industry, this figure increases to approximately $45,000. The top level of advertisement designers take home close to $75,000 annually. Designers with a great reputation can escalate to such positions as senior designers, who take home $60,000 in a year. Solo designers and those under a contract earn a few thousand less than this figure. Design directors (creative heads of design) and those ad designers who have ownership in a firm scrape at $100,000 per annum in their salaries. (BLS)
Job Outlook
The employment of graphic designers, including ad designers, will increase by 12 percent, by the year 2018. Ad designers who can demonstrate a good amount of experience with web-based means of creating work are quite marketable and can take advantage of this boom in jobs. In addition, employers are increasingly valuing those designers who feature a liberal arts education, majoring in a field other than just graphic design. Interesting academic backgrounds, coupled with knowledge of a foreign language and training in business and marketing frequently results in hiring sucess for ad designers. (BLS)
Related Careers
Web design is very closely linked to the sphere of advertising design. Once a specialty of graphic designers, web design has emerged as a significant branch of the design world all its own. Web designers are enlisted to create professional website designs for clients, employing the same creative and technical skill set owned by their ad design peers.
