LukeT

Firstly I'd like to apologise if this topic is in the wrong place, but I thought this would be the best place for it!
Does anyone have a job in graphic design or know anybody that is into graphic design with cars as I have a very deep interest in it and would like to take it up as a career.
The only problem is I do not know where to start, I am currently finishing my gcses and am going on to do maths, further maths, sciences and ict at a level...
Could anyone get me some information about getting jobs or training in graphic design?

Thanks in advance, Nathan

nilrem

might be worth taking a design a-level or course! then you are in the general direction, at the moment it looks like you are going into an engineering science profession!

matts1

Hi mate, I am a graphic designer by trade.

Graphic design and automotive design are very different things. You will need to design what area you need to go into.

If design, then I would suggest you attend a National diploma course at college. If you have 4 or more GCSE grades C and above then you can get straight onto a National Diploma B-tec course.

If not, then you will need to do a foundation B-tec course which will be one year, then onto the National 2 year.

This will give you a more directed education into design and make you more focused.

After this you will be 18-19 years old and will be looking at uni - or into the workplace.

Now, me personally I would get into the work place, the wages will be poor but you will gain masses of usable experience. Don't stay in one place to long, get ayear done in one place and look to move up into a better position and a better firm (or the same if it is a good one).

I was nervous about going to college but it was the best move i ever made, firstly you are treated like an adult and act more mature due to this.

Secondly, you are surrounded by people with the same interest as you and will make new mates etc.

thirdly, there are far better levels of equipment and specialist teaching at college.

Graphic design is a good line of work, but is not very glamerous, lots of mundain jobs with a few nice tasty bits of design thrown in.

One thing I would say is that many of the uni students i come across have very little or no knowledge of print and this is a huge part of design and it is this knowledge that can be a huge plus in an interview.

If you have any questions let me know.

Matt

LukeT

Thanks very much for the advice mate, as I already have sorted out my A levels, I am going to get them done then either go to college or try to find an apprenticeship or something similar to develop my skills...
Thansk again fro the advice,

Nathan

matts1

No worries, one thing i would say is spash out on an apple mac and get playing around with Photoshop, Illustrater, Quark and InDesign.

If you are confident in the use of these then you will be in a good position when applying for work.

On the print side of thinhs, I can give you some tips on what is vital to know - pretty easy stuff, should you be asked in an interview. Many first jobs in design are laying up simple adverts etc, and as a firm gets confident with you they should push you onto larger projects.

So if you do get a MAC (99%of design studio's will ask for MAC over PC), create some designs, leaflets, posters, flyers, adverts etc, you can use sites like www.istock.com and use nice images to create spanking designs.

This will help you build up a portfolio to take to interviews, and aslo get your speed up on creating something from start to finish and also give you a good understanding of what does and doesn't work.

It can aslo help to show you have an understanding of how to take a brief for example:

Looking at who it is aimed at in terms of age/sex/race (target audience) and also taking into consideration things like poor eyesight if it is aimed at the elderly.

What the key message is

How the publicity will be used (no good having tiny text on a bus advert etc)

How easily the style created will run across different typres of media (Web, Leaflets, sides of taxi's etc)

If you set a range of projects for yourself and are able to explain reasons behind your design, again, it gives you the upper hand in interviews.

I am useless at web building, but again, if you can get to grips with that, then doors will open as your are then 2 in one and are more useable to an employer.

Good luck with it all.

Matt

LukeT

Thanks mate I will bear all of that in mind, have been trying to get myself a Mac recently, will perhaps look more into it now as I have finished my exams
Really appreciate this help mate!

Nathan

Jimbo.

hello mate, car design was originally the route i was trying to take while i was doin my A-levels, but from what i've researched and looked into, its very hard to get into.

You can do specific automotive design courses at uni, one of the ones i looked at was a 6 year course in coventry. I decided that another 6 years of studying would make me go insane, so i've now gone down the product design route taking a computer aided product design course at uni. Its only a 3 year course and is all coursework based on projects so i don't even have any exams!

I've just finished my 1st year and you get taught how to use photoshop, illustrator, flash, and autodesk inventor for producing outcomes for the different projects. I even used some images of cars that i'd photoshopped in one of the projects so you can still make the link with that side of things.

I would definetly recommend you look into this kind of course and it isn't even hard to get into! I took Technology, Geography and Art at A-level and got all D's! now im doin this course, i've been gettin A-C's in my projects so its lookin quite good! Another thing you've got to remember is these days, employers especially in the design industry are really looking for degrees and well produced portfolio's, so getting a degree under your belt would put you in a very good position.

Hope this helps anywany

Also, here are a few screen shots of my skateboard project (exactly to scale), considering i'd only been using Autodesk for 5 weeks i think it turned out quite well!

matts1

Degree's are a good thing in certain areas of design, but in Graphic design I would say experience will out weigh qualifications.

As i mentioned before, there is a huge amount that a degree will not teach you, and you would learn far more from being in a workplace (if you push yourself), and be a far better bet for an employer.

We recently took a new guy on, in the interviews we held, our main concern was looking at the type of work they had produced, what experience they had in the work place and what creative skills they had.

The guy we chose studied at college, was working for a travel company creating the holiday brochures, but had done work for local bands and independed clothing shops - his designs for the later were very stylised, creative and original, whilst he ability to lay up complex jobs quickly gave him a huge advantage over anyone else we saw and we picked him.

Having said that, a job in the automotive design market would deffinately require you to have a degree before being considered and would be a huge benefit.

My adivce is spend the next two years while you are doing A-Levels researchhing and speaking to people within the trades to see what they would be lookinbg for, asking to go on visits and sittin sessions to get a feel for what the job would be like.

I do think it is a shame your not going to college, this would have been a great experience, and really matured you whilst focusing you into a trade.

I knew no one when i went to college, firswt couple of days were a little strange, but soon got to know everyone and loved it from then on.

Coventry University has a great reputation, I would imagine it is very difficult to get into so I would start maing contact now if it is a possible option, ask to go and see the university anfd meets some of the tutors, this can only do you good to be know to them and to have shown a really interest in them so early on.

Speak to them and see what you need to do to secure a place, they should be more than willing to offer help and advice.

Matt

Jimbo.

I agree, you can't beat experience. As for the graphic design side of things, i found that degrees wasn't neceserally what employers were after. I mean, i would rather employ someone with no degree who had been working hard at a company for a few years and met the deadlines required etc.... rather than somone who's got a degree and thinks they are all that but can't do a full weeks work in the real world to save their life!

I do think though that a degree is a great thing to fall back on and doing it straight after college is probably the best way because i certainly know i wouldn't want to be doing one when i'm 30 0r 40years old

LukeT

Thanks again guys, all of this is a great help, I am hoping to continue with design as a hobby, then if I eventually take a course at Uni, I should have a good basis and good design skills, as well as a decent portfolio by the end of the course...

Nathan