A graphic designer, also called a Graphic Artist is someone who creates visual graphics to covey a message. 

Today the job role of a graphic designer has become generalized as many roles have evolved into niche areas of design, each with their own job titles.

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A Graphic Designer as we've described below is someone working in the print industry, designing various items for print media.

Graphic Designer - Job Description:
A Graphic designer draws on their creative ability to design things such as Product labeling and packaging, corporate design elements such as logos, and business identities, business cards, brochures and flyers, and really anything else that can be printed.

With the western world being heavily consumer based, advertising and marketing is something that is constantly being changed and graphic designers will always be in demand to create new and exciting concepts to sell a product, define a business or express a message.  

To pursue a career as a graphic designer, it helps to have an interest in Fine Art, Drawing, Illustration, Sales & Marketing and Computers.

Graphic Designer - Employment Start:
An entry-level graphic designer role is often advertised as "Junior Designer", or "Prepress Junior". In this job you will be given the easiest design tasks in the office such as business cards, flyers and logos. As your skills increase further creative freedom will be granted and you may find yourself designing catalogs and brochures.

Graphic Designer - Training & Education:
An associate's degree, if not a bachelor's degree from a leading design school is an advantage when seeking employment and is a wise course to take too. A degree course will allow you to initially explore many forms of graphic design, not just print media, and as you progress you may choose to pursue a different design career or focus on educating yourself about a particular type of print media that you like.

When choosing a Graphic Design course, choose a reputable design school. A good Graphic Design course should give you a good grounding in Fine Art, Computer Aided Design, Printing Production Techniques, Lettering & Typography, Communications, Marketing & Research as well as teaching you how to use industry standard programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Quark Express & Adobe Illustrator. 

It is possible to gain an entry level position with out a degree if you portfolio speaks loudly enough and you have sufficient skills in related computer software. For this reason, some people often do a short course at a community college to learn Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator or similar and then prepare a portfolio. You can also find free tutorials online to teach yourself how to use these programs.

Also consider subscribing to one of the many Design Industry Magazines or websites as these will keep you up to date with changing trends and will also help to inspire you when you need direction as well as keep you on the cutting edge.

Graphic Designer - Job Interview:
Prepare a portfolio of work that matches the job role you are applying for, with only very few other examples of other graphic design work. Preferably you should present your portfolio using a professional carry case or similar, choose a quality one with a zip lock, rather than a cheap loose leaf folder. When compiling your portfolio keep it to a maximum of about 12 pieces so it can be easily flicked through in the interview. Choose to include your absolute best work only even if that means your portfolio only has five items. 

A good portfolio tip is to leave your potential employer with a simple sheet of paper with a miniature print out of various works from your portfolio, this should be kept to one page only. Staple to the top of it your Artist Business Card and leave it behind after the interview, or alternatively attach it with your resume when applying for an interview.