Graphic Design

By: Mika Havens

What Is Graphic
Design?

Graphic Design is the art of using design

elements to represent an idea.

12-3-08 Slide 2
What careers are available in Graphic Design?
vWeb Designer –
vcreate web pages

vFlash Designer -
vcreate interactive “movies” online.

vCover Art Designer –

vfocus on music related projects.
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CCov oveerr A rt De si gn e r
A rt
D e si g ne
rA job a Cover Art
Designer can do is
create the artwork
for album covers,
create posters for a
band, or design a
band t-shirt.

12-3-08 Slide 4
How to Become a Cover
Art Designer (as a UC

Ø You are encouraged to commit to a full-time

course load and be prepared to complete
graduation requirements in 2 years, attending
fall, winter and spring quarters. This program is
career specific and does not generally
transition into a bachelor’s degree.

12-3-08 Slide 5
Things to Know:
1. You need familiarity with graphic design
software programs and the basics of design.

3. You'll also need to learn how to communicate

properly with printers about colors, paper,
and other facets of your final design so that
the printing comes out as everyone
envisioned it.

5. You should be able to listen to music and

come up with a design that compliments it.
12-3-08 Slide 6
What To Do After
School.
Many designers who work on album cover,
work on a freelance basis and are hired on a
per-project basis. You may find you have to
start out designing a few album covers for free
to build up a portfolio of work.

12-3-08 Slide 7
What To Do After
School.
Not all designers are freelancers, however, and
some record labels have graphic designers on
staff to handle these responsibilities in-house.

12-3-08 Slide 8
How much money can a
Cover Art Designer make?
The exact pay varies wildly depending on the
kinds of labels and artist you work with, and as
you work, you'll get a feel for the going rate in
your sphere. You can charge different rates
depending on the amount of work involved.

12-3-08 Slide 9
How to get your work
out to the public.
You can meet a lot of people online (MySpace)
who may need you to make graphics/album
cover for them. Or you may meet people at
school. You need to be a polite and social
person. You must sound serious and social
enough to listen to their needs.

There are a lot of bands online who are willing

to pay people to make them artwork. Just ask!

Be
Social!
Learn Your Tools.
You need to learn the tools of Photoshop and
other computer programs that will help you
creating graphics. The more you learn what
the tools do, the better off you are.

12-3-08 Slide 11
What has helped me get
started.
To get some practice, I made a MySpace profile where I
promote local bands by making banners for them to put
on their site and to post on my site.

12-3-08 Slide 12
 Be Creative!
In order to succeed at this career, you need to
be creative and able to understand what the
musician wants. You need to be able to listen
to others, while creating something that is
yours.

12-3-08 Slide 13