Click here for a list of design schools.
Click here for a list of GDC national scholarships.

What can I do as a Graphic Designer?

You can use your talent and skills on projects, such as:

 

Corporate and organizational reports, booklets, and brochures that deliver important information in a concise format. Well designed advertisements can generate strong awareness from consumers.

 

 

Packaging, promotions and advertisements. Innovative packaging and image design are important aspects of successful marketing.

 

 

Corporate trademarks and logos that give a unique and distinctive visual identity to a company. Businesses require designers to produce functional yet creative stationery items to enhance their professional image.

 

 

Magazines, books, calendars, and other publications require designers with an excellent knowledge of typographic design.

 

 

Exhibit and installation designs that require a thorough understanding of three-dimensional design. And promotional posters have traditionally been the most visible work of graphic designers.

 

 

Web sites and new media. New technologies require creative interface designers with a working knowledge of psychology, colour and typography.

 

Careers in Graphic Design

Although graphic design has had an enormous and significant impact on Canadian culture, it remains a mystery to many, even though its practitioners create the images that educate and inspire the public each day.

Designers have put a face to our government, institutions, products and services. Cereal boxes, postage stamps, transit shelter advertising, textbook, magazine and newspaper design, video graphics, websites, logos even shopping bags, are all produced by trained professional designers.

Graphic designers thrive on solving visual problems, meeting tight deadlines, and producing original designs within budgets and technology. It is a portable international profession.

If you're considering a career in graphic design, there are many colleges and universities offering programs leading to diplomas or degrees. Contact the schools listed at the top of this page, and consider those that meet your expectations of course content, reputation, facilities, and faculty.

Once you're working in this dynamic industry, you can look forward to working with other talented and creative people, such as photographers, illustrators, writers, marketing strategists, typographers, printers, programmers and fabricators.

You will be a part of the huge communications industry, one of Canada’s largest employers. Whether you work with a small studio or large institutional design department, you'll find exciting design challenges, rewarding financial benefits, and unlimited career options as a graphic designer.

The Design Process

Graphic designers are visual problem solvers. They thrive on the challenge of working with clients to produce effective visual communications.

The design process usually begins with a meeting to discuss the client's needs. After the goals,  budget, market, scheduling and content have been determined, the designer draws up a contract detailing expectations about the work, process, deadlines and payment.

The designer then heads to the drawing board to analyze the problem. Research is an important component of the design process. Designers look at the client's competition, they look through journals, they get a feel for the market and existing solutions. They may go back to the client several times for more information and to seek clarification.

“Roughs” - sketches of initial ideas - are produced, which begin to illustrate the solution. These initial drawings show how type and visuals will work in the layout, and are further developed into formal presentations. They may be pencil “linears” or full colour layouts using sophisticated computer techniques.

Once a client approves the initial design, the designer assembles the final artwork for production. If photographs or illustrations are required, they must be produced. If a website is needed, the designer must establish the structure and functionality. Then the designer must manage the production, which may require working with photographers, artists, web designers, or even other designers.

In the past, graphic design normally meant printing onto paper, but today it encompasses signage and architectural graphics, vehicle identification, clothing graphics, web and multimedia, and computer, film or video imagery.

This design process usually takes days or weeks on smaller projects, but larger projects can take months or even years. To be able to produce creative work on schedule, regardless of turnaround time, is one of the most important skills of a professional graphic designer.

Graphic Design Education

Graphic design grew out of the competitive marketplace accompanying the industrial revolution and quickly became a specialty within the commercial art industry. Art schools were revised to train students in typography, illustration, and two- or three-dimensional design. (For example, in 1919, the legendary Bauhaus School in Weimar, Germany, was one of the first to combine fine and applied arts in visual design courses. This visionary curriculum is still used today by many schools.)

Canadian graphic design education closely follows the Bauhaus format, making the craft and tradition of the 19th century relevant in the 21st century. Courses in graphic design are usually only offered to students who already have a solid foundation in drawing colour theory, design and art history. Some schools use their first year to deliver these basics.

What does a good graphic design curriculum include? Look for a three- or four-year program with a strong emphasis on graphic design and typography, complemented by courses in photography, illustration and three-dimensional design. Make sure that graphic design courses offer practical studio skills as well as theory.

Computer technology, media and software training courses will be useful after you have mastered the design basics. Courses in small business management, marketing and communications are a necessity to prepare you for the realities of the current design business market.

The Society of Graphic Designers of Canada

Founded in 1956, the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC) is the national association of professional graphic designers. GDC members uphold the GDC Code of Ethics, which was adopted to guide our members in their professional practice in a way that ensures a fair balance between the needs of our Members, our clients, our profession and our world. The GDC is also a member and subscribes to the recognized and accepted standards of ethics, professional code of conduct and responsibility of the International Council of Graphic Design Associations (Icograda).

Represented by regional chapters across the country, GDC members subscribe to the objectives, goals and conduct of the Society and are concerned with design as away of life and livelihood. In private practice or salaried employment, in education or public service, members form a network of professional assistance that is a resource to business, industry and the public.

Student membership in the GDC is available to individuals attending a post-secondary program of studies in graphic design. Click here for more information on GDC membership.

To contact the chapter nearest you click here.
You can also  e-mail the GDC Secretariat.

Want more information on Canada’s design Industry?
Visit the HRDC web site.