Graphic design : Career areas

A graphics qualification can give you the chance to go straight into permanent full-time work in graphics or related areas such as web design/development or illustration. However, these opportunities are highly competitive and are often not widely advertised and some employers want graduates to have a mix of skills across several design disciplines.

A 2011 HESA survey of 2010 graduates show that, six months after graduation, over 70% of graphic design graduates were in full or part-time employment, and of these over three-quarters were working in the area of art and design. A common way of finding work is to do a placement or internship to build up experience, make contacts and add to your portfolio. Participating in relevant competitions can help you to promote yourself and build up your contacts.

Where are the jobs?

In the private sector you can work with design consultancies, studios, advertising agencies, PR agencies and publishers. In the public sector, jobs exist in museums, local authorities, schools, colleges and hospitals.

For an insight into employment areas see:

• Advertising, marketing and PR - creates positive images of organisations, individuals and products. It delivers imaginative solutions that generate sales or a growth of interest for the clients’ businesses.
• Media - designs, produces and sells visual entertainment. It covers films, animation, TV programmes, videos, web and pod casts, DVDs and an ever growing range of interactive media.
• Publishing - concerned with the evolution, design, production and marketing of books, magazines, newspapers and journals. Many publishers are moving into interactive products and online works of fiction, non-fiction and information.

See industry insights for further information on possibilities in other employment areas.

Statistics are collected every year to show what HE students do immediately after graduation. These can be a useful guide but, in reality, because the data is collected within six months of graduation, many graduates are travelling, waiting to start a course, paying off debts, getting work experience or still deciding what they want to do. For further information about some of the areas of employment commonly entered by graduates of any degree discipline, check out What Do Graduates Do?  and your degree...what next?