What Does a Designer Do?
The professional opinion of a designer is very highly valued throughout the designing process, so the trust to guide individuals successfully through the building of projects is always needed. Common tasks. Keeping current with industry trends to stay ahead of competitors. Creating consistently excellent visual content for the end user. Designing and producing logos, banners, letterheads, cards, etc. The list goes on, as most all designers have many more duties than just their “design skills”.
Designers also have to think on their feet, and use many different technologies in their day-to-day duties. There are many different types of designer tools that are used by web designers, both offline and online. As a whole, these tools are categorized into 5 broad areas: Client Relationship Management, Usability Testing, Graphic Design, Adobe Flash, and interactivity and web based application development. Of these, many different types of designer tools can be found in each area, and it’s the job of the designer to know how to use them well.
Some designers are primarily concerned with the creation of “appearance” in websites. These are the designers that create the layout, the graphics, and the appearance of the website. Web designers range from the very simple to the very complex. Everything from using multiple frames, adding animation, implementing privacy protection and security measures, and so much more is involved in the creation of an “appearance” website. Web designers need to be extremely organized, detail-oriented, creative, and versatile!
Some of the more basic computer tasks includes creating “behavior” or the “user experience” in a website. A “behavior” designer creates and implements the interfaces to the programs in a website. Most user interface designers combine HTML and user experience designers in order to achieve a smooth user experience. They will usually start with a general idea and then expand on it. They will use many different media and graphics in their designs and will often create a website around certain areas of the design, like colors and pictures. Most graphic designers range from those that create logos and business cards to those that create 3D images and animations.
Some of the more popular designers ranges from advertising to interior design. Those that create advertisements will generally have the responsibility of designing the layouts and the images for the advertisements and then the text for copy. Sometimes, they may also have to create the websites that go with the advertisements. The advertising designer will have to understand how to target their audience, what types of advertisements work best, what demographic areas need the most attention, and so much more. Social media is another popular designer tool.
When you’re looking for a designer, you should be very careful who you choose, because you won’t necessarily know who you’re getting. So, when you’re looking on job boards, don’t just see designers who are in your area. Find out what kind of portfolio they have and ask questions. If you can find reviews of their work or talk to their clients, that’s even better. This will not only ensure that you get an honest opinion, but you’ll also be able to find out what kind of social media outlets they’re involved with.
