By Guest Blogger, Margaret D. Helthaler
The Art Institute of Pittsburgh – Online Division
Assistant Online Program Director, Graphic Design & Digital Design

Graphic designers demonstrate their abilities to potential clients and/or employers in a portfolio of their work. Below are seven important skills that are essential to developing a competitive portfolio. Depending on your area of work, some skills may need to be emphasized more than others.

Design Skills: Using basic design elements (point, line, plane, shape, form, space and texture) and basic design concepts (balance, unity, variety, rhythm, harmony, contrast, dominance, movement, and appropriateness) to organize and convey information. Interactive Designers must demonstrate strong design skills.

Art Skills: Employing color-theory, drawing, painting and/or mixed media techniques to create imagery. Illustrative Information Designers must demonstrate strong art skills.

Conceptual Skills: Developing and analyzing ideas by conducting research and brainstorming to ensure design outcomes meet specific objectives. Persuasive Advertising and Brand Designers and Packaging Designers must demonstrate strong conceptual skills.

Process Skills: Following the standard steps involved to bring a project to completion (research, sketches, digital comps, final solution – as well as professional communication with clients and/or employers).

Typography Skills: Selecting, combining and setting type effectively in design layouts under a variety of conditions. Publication Designers must demonstrate strong typography skills.

Software Skills: Adjusting and creating raster graphics/images in Adobe Photoshop, vector graphics/images in Adobe Illustrator and combining elements with type in page layout in Adobe InDesign. Production Artists must demonstrate strong software skills.

Production Skills: Understanding the requirements and considerations for various output options for print (including packaging) and screen. Production Artists must demonstrate strong production skills.

Learn more about the Graphic Design programs at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh – Online Division today.

By Mary Clare (MC), Graphic Design Faculty, from the Ai Connections Graphic Design group, as part of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh – Online Division’s Interview Series.

Photo Credit: Ed Zimkus

In the final installment of this three-part interview, Rob Janoff ("RJ”) —creator of the iconic Apple logo—offers advice for new designers, explores the impact of the Internet and digital media on design and advertising, and talks about his latest work.

MC: What advice would you give an up and coming designer?

RJ: As I see it, there are three giant areas for an up and coming designer to know well: the technical side, the social media side, and the creative side. Entry-level graphic designers today are expected to be full service. By that I mean a designer must be able to complete a project from idea generation to final publication or posting. A full working knowledge of the Adobe Creative Suite—InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator—plus Dreamweaver, Flash and Acrobat is a must (and that’s just for 2D work).

The social media component cannot be ignored in today’s world of graphic design, even if the up and comer is not looking for a job with a firm. Freelance and independent graphic designers especially need to promote themselves using the dozens of portfolio sites plus the basic social media: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube just to name a few. All the tech and social networking media mean nothing without a strong creative quotient. Learning how to get new ideas, which are nothing more than old ideas put together in new ways, is probably the most important and the most overlooked area of a designer’s education. Ideation or coming up with new ideas is not blue skying; there is a real method to it. Check out Google or any search engine for all the books and articles written on the subject. That’s called research. When you are racking your brain for a new, creative idea for your assignment, the best thing to do is to become an expert on a subject. That starts with research!

MC: Has the Internet and digital media changed the face of advertising and design?

RJ: Has it ever! Not only is it a whole new ballgame in terms of creating graphics digitally versus by hand, but you can’t even get a job as a graphic designer these days without using digital media. A cave painting is to illustration on paper as yesterday’s handmade graphics on paper is to digital graphics of today.

MC: What are you working on currently?

RJ: I just finished designing a logo for a start-up software firm in Spain. I am currently working on a branding upgrade package for an older established firm involved in the finishing of large landmark construction projects in London. I am negotiating on a re-branding assignment with a large corporation in Egypt.

MC: How would a newly graduated design student get their foot in the door at an advertising agency or design studio? So much of the application process has become digital. How do you feel about someone walking in the door with their resume?

RJ: Fa-ged-about-it! The days of walking in cold to a design studio with your resume looking for a job are over. Sometimes you can get a foot in the door by interning and working for free part-time. Now all of the application process is digital. A new-be in graphics today has to be very persistent and very diligent about monitoring the positions available online. You need to know what’s going on in your particular graphics specialty and learn who’s doing what graphically in your area that you could connect with. The last thing I might suggest if you want to become the next “world’s best graphic designer” is LinkedIn. It seems like the must-haves for finding design work these days are having an online portfolio website, having your profile on LinkedIn, and network, network, network.

For more information on Rob and his remarkable career, visit www.robjanoff.com.

By Mary Clare (MC), Graphic Design Faculty, from the Ai Connections Graphic Design group, as part of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh – Online Division’s Interview Series.

Photo Credit: Ed Zimkus

In part two of this three-part interview, Rob Janoff (“RJ”)—creator of the iconic Apple logo—provides insight into how he ended up in Graphic Design, where he finds inspiration, and his thoughts on successful logos and brands. (Check out part one of the interview here.)

MC: What are the most important elements of a successful logo?

RJ: Most experts agree that the world’s best logos have similar characteristics. First, does the logo quickly communicate the purpose and personality of the client? Simplicity and appropriateness for how the logo is going to be used would be next on my list for the most important elements. Is the logo memorable and own-able? Does the image work as well in one color as in full color? Will the design work on a billboard or a postage stamp? These are the questions the best brand artists and marketing experts look for.

MC: You initially majored in Industrial Design. Do you see any crossover from that discipline to Graphic Design?

RJ: I originally went to a school that offered a degree in Industrial Design for two reasons. First, I really liked typography and packaging from years of going to the grocery store with my mother as a kid. I thought the place for graphics and packaging was a school that had an Industrial Design Department. Second, since my dad was footing the bill for college, he wanted me to have a degree that lead to a “real job,” not a “play job” like art or design. After a semester in the I.D. Department, I realized there wasn’t much typography going on there. The Art Department across campus was where the real graphic design action was happening.

MC: Where do you find creative inspiration?

RJ: When I have a design project percolating in my brain, I find inspiration in all the usual places – print, video, online, etc. But I find that solutions to many projects just come to me when I’m in another frame of mind—driving, showering, listening to music, any altered state of consciousness. Once I get the graphic problem in my head, I try to forget about it and focus on something else. Then, BAM!! A graphic solution or idea pops in when I least expect it.

MC: What are the elements of good, consistent branding?

RJ: The best brand artists know that branding is more than a logo. It’s the whole feeling or vibe that a company consistently communicates. It’s the color palette, a store interior, the lines of products they sell, the advertising, what the staff or associates wear, their attitude, their packaging, their charity and community involvement, the company’s website and online presence, the store or product’s mission statement, and on and on. Everything a firm or retailer or manufacturer does is branding. I think one of the best examples of good branding is Target.

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Stay tuned for the final installment of our interview with the man behind the famous Apple logo!

By Mary Clare, Graphic Design Faculty, from the Ai Connections Graphic Design group, as part of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh – Online Division’s Interview Series.

Rob Janoff (“RJ”) is a well known designer, most famous for creating the iconic Apple logo. In part one of this three-part interview series, Mary Clare, Graphic Design Instructor at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh – Online Division (“MC”), and Janoff discuss the story behind the logo.

Photo Credit: Ed Zimkus

MC: Obviously, you’re very well known for creating the Apple logo in 1977 which has evolved over the years. I’ve read that the initial logo, with the colorful stripes, was created to represent the colors on the monitor. Is that correct? Any other reasons behind it?

RJ: The color monitor and the fact that you could plug the computer into your home color TV were some of Apple’s selling points and big points of difference. The rainbow stripes were also included to make the computer more kid-friendly for the home and to appeal to kids at school for use as a learning tool.

Both Steve and I also came from the same “hippy” culture so the rainbows, the Beatles, etc. are all responsible in a way for the colorful stripes.

MC: During initial meetings to discuss the design of this logo, was the concept of using an apple your idea or theirs? What does the bite represent?

RJ: Using an apple for the logo was my idea but it almost didn’t happen. The owner of the agency didn’t want a “bug”—just a name for a logo—I didn’t agree. I couldn’t let the chance of putting an image of an apple on a computer pass me by. Assignments like that don’t come around very often. The initial meeting was just a casual chat with my creative director where he filled me in on the new client and what they were making. The bite was my way of making the symbol look more like an apple and not some other piece of fruit. When I found out that byte was a computer term that did it. The lore of the apple and the bite is way more interesting than reality, but I talk more about the history of the Apple logo at robjanoff.com.

MC: Have you created all subsequent versions of the logo? How do you feel about the current logo compared to the original?

RJ: I haven’t had anything to do with the logo or anything else about Apple since the early 80’s. I think all the versions of the logos have been beautiful and perfectly appropriate for when they were introduced. The logo has gone through many changes, but I still feel a very special connection whenever I see it. When I hear someone say that the Apple logo is the most loved and the best logo out there, it makes me feel proud.

MC: Are there any stories behind the logo that you haven’t shared? I’m sure you’ve been interviewed many times and asked countless questions about it.

RJ: I don’t think I’ve shared what it was like having the Apple logo become so popular. When I first designed the logo, it didn’t get that much attention. But as the company grew and especially after Steve returned, their devices became even more loved around the world. Along with that came the emails to me that said “thank you for designing the world’s best logo.” The personal stories and the thank you’s and connections that have come as a result of designing the Apple logo were things I never could have imagined when I first created it.

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Keep an eye on our blog for part two and three of the interview to be posted later this week, featuring Janoff talking about what makes a successful logo and his advice for up and coming designers!

Welcome to part 3 in our series looking at the future of some of the occupational fields related to our programs at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh – Online Division. Today we’re going to take a look at some trends in outlooks in the field of Graphic Design.

There are few professions that touch so many areas as Graphic Design. Just look around you right now – it’s likely that something around you has been influenced by a graphic designer – from the page you’re reading this on, to the menu on the table at your local coffee shop.

As pervasive as Graphic Design is, it doesn’t mean that it is not being constantly transformed by technology. As the media world (advertising, publishing, entertainment, etc.) moves increasingly from print to electronic based mediums, the world of the Graphic Designer will certainly follow suit.

As far as the job market, many expect that this technological shift will actually create more opportunities for Graphic Designers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

"Employment of graphic designers is expected to grow 13 percent, as fast as the average for all occupations from 2008 to 2018, as demand for graphic design continues to increase from advertisers and computer design firms.

"Moreover, graphic designers with Web site design and animation experience will especially be needed as demand increases for design projects for interactive media—Web sites, mobile phones, and other technology. Demand for graphic designers also will increase as advertising firms create print and Web marketing and promotional materials for a growing number of products and services. Growth in Internet advertising, in particular, is expected to increase the number of designers. However, growth may be tempered by reduced demand in the print publishing, where many graphic designers are employed."

But what about the role of the Graphic Designer in the organizations of the future? Will their role within organizations change along with the changing face of technology? Roger Martin, the dean of the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, argues in an article published by AIGA, the professional association for design, that “designers, by their nature, can bring solutions to light that escape others”:

“I think in a knowledge intensive world where advancing knowledge is the key to value creation and the key to competitive advantage to organizations, this capacity of design thinking is absolutely critical to having organizations overcome the biggest block they have, which is a dependence on analytical thinking and a fear of intuitive thinking. It's the thing in-between.”

With these facts and thoughts in mind, the future of Graphic Design certainly seems like it’s going to be an interesting and exciting one. Would you like to learn more? You might want visit the AIGA website, the Bureau of Labor Statistics or explore one of the Graphic Design programs offered at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh – Online Division.

Stay tuned for part 4 of our series, a look at the future of Media and Game Art Design.