After school you will likely come in contact with people that don't quite understand what it is we do as Graphic Designers/ Illustrators. So here are a few tips, and explanations to help de-mystify the process. For more information, be sure to check out Promote, Negotiate, and Make Money: Essential Business Practices for Today's Creative Professional from the Graphic Artists Guild.
First off, Graphic artists are like superheroes. We have a lot of powers at our disposal. We use our artistic skills to help our clients effectively communicate a message, enhance a product, or promote and sell a product or service (or fight crime). That's a whole lot more than simply drawing a pretty picture.
Our creative process always starts with negotiating the terms with the client. We decide how to price the work based on the parameters determined in the initial negotiation with the buyer. (Usually, there are additional discussions about the terms of the project, which might include such parameters as schedule, credits, and usage.) These terms are always determined prior to signing an agreement and beginning the work.
Superheroes: A big happy family.
No one in the graphic arts business works in total isolation. Most projects that we work on require collaboration with other professionals in addition to clients and their representatives. A book designer, for example, may need to communicate with any of these professionals—an illustrator, photographer, writer, copyeditor, proofreader, printer, and even other graphic designers. A Web designer who is hired to create the aesthetic look of a Web site needs to collaborate with a coder and programmer to make the design functional. Even a self-employed artist who is hired to create the illustrations for a publication or an ad may need to work with an editor, art director, or marketing director.
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