| By
Alan Drummer
A picture is worth a thousand words. That's why people will
pay you, if you're a designer, to create a picture or design
an image they need; a picture that grabs others, attracts
them, entertains them, informs them, serves them, and makes
them want to buy. If you have that talent, you could be one
of over a half-million designers who are working in America,
according to the U.S. Dept. of Labor. These designers are
creating photos, logos, publications, dresses, products, interiors,
websites and more. You can survey the possibilities here as
you explore schools offering art & design programs.
The Design Salary Spectrum
A talent for visualization can take you down dozens of exciting
art & design career paths. Starting out by enrolling for
the right design program can help to ensure that your talents
translate into a good salary.
But competition is keen, says the U.S. Dept. of Labor, even
though it projects 10-20% growth in the design field by 2012.
Many people want these jobs, because they're creatively satisfying.
A great portfolio, hard work and top training are key to your
success.
How much can you make? Median salaries range from $19,000
for floral designers up to $52,000 for commercial and industrial
designers, according to the Dept. of Labor. Senior designers
in a number of fields can make $100,000 and up. Here are some
specialties to consider:
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Digital
Media Arts College - At DMAC, we get designers because
we are designers. We offer aspiring digital artists an
innovative environment; advanced labs, tools, and technology;
and instructors with Sega, Disney, and Sony ImageWorks
experience. Launch your digital arts career with DMAC.
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Advertising & Design
A career in advertising can bring fast rewards to people,
perhaps like you, who are good brainstormers. One of them
is Kirk Citron, an award-winning copywriter who started his
own ad agency in San Francisco and quickly built it into one
of the largest independent ad agencies on the west coast.
He's evaluated and hired over a hundred art/design school
graduates over the years. He has this to say to you,
I can't stress enough how important the portfolio is. You
need to get beyond the stack of easily 50 applicants there
are for every art director job. In school, focus on ideas
more than on how polished the ideas are in execution. There
are many slick portfolios coming out of art schools. But what
I look for is a quality of mind or thinking – something
I haven't seen before.
Schools offering Advertising Degrees include:
Schools offering Design Degrees that are beneficial for this
field include:
Computer Aided Design
CAD (computer aided design) tools make it easier to visualize
a final product faster. They help designers quickly explore
alternative ideas, cutting costs and saving time to market.
CAD tools can also pass automated instructions to machines
that will make the product. Good CAD skills could open many
doors for you.
Schools offering CAD programs include:
Computer Animation
Headlines were made when the Walt Disney Company closed its
last hand animation studios in Florida, because 3-D computer
animation seems destined to take over. But what's important
in learning 3-D animation? Christian Lowe, a New York-based
freelance 3-D animator shares this with you,
"People think the computer does everything, but you
need to know how to draw and have traditional art skills.
People think they have to understand the computer tools, but
really you have to understand the art aspect of animation."
Schools offering Computer Animation programs include:
Digital Media Production & Design
There is a growing demand for professionals who can produce,
edit, and manipulate a range of multimedia content. Whether
your interests lie in Graphic Design, Animation, Film &
Video Production, or Visual Journalism, there are degree programs
available that can give you the competitive edge in the workplace.
Schools offering Digital Media & Production Design programs
include:
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Capella
University - Look up. Move forward. Aim high. At
Capella University, you will earn your degree from an
accredited university that delivers the challenge and
energy of a traditional classroom, but gives you the flexibility
to fit education into your life.
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Photography
About 130,000 photographers worked in the U.S. in 2002, the
Labor Department reported. More than half are self-employed.
The job attracts many people and competition is challenging.
Median annual earnings of salaried photographers were about
$24,000. The highest 10 percent earned more than $50,000.
Could this be the career for you?
Schools offering Photography programs include:
Fashion Design
Many well-known fashion designers whose creations adorn all
our favorite glamour magazines started in Fashion Design school.
This could be you! Competition for the approximately 15,000
fashion design jobs in the United States is very strong, reports
the Dept. of Labor. Computers are increasing designer productivity
and reducing the number of openings. But offshore assembly
sites are increasing their output and fashions are changing
faster. Those trends are boosting the need for designs. Median
annual earnings for fashion designers were about $51,000 in
2002, the Dept. of Labor reported. The highest 10 percent
earned more than $105,000. Maybe this is the field for you?
Schools offering Fasion Design programs include:
Interior Design
Making waves in American TV these days, Interior Design is
a hot field for you to be in.
Demand for interior designers, according to Labor Department
statistics, is rising. The American Society of Interior Designers
(ASID) says there are about 34,000 interior designers in the
U.S. working at about 10,000 firms. Fledgling designers, according
to ASID, earn about $30,000 a year. Mid-level designers make
$35,000 to $40,000, and the elite receive $75,000 to $100,000
or more.
Schools offering Interior Design programs include:
Graphic Design
There are about 212,000 jobs in graphic design, says the Labor
Department, covering everything from publications to movie
graphics. You might like to consider that median annual earnings
in this category were about $37,000 in 2002. The highest 10
percent earned more than $64,000.
Schools offering Graphic Design programs include:
Web Design & Development
After weathering the dot-com bust, web usage and e-commerce
are growing steadily – as is demand for web designers.
You could be a web designer of the future.
Jo Beck, co-founder of Beck Interactive, a full-service digital
media agency in California's Silicon Valley, has hired art
school graduates and says this to you.
"Make sure your portfolio is solid in illustration,
design and color use. We can teach anyone web development
skills. But fundamental design ability and core art skills
are harder to find. Flash is really hot and I love to see
Flash examples."
Schools offering Web Design & Development programs include:
About
the author:
Alan
Drummer is a writer and video producer based in Burlingame,
California. His specialties include outdoor adventure, travel,
technology and advertising and marketing. Trained as an ad
agency copywriter, his TV spots for children won some of the
industry's major awards. His features have appeared in publications
such as Better Homes and Gardens, the Los Angeles Times and
San Francisco Magazine, and online at playstation.com.
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