Our five-pronged approach focuses on your individual strengths to develop your unique qualities towards making you an exemplary pi- designer.
Ashita Kulshreshtha
20/05/2021
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Communication design refers to audio-visual techniques to convey a message to the target audience and inspire them to take the desired action for building brand awareness, boosting sales or widening reach. The penetration of the Internet, the proliferation of social media platforms, and the emergence of various media have provided a fillip to the prospects in communication design. A KPMG-FICCI 2019 report estimates the Indian media and entertainment industry will be worth INR 3.07 trillion by FY 2024.
So, if you aspire to be a communication designer, this article will be a step-by-step guide to forging your career path.
FFor a career as a communication designer, it is recommended to start early to gain a competitive edge. A graduate degree in communication design after 10+2 is a gateway to a successful career in the discipline. A passion for designing is all that you need to get started, as most of the skills can be acquired and honed with time.
The basic eligibility for pursuing communication design is 10+2. Aspirants need to identify, shortlist and apply to select colleges based on their career options, budget, location, etc. Most colleges also require candidates to qualify for a design aptitude test. The entrance test judges aspirants' basic drawing skills, writing, critical reasoning and visualisation.
During the course, Communication designers will develop a strong foundation in imagery, colours, textures, fonts, graphics, and photography. A flair for creativity, sound visualisation and observation, teamwork and collaboration and good interpersonal skills are desirable personality traits to be developed while pursuing this communication design course. The evolving landscape provides a fillip to new-age skills such as design thinking, experiential marketing, problem-solving, emotional intelligence, etc These skills will help you gain a competitive edge.
Communication design includes diverse job roles such as graphic design, UI/UX design, animation, motion graphics, video programming and much more. Students need to shortlist and identify a suitable career option according to their interests and aptitude. Aspirants should have an action plan to build professional competency along with diverse skill sets. Participating in co-curricular and extracurricular activities is desirable to broaden horizons. Novices should be open to taking up freelance roles. Their resume must highlight the practical component such as master classes, project work, and internships attended as part of the course. One should be adept in new-age tools such as Proofhub, UserForge, ProofSnap, etc.
Tracking the branding, advertising and media landscape and following social media and digital platforms helps aspirants stay abreast of the latest trends and developments.
It is imperative to have an impressive portfolio for a bright career in communication design. Relevant work experience and the skillset, roles and achievements showcase a prospective candidate's proficiency to his employers. Attending industry events, undertaking personal projects in your areas of interest and volunteering adds brownie points to the profile. In the age of digitisation, one may choose to experiment with newer resume formats such as infographic resumes, video resumes, AI-optimised resumes and much more. Showcasing your portfolio on Behance, Pinterest increases the visibility of your profile to prospective employers.
A communication design courses opens a plethora of avenues, and one can choose his career path based on his interests and aptitude. Communication designers work for advertising consultancies, graphic designing studios, gaming companies, media houses, video and film production houses, mobile technology firms, etc.
Some career options available in communication design are:-
Graphic Design: The job of a graphic designer involves working with images and text to design visually appealing products such as brochure, newsletter, logo and advertisements. He/She must take a brief from the client and collaborate with his team to achieve the desired outcome.
UI/UX Design: The mandate of a UI/UX designer is to design a digital product to enhance user experience. A UX designer should have good research skills, technical and testing capabilities. In contrast, a UI designer focuses more on aesthetics and layout by ensuring consistency between text and visual elements. Both roles require proficiency in software tools, good analytical and sound observation skills.
Animation Design: Animation involves putting together a series of drawings to create an illusion of movement passing through a projector. An animator creates a storyboard and models and works in sync with sound engineers to ensure consistency between visuals and sound.
Explore: Career in Animation
Video Programming: This field deals with video as the primary form of communication. A video programmer takes care of every aspect of the video conceptualisation, scripting, direction, editing, cinematography, etc.
Type Designing: This job profile involves designing various typefaces and their font families. Type designing is an integral component for enhancing the aesthetic appeal and ensuring the effectiveness of message delivery to the target audience.
Communication design professionals with an entrepreneurial bent may also choose to start their consultancy or work independently in a freelance capacity. Since entrepreneurship requires excellent project management skills, it is advisable to gain a considerable amount of work experience in startups and acquire a broad skill set before establishing your venture.
Communication design is an ever-evolving discipline. The leveraging of emerging technologies such as Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, monetisation through customer micro-segmentation and vernacularisation are the recent trends in this field. The acceleration of digitisation, demand for hedonistic attributes for products and superior customer experience as brands' priorities imply that communication design is here to stay. So, don't think twice and take a plunge into an exciting and creative world of communication design.
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