Careers in art and design are increasing with each passing day giving youngsters more and more opportunities to explore. Are you interested in this field?
Here is a quick question to help you find out: Exotic locales, lush green fields, a large canvas, a palette of colours, and a brush: Does this excite you?
For long, art and design were treated as a hobby that students are asked to take up during summer or in the evenings to add a new lease to a mundane day. However, in today, this field is seen as a thriving industry and a great career option with a lot of college and universities offering courses on Art and Design.
- Automotive Design, Industrial Design & Graphic Design
These are often called as the ABCs of Design.
Industrial design is a combo of art and engineering – a good mix of math and physics. This course is still gaining momentum in the Indian subcontinent and the future seems promising.
Ergonomics plays a key role in the design. We look at furniture as an object, a piece of art but it’s actually healthcare.
Also Read: A Know How Into The Career In Arts and Design
- Inquisitiveness, Curiosity, and In-depth Analysis
There is nothing like a good or a bad design. Some work and some don’t.
Have you ever thought about why the pencil is made of a certain length and diameter, or what is the best way to tweak the design to offer a firm grip?
Pro-tip: Get a summer internship to understand the nuances of design
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Industrial design
If you have a notion that products can be more than just perform a function, then the amazing world of product design is for you.
- Utilitarian Function
- Emotional Attitude
- Cultural Style
- Belief System
When a product connects with us on these 3 levels, we identify with it.
Here are a few quick ways to help you understand if this is the right career for you:
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It becomes an extension of our own identity
When you imagine an artist or designer at work, you might be picturing somebody indulging in their hobby and not actually doing any ‘work’. The artist is sitting on a mountainside and painting a charming landscape scene, catapulting multi-colored paint at a huge canvas, or placing a stuffed shark into a glass box. The designer is swinging from side-to-side on their office chair and playing around on Photoshop, cropping images and trying to decide which color to use for the background of a website: ‘muddy asphalt’ or ‘cigarette ash grey’?
Sure, working in art and design might seem like a wonderfully idyllic and relaxed career choice, where you have pure freedom to let your creative juices flow. However, it may shock you to know that these career paths are actually a lot of hard work. So before you make the decision to get into art and design, you should firstly discover what it’s really all about.
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Is there a difference between the art industry and the design industry?
Careers in art and design are all about creating things which are appealing to the eye. Art is traditionally created purely for its aesthetic appeal, whilst design tends to revolve around a product. You might even say that design is art with a function. The two different areas may seem worlds apart in their purpose, but the people who work in art and design all tend to have an essential mix of practical skills and a talent for using colour, space, shape, and form.
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What essential skills should every artist or designer have?
Admittedly, to work as an artist or designer you are going to need to be creative and have a keen eye for detail. In order to be successful, you must have the ability to know what looks good, to come up with new ideas and to develop your own style. However, creative flair alone is not enough. Working independently as a freelancer is common, but many artists and designers don’t actually work entirely on their own. When working as part of an art collective or for a design agency, it is essential to develop excellent communication and teamwork skills.
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How do I become a professional artist or designer?
Often, the career path of an artist or designer does not take a particularly conventional route. Freelance work allows you to be in charge of your own business. However, this means you can’t rely on your artistic talent alone. You will need to be business savvy, diligent and excellent at networking in order to receive those essential commissions for your work, without which you won’t be able to survive. There may be periods of time when it’s hard to get any work at all, so you may need to do some stopgap jobs whilst you pursue your true passion on the side. It’s going to be an exciting and creative career, but it’s also going to be pretty challenging.
- What are the different branches of the art and design industries?
Careers in art and design can span many different specialist areas, from painting, photography and prop design to architecture, animation and art conservation.
Fine artists, photographers, and designer craftspeople (e.g. jewellery designers, silversmiths, and woodworkers) tend to take a more freelance career route in pursuing their passion, developing their own individual style, exhibiting and finally selling their work.
Graphic designers can work in many different areas, from book design in the publishing industry to web design and packaging design for the food and drink industry. Some graphic designers work on a freelance basis, whilst many works for niche design agencies or as part of in-house departments of larger companies. You will often be working on various projects simultaneously. Life as a graphic designer can, therefore, be exceedingly fast-paced and challenging as well as highly exciting.
The worlds of engineering and construction would also be nowhere without the technical design skills of architects, product designers, spatial designers, landscape designers, and mechanical design engineers.
Art and design careers don’t necessarily involve drawing, painting, sculpture or computer-based work. Indeed, fashion design and art conservation are other rewarding artistic careers that you might not have considered.
Whatever area of art and design you want to get into, you can definitely turn your career into an absolute masterpiece. You just need to know how!
Raja Satish
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Raja Satishhttps://www.univariety.com/blog/author/raja-satish/
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Raja Satishhttps://www.univariety.com/blog/author/raja-satish/
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Raja Satishhttps://www.univariety.com/blog/author/raja-satish/
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Raja Satishhttps://www.univariety.com/blog/author/raja-satish/
