Graphic Design Software

Back in the day, anyone who could freehand sketch and come up with original ideas was pretty much guaranteed a graphic design job if they wanted it. The technology was limited to printing, so art school graduates were the ones who got the graphic designer careers. It is amazing how much things have changed since then. Nowadays, it is all about knowing your way around the graphic design software. Almost every graphic designer I know is extremely computer literate, and the highest paid ones know how to program in flash and html as well. If you want to get anywhere, you had better learn the technological aspects of it.

There are many different options for graphic designers, but a few programs have really become industry standards. If you want to get into it, you have to be willing to shell out the dough. The free graphic design software is not usually top of the line. You have to use programs like Adobe Illustrator, and those programs cost money.

Not that they are not worth it. Every time I look at the new range of graphic design software, I am blown away. Only ten years ago, the serious software for graphic designers had to be run on special, high power workstations which cost a small fortune each. Nowadays, however, all that is over. Almost any graphics intensive application can be easily run on a home computer. Three dimensional rendering, light and shadow effects, and all of the other trappings of realism are within the range of anyone who wants to shell out a few hundred bucks for a good graphic design suite.

Of course, if you are just tinkering around, don't throw your money at graphic design software yet. There are plenty of free software trial versions available of all the most popular programs, so you can check out basically anything for free. It is not a bad idea to get a few different trial programs to start with even if you are a professional graphic designer.

Just because everyone else uses a certain program does not mean that it is the best choice for you. Only by seeing what the competition has to offer can you really make a decision about the best professional design software. And all of the tools are so much fun to play with that previewing programs is a treat more than a toy. Every time you look, someone has come out with a cool new effect.

I did not begin my graphic designer career in the usual way. I actually sort of stumbled in to it, if you want to know the truth. I was trained as a code monkey, you see. Although I have been an artist since I was very young, I always considered it more of a hobby than an occupation. That is why I ended up getting into computer science instead of graphic design school. I figured that I could use the coding to pay the bills and do the artistic stuff to unwind in my spare time.

One of my very first jobs, however, had some graphic design work involved in it. I later found out that a lot of graphic designer careers start that way, but at the time I did not realize it. As soon as I started to do the design work, however, I fell in love with it. I have always liked to program, but I quickly realized that a graphic designer career was my true calling.

Nowadays, if you want a graphic designer career it is important to go to school for it. Back then, however, I was lucky enough to just sort of stumble into it. One graphic design job sort of led to another, and soon enough I was doing about 85% design and only 15% coding. That seemed like the right proportion to me, so I stuck with it.

There are other ways to start a graphic designer career, of course. One of the most popular ones is to simply put your design work on the web. A lot of people do some demos to show their skills, put them up on a homepage, and try to network as much as possible. A lot of clients - particularly smaller businesses without the money to go through the big design firms - will hire freelance graphic designers even if they have not been tried yet.

It is not that hard to get your first break. In the mean time, of course, you need to do something else to make money. Once the calls start to come in, however, you can quit your day job and go full time. There are a lot of professional graphic designers out there, but there is also a lot of work. Stick with it and I guarantee that, sooner or later, you will make it work. It worked for me, and it will work for you too.