Graphic Design 2.1: Professional Practice, Project 1: ‘Graphic Design Now’ Research points
Research Task 1: New Directions
Graphic designers produce work ranging from simple business cards and letterheads, to colossal multimedia projects such as way-finding systems for transportation hubs, or brands and visual Identities for global corporations. Now is the time to begin to gain insights for yourself into the many opportunities that the skills and theories that you are learning will open up for you. As you learn more about the many different branches of the profession, you will begin to think about the choices you might make, and specialist skills that you might want to develop for the future. To help you get started, have a look at the Useful websites below. Once you have done, identify and reflect on three areas of graphic design practice that are of particular interest to you. Write this down and upload to your learning log.
I began this research task by looking through the useful websites material and making notes on the information and videos.
The types of graphic design jobs section and the videos of designers discussing what it’s like to be a designer helped me to identify 3 areas of design that interest me.
‘Apparel designers create individual, original images for clothing. They develop a strong understanding of the brand's customers and ensure their graphics are cohesive and visually appealing to that audience. They design a variety of images and font-based graphics for screen printing on shirts, pocket-placed embroidery designs and any other special designs or prints the brand's design executives want to include on their clothing.’
Apparel design definitely interests me, I have always enjoyed clothing graphics, imagery and different typography on t-shirts etc. I also enjoy screen-printing and apparel design is a great combination of both design and physical printing/art.
An example of an apparel designer is Virgil Abloh, who was a multidisciplinary designer, best known for being the creative director at Louis Vuitton and founding clothing brand ‘Off-White’. These graphic style T-shirts were something that made me initially interested in fashion and design when I was a teenager.
I came across a few interesting articles discussing the roles of a fashion graphic designer and their impacts, an example is here and another here.
Typical roles/skills of an apparel graphic designer/designer within fashion:
Concepts/ideas
Brand identity/voice
Trends and knowledge of fashion/design history
Thorough knowledge of Adobe Suite
‘The art director is a high-level executive responsible for guiding the design team's vision, directing the theme concept and overseeing all design artwork. They can work in a variety of industries including fashion, print publications, advertising, television or consumer products. The director may be employed by the brand or as a freelancer, but they always work closely with the client or sales team to understand their artistic vision.’
Being an art director and having oversight over a whole project, for example a magazine/newspaper would be very interesting. The idea of having full creative control over something like a print publication sounds really fun. The art director for The Guardian, Andrew Stocks is someone’s work who I have been following since beginning my degree with the OCA.
Here are some examples of publications and front covers of The Guardian, some designed and arranged by Andrew Stocks.
‘Illustrators create illustrations that help tell stories or convey messages. They often work in traditional mediums like pen and paper, but they can also use digital tools like Photoshop or Illustrator to create their artworks. Illustrators must be able to create visuals that capture the desired emotion or message for a variety of purposes, including books, magazines, advertisements, product packaging, and websites.’
Illustration and mixed/multi-media design interests me, I would like to try incorporating designs into videos/different media. Jimmy Turrell is a graphic artist who works physically and digitally, producing posters, work for publications, music videos and more. Turrell’s work/career is definitely an inspiration.
I found job websites and blogs particularly helpful in gaining more insight into the roles/skills required of an illustrator. A few examples are here and here.
Typical roles/skills of an Art Director:
Negotiations/conversations with clients
Self management
Punctual
Creative vision
Marketing a personal business/brand/style
Knowledgable of software such as Adobe Suites
Case Study 1: Richard Smith
The video of Richard Smith, director at Jannuzzi Smith was an interesting insight into their design company, going through 3 main examples of re-design, branding and typography. I always enjoy hearing any creative discuss their process/workflow and this was great, I really like the ‘Crystal Palace Park Trust’ typeface, it’s important context relating to Vincent Figgins and the way it was able to be presented in varied colours/lights. I have included my notes below and referenced this case study further within Research Task 2.
Research Task 2: Workflow
Now that you have researched and explored new directions and areas of graphic design practice, we want you to Research and describe the workflow and process of design initiation, development and testing that takes place between a client, a design agency and the end user.
Write a list or create a basic flow diagram of your findings and save for possible reference later in the project. Use quotes from professionals which support your findings. To start with, use any relevant material that emerged in Case Study one and Consider the following:
Who are you working for?
Where do ideas come from?
What is research and what forms can it take?
How are design proposals presented?
How are proposals tested with the end user?
I began this task by consuming various forms of content made by professional designers via Youtube, Blogs and Social Media as well as referring to the Richard Smith case study video.
I watched various videos by designer Will Paterson who focuses on Logo design, typography and brand identity. His videos are very informative and include his whole process, from discussions with clients, initial sketches and finalising designs.
Jack Chitty produces a lot of social media content promoting himself as a brand designer. In particular his videos helped with considering the presentation process to the client, something often overlooked.
He recommended to document the design process and present your client with some of your initial ideas, walking them through your design, showing how it came to be. This is an interesting idea but I am unsure as to what extent this could be shown, perhaps too much insight could be off putting to a client?
I came across a brand called Kayla, who offer resources to help with graphic design workflow and collaboration. They have some great Youtube content documenting whole brand identity processes and go very in depth with all elements including initial contracts with clients and the importance of ‘over-researching’.
Referring to my research and notes I jotted my initial flow diagram. I included key points and highlighted with boxes important stages.
Client brief: The client brief must be viewed and fully considered by the designer. Any questions regarding the brief or to clarify any information should be asked to the client (budget, timeline, product, revisions etc.)
What are your brand guidelines?
Who are your Target audience?
Do you have any references of other design work you like?
Are there any specific ideas/slogans you want at the forefront of your design?
Research: Researching is an integral part of the design process. The company/client values must be absorbed/understood to allow for their design to reflect and represent them well. The target audience should be researched well, including looking at similar work targeted at them. The research of other work should include looking at colours, typography, social media etc. The research process should include any initial sketches or ideas that come to the designer, along with mood boards of colours, images and any notes.
Development: Development should include expanding upon any initial sketches/notes and using your research as reference when brainstorming ideas. As many thumbnails/ideas should be
documented as possible and nothing should be omitted to begin with. The budget and timeframe for the brief should be considered during this process. The development process should include a lot of back and forth between designs, expanding on them each time and trying as many different versions as possible. Mock-ups are a great way to test the design and to see if it would work in the real world and are great for refining ideas.
4. Presentation: The final design should be presented to the client in the best way possible. From my research it seems that a powerpoint presenting the process briefly to the client works well and must include mock-ups with the design presented in different ways. This is a chance to explain why you have chosen this design and how it represents the clients ideas/brief.
5. Revisions/Final/Feedback: Any feedback from the client should be considered and reflected upon. If the client asks for something to be altered or for an extra step this should be considered and completed if the feedback is valid. The important part is explaining to the client whilst presenting the design why you have chosen the design you have and why it represents their ideas/company in the best way.
Any revisions must be completed and presented back to the client until the client is completely satisfied. The amount of revisions able to be made should be clearly spoken about during the client briefing process.
Who are you working for?
It is integral as a designer to consider the context you work within. You may be working for a small brand looking to stand out and be different, or a corporate company who needs very specific tasks completing with less ‘flair’. Each client and commission would be different and would require thorough research of the client and of similar work in order for you to provide the best service you can and create the best work.
Where do ideas come from/What is research and what forms can it take?
Ideas can just occur randomly but can be grown from research and consuming varied media such as examples specific to your brief, films, daily life, social media, history. By immersing yourself within a project and consuming/considering it from all angles, ideas can emerge. An example of this is from the Richard Smith case study. He discovered a monument when on a walk, passing through a cemetery which was dedicated to Vincent Figgins, ‘an entrepreneur from the 18th century who worked for a type foundry and lived in Peckham’. After further research he found and re-developed a typeface by Figgins. This is also an example of primary research, even if impromptu. Research can take many forms, including via the internet, social media, videos, books, directly from people (market research/surveys).
How are design proposals presented/How are proposals tested with the end user?
From my research I have noted that the best way to present a design seems to be via a Powerpoint. This can be forwarded to the client digitally or presented in person and should include why your design works in response to the brief , including some of your design process. It should also definitely include mock-ups, presenting your work in different ways to the client, this is a ‘test’ to see if the design works in different contexts. For example if you were asked to create a logo, you may have different variations of the logo for different contexts e.g. social media icon, window graphic, business card. Proposals could also be tested with a small group of people as research to see if it works or not.
Research Task 3: Area of Practice:
Explore the breadth of specialist subjects within the profession of graphic design.
Find as many as you can, give each one a title and a paragraph of description, including specialist skills required, which may be personal, as well as design or technical skills. Find visual examples of current design for each area, the names of the designers, and a link to their website. Keep this as a simple list, which you may use later in the project as text for the first assignment.
What are the various responsibilities and roles in a typical design agency? Starting from junior designer, work your way up and give a brief description of the average working day at each chosen level of responsibility.
I began this task by researching specialist areas of graphic design. I came across various blogs and youtube videos which were very informative. A website I found particularly good was at learn.g2 they included varied information across 9 areas of design.
Another great video was ‘All Graphic Design Jobs Explained’. This included various sectors of graphic design as shown in the screenshot of the video to the right. Each sector was described briefly, including examples and the skills required.
I made notes on each of the specialist areas, documenting skills required personal/technical, wages, any extra information and collated mood boards of example work from designers.
‘15 Niches to Pursure in Graphic Design’ was a great video, which discussed each sector briefly and gave some example designers to look into further.
99 designs had a great blog describing 8 sectors of graphic design. They again included some interesting examples of work and multiple sub areas of each sector.
Graphic design (generalised):
Generalised graphic design is conveying messages through visuals, whether that be type, imagery, compositions, publications, brand identity, web-design etc. Some professional designers decide to be more of an all round designer as opposed to boxing themselves into a niche. The interdisciplinary approach could be appealing for employers and clients, especially in a more modern era where people have access to more information to learn more things and by being more generalised they are able to put them to use. Some qualities of a more generalised designer would be that they are quick learners, enjoy challenges and like various styles of work. The need to learn something quickly would be important if working across various sub areas of graphic design. The more stretched you are, the less you would know about one specific area, therefore a lot of learning would be needed to brush up on design skills. A graphic designer must have great knowledge of all of the Adobe programmes and possibly others such as 3D programmes or even some basic coding.
In depth knowledge of design principles (composition, shape, colour, typography)
Adobe suite/other programmes such as Blender, Cinema 4D
Branding (logos, typography, mock ups)
UX/UI
Communication skills
Independent
Time management
Creative
Hardworking
Fast learner
He was able to break down a message or vision into a simple shape and used vibrant colours with bold black silhouettes. It is inspiring how somebody was capable of designing iconic corporate logos but also more tactile looking, abstract film posters.
Saul Bass (1920-1996) is a great example of a multidisciplinary. His work spanned from logos, posters to typefaces, drawing and more. Despite all of his work being so different, you can almost tell it is by him, especially when placed next to each other.
Typography design:
Type designers use typography, hierarchy and composition to convey a clients ideas/message. They must have an in-depth knowledge of graphic design, branding and the history of typography. Their job is to capture the essence of the brand/client’s ideas and ethos into a distinctive but legible typeface which can be used in multiple ways (signage, business cards, social media, websites, billboards, books etc). A type designer must be great at researching and understanding a clients brand, having excellent communication skills.
Adobe suite, particularly Illustrator and Indesign
Key principles of type design (hierarchy, kerning, leading, tracking, colour, alignment)
Branding
Marketing
General graphic design knowledge and skills
Creativity
Communication skills
Hu’s branding is modern, minimal yet very visually interesting and definitely captures the brands well. I really like the ‘A clean lit space’ logo, the simple sans serif typeface is made interesting by the composition of certain letters.
Eric Hu is a great example of a typography designer. He does branding, visual identity, art direction and has worked as a design director at fashion brands such as Nike.
3D design:
Overall 3D designers create 3D designs, landscapes or products to aid marketing, adverts or to convey a message. 3D designers and their jobs/roles vary massively. A 3D designer must really choose a specialist area to focus on, for example you can be a 3D artist and create interesting visuals using 3D software, Photoshop etc. Other roles also include; video game design, product design, advertising, engineering/architectural modelling using CAD, web development. A 3D designer must have excellent knowledge of their chosen field and all relevant programmes needed. An architectural designer will need a different skillset to a 3D graphic artist. The architectural designer would need extensive knowledge of CAD software where as a 3D graphic artist may use other programmes such as cinema 4D and Photoshop.
Software relevant to specialisation (CAD, Photoshop, Cinema 4D, Blender, Illustrator etc)
Key principles (balance, scale, lighting, depth, texture)
Branding, marketing, product design
Creativity
Attention to detail
Teamwork (often work in teams such as video game design, product design)
This is one side to 3D design which is more artwork than design for a branding purpose.
Their style of 3D design is very different to @VATNIKAJ. They focus on branding and how to create great visuals of products for their clients. Their short product videos which include various 3D designed elements are really clean looking and visually interesting.
A 3D graphic artist I came across via Instagram is @VATNIKAJ whose work focuses on almost dystopian landscapes, using dark and bold visuals.
Found Studio is a studio based in London, focusing on branding, visuals and 3D design. Their clients are huge brand such as Google, Ralph Lauren and Channel 4.
Illustration/graphic art:
An Illustrators role is to convey, describe or present ideas through imagery. The illustrations may be commissioned by a brand, newspaper, magazine, packaging, website, social media account, billboard, stage visuals or any client that needs a visual image for something. Illustration is a massively varying section of Graphic design, with some illustrators work being more artistic and others being more descriptive or corporate. Some illustrators choose a pathway to go down and stick to it, for example editorial work, while some straddle all needs for an illustration and are able to design in varied styles.
Adobe programmes, including Indesign and Illustrator
Drawing ability
Graphic design and art principles, e.g proportion, composition, lighting, hierarchy of information, colours
Liasing with clients, good communication skills
Research skills with knowledge of branding or marketing
Punctual, some newspapers or magazines may need quick turnarounds
Creative, designing engaging work
Good self marketing/business skills, many illustrators are self-employed, not solely working for one company
Nazario Graziano is a great example of a editorial style illustrator. His work stands out, his style incorporates bold colours and 3D objects/visuals. Graziano not only produces work for magazines, but has designed book covers, for magazines and even on posters fro Warner brothers.
Annette Meyns has more of an art-like style and doesn’t illustrate for specific articles or magazines, but for the exploration of collage and design. This style of illustration is more tactile and unique, but could be adapted for a more corporate design.
Animation:
An animators role is to create characters and scenes using digital and/or physical methods. They can be responsible for a portion of video editing such as special effects. An animator will brainstorm character/scene appearances sketching them out or creating storyboards. An animator may even work with 3D models to create a stop motion affect. This area of design is very creative and will require knowledge of graphic design, various editing programmes and fine art.
Video editing, special affects, Premier Pro etc
Adobe animate, Blender, Visme
Fine art/sketching ability
Creativity
Working in a team/communication skills
Business acumen, many animators are freelance
Chuck jones was an animator best known for his work on Looney Tunes. Jones’ animations are iconic and it’s even more impressive seeing his sketches alongside the finished animations.
Motion graphics/video:
Motion graphics design turns flat, still images into moving animations or adds imagery on top of videos. These designs could be in 2D, 3D or work as a GIF but the designers role is a different to a 3D designer, being more similar to an illustrator than a general animator. A motion graphics designer may create moving versions of still images in a stylised way, manipulate typography or even make more abstract visuals. Their role is very creative and involves knowledge of multiple areas of design such as typography, animation, illustration and branding.
Multi-disciplined, knowledge of various areas of design
Adobe design progammes and video editing such as Adobe Premier Pro
Branding/marketing, knowledge of what emotion you want to convey in relationship to clients message
Abstract thinking
Creativity
Communication/presentation skills
These are some examples of stills from his motion graphics, including a show he designed for Chanel, shown at Victoria Baths in Manchester.
Jimmy Turrell is a graphic illustrator/artist who also does motion graphics. He has worked with various bands and performers creating great abstract visuals which play behind and around them.
UI/UX design:
User interface designers collaborate with user experience designers (or an individual can do both) to design screen/visuals a user will look at or click through, this could be for a website, app, video game etc. The user interface designer’s role is to create the visual side of a website/app/game etc and the user experience designer’s role is to manage this and map users journeys, this would include research and data input. Many UX/UI designers work for a single company or agency as websites/apps etc need maintaining and constant improvement.
Knowledge of relevant software, Adobe suite and Figma
User experience knowledge and evaluation skills
Graphic design principles, an eye for visuals
Pragmatic and efficient
Attention to detail
Team worker, whether in person or digitally
Analytical
Punctual
Imran Chaudhri was the design director of human interfaces at Apple. He worked on developing and designing interfaces for all Apple products and even invented the ‘do not disturb’ option on iPhones. Chaudhri was at the pinnacle of UX/UI design. he was designing for one of the worlds fastest growing companies that put aesthetics and function at the forefront of what they do.
Web design:
The role of a web designer is to produce visually interesting, functional/clear website layouts, including visual and interactive elements. A web designer will work with a client in developing a site that represents their message and brand. Web designers, if freelance may encompass the roles of a UX/UI designer, or may work closely with them if operating within a team setting.
Graphic design principles and skills, composition, typography, colour pallette
Technical skills such as writing code, if they are expected to develop the site, html, ss, javascript
Maintenance of website/updates, changing with the brand, season or advertisement campaigns
Attention to detail
Team worker/communication skills with copywriters and UX/UI
Creativity, conceptualise websites
Punctual, may need to work fast for deadlines as websites can’t be offline for long
Each website and branding is individual with a clear vision. The colour palettes are very strong and represent the brands well.
Works Studio is a consulting agency who creates all sorts of creative content for brands. Here are some examples of their website design.
Packaging design:
The role of a packaging designer is to create eye catching and engaging packaging that represents the product and brand as best as possible. The packaging must look appealing both in-store and online, showcasing the product and brand. A packaging designer must have excellent general graphic design skills and be very good specifically in typography. They must be masters of graphic design principles such as colour, balance, hierarchy and contrast which are of the most importance when designing packaging. A packaging designer would work with other graphic designers, the design team, marketing, branding, research team, copywriters and the legal team in order to make sure the packaging represents the brand itself and presents all information needed. A part of the designers job would be either to research themselves (if freelance) or work with a research team in gathering information about the brand, competition, the general area of product and consider the past, future and where the brand wants to be positioned in the market.
Adobe programmes, Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign
Mock ups
Research skills
Branding
Marketing
Attention to detail
Understanding of packaging materials
Creativity
Excellent communication skills
Abi Connick produces some great social media content on packaging, branding and typography. Her content includes re-branding real companies either as a demonstration or a commission.
Jones Knowles Ritchie is a branding agency who has worked with some of the largest brands in the world. They are able to design everything from adverts to packaging. I have collated some of their packaging examples, including dominoes boxes, a simple but great design, recognised by everybody.
Branding Design:
A branding designers role is to create the visual identity for a brand, making them stand out and be individual whilst representing the brands ethos/target audience. Branding design includes logos, colour palettes, imagery, icons, illustrations, photography and website layout. A brand that has strong and cohesive branding will stand out and be more memorable than others. Household brands have a strong aesthetic that moves from their packaging to their logo. Research is key for developing a brand identity, the designer must be aware of previous designs, competitors and the future of the market.
Graphic design principles
Branding/Marketing knowledge
History of design
Research skills
Understanding various processes of packaging, website layout/functions
Communication skills
Working within a team/liaising with client
Attention to detail
Creativity
Eleonora Anzini is a branding designer who focuses on more corporate style design. Anzini creates logos and whole brand idenities, including pattern and icon design, creating cohesive brands.
Fashion/apparel design:
A fashion designer’s role may not only be to sketch ideas and choose fabrics but can include all sorts of graphic design roles. A fashion designer may design any graphics or lettering that goes onto the garment itself, render visuals of clothing using software such as clo3d, pitch into branding/packaging/advertising design, if working within a smaller team or have their own brand they may oversee everything design/business related. Many fashion designers work for a brand but many are freelance, moving between brands.
Design programmes, Adobe suite, Clo3d
Multi-disciplined designer, graphic design skills and principles
Fine art knowledge and ability
Design history
Understanding of trends and target market
Analytical/research orientated
Creativity
Attention to detail
Abloh also founded a design company called canary yellow where he expressed all of his design talents including fashion design, architecture, furniture and product design.
Virgil Abloh is a designer I have mentioned in previous tasks. He was the lead designer and artistic director at Louis Vuitton a position he reached after founding, Pyrex and Off-white clothing brands.
Logo Design:
A logo designer’s role is to create a distinct logo that represents a companies ethos, message and overall brand. The most important part of a logo designer’s role is to research. They must research the company, competitors, the market, history surrounding the brand and must have the knowledge of graphic design principles in order to create a stand out logo that represents the company. The designer must work with the client closely and have excellent communication and presentation skills, the ‘why’ is very important with designing a logo.
Adobe programmes, Illustrator, Indesign
Marketing/branding knowledge
Attention to detail
Research/analysis
Great communication skills
Creativity
Use of mock ups/presentation skills
Paul Rand was an iconic logo designer, creating logos from the 40’s to the 90’s. I have shown some of my favourites, including the old yale and zebra press logo. The use of iconography within his logos is great, taking simple shapes and often using single colours to create something different and interesting is inspiring.
Advertising Design:
An advert designer creates visuals for a client to be marketed at their target audience with hope to sell a product. The adverts could be for use on social media, television, billboards, emails, magazines, websites etc and are designed specifically for the way they will viewed by the audience. An advert designer must have excellent marketing knowledge and the ability to research/consider their clients target audience. An advert may not directly be to sell a product, but to promote a message and great advertisements do both. They promote messages which represent a brand, which in turn create sales down the line.
In depth knowledge of graphic design principles, composition, colour, hierarchy of information etc
Adobe programmes, potentially video editing and web design skills
Marketing/branding
Research skills
Liaising with clients
Mock ups
Creativity
Multi-disciplined (able to work within different setting and with different programmes, have knowledge of a lot of areas of design and marketing)
His typography designs for all of his advert work is inspiring, each individual type design has a feel to it that is so specific to the brand and message it represents.
Roy Cranston is a designer for ‘works’ agency and has produced designs/adverts for many large companies such as Converse, Calvin Klein, Nike, Netflix and Heron Preston.
Roles within a design agency:
Another, more longer form video I came across was by ‘The Futur’ in which Chris Do discusses with the founder of Designjoy how he began his design agency and grew it.
I continued to research the roles and hierarchy within graphic design agencies. I came across a few very informative blogs/websites which discussed the various roles, these are linked via the captions over the screenshots.
I also found some great videos discussing roles within design agencies and further on how they actually work. This video wasn’t exactly relevant to this task but did help inform further how an agency works and broke down some of the logistics business wise.
Base-Level:
Junior Roles:
A junior designers role (Designer, UX/UI, Copywriter, Social Media Management, Motion Designer, Production Manager) is to support senior designers by assisting in design projects in whatever way possible, this may be through more administrative design tasks such as following a direct instruction (less creative input) or through discussion with other designers. They collaborate with other junior role members and mid-level designers following their brief and the art director. They contribute to the overall creative process while gaining experience within the agency, refining their roles specific skills, team work skills and overall knowledge of the design process within the agency.
Administrative Staff:
Admin staff handle any operational tasks, including scheduling meetings, inputting data, updating individuals or teams via email. They manage office logistics and handle paperwork to support the agency. Their role is the backbone and allows the rest of the design agency to focus on the task at hand and the client as opposed to anything operational.
Mid-Level:
Graphic Designer:
A mid-level graphic designer takes on more complex design projects and delegates where necessary to junior designers. Their role involves having creative input but also being a project manager in the sense that they can delegate to junior designers. They collaborate with clients directly, work creatively and discuss with Art directors/higher creative team members. They are the main designers responsible for producing any design work for the agencies clients. They are experts in design programmes and of graphic design principles.
UX/UI Designer:
A mid-level UX/UI designer specialises in creating user experiences, researching and designing digital products for clients. Their role is to enhance usability/functionality of the clients digital product whilst working alongside other design team members and gathering their design input. They collaborate with the graphic designers/copywriters and are responsible for bringing together a website/app/game design with aesthetics and function as their focus.
Copywriter:
A copywriter’s role is to create written content for the client that compliments the design. They collaborate with designers, UX/UI and they create written content to be shown through various mediums, including websites, advertisements, social media, whatever content the client needs. A copywriters role is to think creativity and to be able to effectively communicate brand messages/ideas whilst being cohesive with the design created by other team members.
Social Media Management:
A social media manager oversees the agencies online presence and is essential for maintaining the agencies reputation whilst reaching out to potential clients via advertisements. They develop social media marketing strategies and collaborate with designers/junior team members to produce/manage content, potentially with direction from creative director/art director. Social media managers must stay up to date on any trends/competition, meaning they must be analytical and calculated with their marketing strategies whilst representing the agency perfectly.
3D/Motion Designer:
A 3D/motion designer’s role is to create animation, videos, and multimedia projects. They will have expert software skills and will work creatively with other team members, junior and management/creative team. 3D/motion designers contribute to the overall aesthetic of a clients work, social media content or any other visual needed. Their role involves fine art like creativity, technical ability with editing software and expertise in design principles.
Production Artist:
A production artists role is to oversee the finalisation and execution of design projects for clients. They will prepare and format digital files for print or digital use, ensuring they are as specified for their particular medium. They work closely with account managers, designers and take direction from higher creative team members, focusing on the finished product. They will manage details like sizing, colour correction, typography and layout in programmes such as Indesign.
Production Manager:
A production manager oversees the more communicative and technical aspects when working on a design project. They coordinate workflow, collaborations within teams, manage timelines and quality control. They will work with account managers, designers, middle, lower and upper management, communicating any information or changes needed to ensure as seamless a project as possible.
Account Manager:
An account manager liaises between clients and the production manager/design team. They communicate client project requirements to the design teams whilst keeping the client up to date with any information or files to peruse and give feedback upon. They are responsible for project timelines and budgets, and coordinating project details to production manager and other team members.
Finance Team:
The finance team manages all financial aspects, including budgeting, invoicing clients, company reports and liaising with administrative staff. They also will run payroll and oversee any other spending within the company, if something needs to be purchased this will go through and be documented by them. They will report to and communicate with the CEO.
Upper-Level:
Project Manager:
A project manager could be classified in mid-level or upper level. Their role is to oversee project planning, coordination and execution, the more technical/functional side of management. A project manager would work closely with the creative director, assuming the oversight of efficiency and functionality role, delegating/liaising with the production manager and account manager.
Art Director:
The art director is responsible for the more visual aspect of projects and liaises with the creative director discussing overall visions for projects. They will work on visuals/aesthetics with other team members such as the social team, copywriters and design team to make sure they all work cohesively aligning with the creative directors vision.
Creative Director:
A creative director leads the creative vision of all projects and the agency, overseeing all design teams, essentially being the ‘highest’ creative role. They work closely with the Art Director and assume the more creative strategic decisions, making sure work is executed with a cohesive vision by other team members. The creative director will report to the CEO with updates or to discuss specific projects/agency creative/marketing vision.
CEO:
The CEO oversees the agencies overall business strategy, operations, and growth. They set the company's overall vision, establish goals whether client based or financially. CEOs may build or maintain client relationships, interpersonal relationships between team members to ensure a sustainable and successful design agency. All upper and occasionally mid/lower (if needed) team members will report to the CEO.
