If you’re a professional who loves creativity, graphic designing can be your next destination. This is an area that I have seen evolving all the time. No matter it is offline marketing or digital marketing, there had been a need for graphic designers and there will be.
According to the US Bureau of labor statistics, there was a total of 254k jobs for graphics designers in 2020, and is expected to grow. Usually, graphic designers charge $25.66 per hour which is more than $53k per year for full-time working professionals.
Now when this profession is so much in demand, why don’t you take some time and explore top skills for a graphic designer to get ahead in 2022. If you’re a complete beginner, I would suggest you take graphic design courses and get versed with them. This will help you learn by the following routine and in a structured way.
Now let’s start and talk about the top 5 skills that will make you expert and demanding in 2022-
#1 Digital typography
I am sure you must be knowing about typography if you’re working as a graphic designer. As we are moving from offline marketing to online, the need for better typography has been even more important. The best font you will use, the advertisement will look far better and attractive. When we say typography, it includes licensing, font sizes, resources, accessibility, and more. There are many fonts suitable for digital design and some of the recommended fonts are- Helvetica, Trajan, Mitga, Futura, and more.
#2 Software expertise
The way graphics are getting created these days, you can easily sense the role of graphic designing software. Although you don’t need to be a coder to be good in software but knowing the in-depth of the software is really required. You should know in and out of the tool to get most of it. It doesn’t matter what software you use for designing but you need to master it. Some of the pretty common and powerful tools for graphic designing are- Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.
#3 Image editing
Another great skill to add to your bucket is image editing. When most of your work will be related to images, you already will be knowing the importance of image editing. Some of the professional tools you need to master are- Photoshop, InDesign, etc. If you look at any job opening, these are some of the common tools being asked by the employer-
In a survey report, it has been found that out of 100 jobs 76 required Photoshop, 74 wanted Illustrator, and 74 needed InDesign. So, if you’re looking to acquire new skills in 2022, these three can be good skills to add to your bucket.
#4 Design principals
Design principals are the key to any good design and there are various stuff comes in this category-
- Alignment: creates a sharper, more unified design for your next project
- Repetition: You may create a template if you have created something unique and use it in as many projects as required
- Contrast: Contrast is one of the elements when it comes to adding more value to the design
- Hierarchy: creates organization and apply in project
- Balance: provides stability and structure to a design, either through symmetry or tension of elements.
This is a standard five design principle being followed in the industry and if you’re looking to sustain and excel in the area, you must follow these and implement them in your day-to-day work.
#5 Ideation
Last but not the least, ideation which usually includes research, idea generation, idea evaluation, and applying the idea is a very important skill that being a designer you should acquire. Although this may sound easy but carry a lot of weight. It can be considered as a process generating, developing, communicating, and implementing new ideas. There can be various ideas in the initial idea generation stage, and you should think through to filter out those ideas. So, this is a very important step, and you must acquire this skill.
Conclusion
These were some of the best skills a graphic designer needs to get you ahead in 2022. I am sure you can work on these and do better in the coming year.
