Why become a graphic designer? If you have a great interest in applying your fine art skills to a lucrative trade you can certainly learn from my own insight into the field. I trained as a fine artist from age nine to fifteen and knew there was no real career other that teaching in this field. Applying my talents to advertising art was a viable option for me.
Getting Through
Many visual learners do well in science and math, but many do not test well. Many who learn this way are suited best to a teaching environment that passed or failed based on a produced product rather that a multiple choice Q&A. A visual thinker has the mind of a problem solver and usually sees many answers to one question. Many students today who have an interest in the Arts have great struggles within the public school system. There are many obstacles in the way in the path of learning the necessary skills to be a graphic artist.
This is especially true if you had a guidance counselor in high school who actually recommended taking an accounting class. I was baffled since I had at that point already won a few prestigious awards overseas for fine art. There are already two accountants in my family, and honestly, they do not seem too enthused about their professions. There is a strong sense that people who learn trades and opt out of taking the NY State Regents exams are under achievers. Teachers will often say a student is ‘too smart’ to learn a trade when asked about enrolling in a vocational training program. Often, these students who have fairly good grades are told they need to fail a class in order to qualify for grant money to put toward a vocational training program.
Realizing My Place
Many students in good standing are not given many options other than to purposefully fail a single class, dragging down their GPA and forcing their guidance counselor to recommend them for a trade school grant. If I learned anything from high school, it was that if you conform to a system you will never be noticed or achieve to your fullest ability. I really feel sorry for many people like myself who do not test well and will not fully realize their abilities until they apply them to real world situations.
I Love Math! (Really)
Many people seem to learn more in their first remedial math class of college than in their years at traditional grade schools. The reason for this is because instructors seem to ask students questions as to how they will use math in their chosen career field. People who are visual learners are more adapt to producing a physical product, like a brochure or a website design, and being graded on appearance and checklist items rather than a static testing format. When I arrived at my first year of my Bachelors of Technology curriculum I had to take a remedial math. I had a great teacher who understood that many people who enter this class need to visualize problems in order to solve them.
I found great entertainment in number theory and have applied fractals to this day to many illustration commissions since I have left college. I also have a great interest in pop up paper construction. Utilizing what I learned in that class has greatly impacted my understanding of real world application of math, more than any of the classes I ever took previously through grade school.
Do What Works For You
The one thing I want to express is this: don’t let others dictate your future. They will not live the life they mapped out for you. Do what makes you happy and ideally something that will merit a pay check. Always strive to be the best in your field and never stop reading books about the greats in your chosen profession. I constantly go to my local library, yard sales and thrift shops for old books I can get inspired from. I often draw from my colleagues from the vast pool that is the design community online for new ideas as well.
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