Abstract
An empirically grounded understanding about which knowledge and skills that are sought from designers is missing for a number of professional subfields of design. This gap in research challenges i) design educators in planning their educational offerings and ii) design practitioners and students in articulating their contribution to clients and future employers. In this paper, we study the references that are made to knowledge and skills in job offers for graphic designers in UK. Based on a first thematic analysis of 1,406 job offers, we distinguish four main knowledge areas for graphic designers in terms of i) operational design skills, ii) process management skills, iii) technical design skills and iv) software skills. We note that expertise in 2D software, teamwork, project planning and administration, creativity and aesthetic as well as detailing and production emerge as the most frequently mentioned skills across the offers.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of DRS2016 |
| Subtitle of host publication | Design + Research + Society - Future-Focused Thinking |
| Place of Publication | London |
| Publisher | Design Research Society |
| Publication status | Published - 2016 |
| MoE publication type | A4 Article in a conference publication |
| Event | Design Research Society International Conference - Brighton, United Kingdom Duration: 27 Jun 2016 → 30 Jun 2016 Conference number: 50 http://www.drs2016.org/#drs2016 http://www.drs2016.org/ |
Publication series
| Name | Proceedings of DRS2016 |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Design Research Society |
| ISSN (Electronic) | 2398-3132 |
Conference
| Conference | Design Research Society International Conference |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | DRS |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| City | Brighton |
| Period | 27/06/2016 → 30/06/2016 |
| Internet address |
Keywords
- graphic design
- design expertise
- design education
- United Kingdom