Graphic Design and Technology

Learn about the technology you'll use in a graphic design career.

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Industry-Standard Technology for Graphic Design

Pen, paper, paint, brushes—for creative types, there's always room in the arsenal for traditional artists' implements like these. But if you're planning to enter a graphic design career, you'll also need to know how to wield cutting-edge technological tools. Whether you design for the printed page or the computer screen, knowledge of industry-standard design software is a must if you plan to succeed in the field. In addition, as more and more graphic designers expand their repertoire into the realm of web design, it's also wise to acquire a working knowledge of web development languages like HTML and JavaScript.

Fundamental Graphic Design Software

Graphic designers rely on powerful software to get their jobs done. Complex visual manipulations that used to be laboriously done by hand are now performed easily and quickly on a computer. With handy tools like a graphics tablet and stylus, designers can even "draw" directly on the computer and have their hand movements translated onto the screen, where they can then work with the image further.

Mac hardware is more widely used in the graphic design world, but whether you're using a PC or a Mac, you'll need to become well versed in Adobe's creative software: Photoshop®, Illustrator® and InDesign® are three of the most commonly-used programs. Quark Xpress® is another frequently-used program for layout and print design.

Software for Web Design

If web design is your area of specialty, there's an additional set of programs you'll need to be aware of. Adobe's Dreamweaver® (formerly produced by Macromedia) is one of the more widely used and venerable web design and management programs. Applications produced in Flash are also very popular for adding animation and catchy graphics to websites. Lastly, more and more websites are designed and maintained using content management systems like Wordpress and Drupal, which can be "plugged in" to a site and then used to create a consistent layout and structure without extensive knowledge of programming languages.

Additional Tools for Web Graphic Design

Graphic designers who work on websites will find it valuable to know at least the basics of the coding language that is the building block of every web page: HTML (hypertext markup language). In addition, CSS (cascading style sheets) are used to create a consistent look and feel throughout the various pages of a site, so they're another important tool for graphic designers to know about. Software like Dreamweaver® can help create the code, but it never hurts to be able to troubleshoot behind the scenes.

Many sites also make use of scripting languages like JavaScript in order to pre-load images or create dynamic galleries and menus. You don't necessarily need to become an expert programmer if you're doing graphic design for the web, but it helps to know a little about how scripts function within a website.

Keeping up with technology is now a mandatory part of being a graphic designer. If you've got at least a fair working knowledge of the basic tools of web design, and you're skilled in using the major design software programs, you'll be set to enter a graphic design career.

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