The employment prospect has always been the most concerned issue when we choose schools and majors. In recent years, with the increasing pressure of economic growth, the domestic and foreign employment markets have entered a period of deceleration. In addition, new technology has brought new demand, which has triggered changes in traditional jobs. Various factors have also made us more worried about the employment problem of art majors, which has not been well regarded for a long time. Among many art disciplines, graphic design majors have relatively abundant employment opportunities because of their wide range of fields involved, but at the same time, because of the low threshold for entry and the large number of crash courses, many "professionals" have flooded into the job market, with increasing competitive pressure and stagnant salary levels. Is Graphic Design Good for Studying Abroad for Employment? What are the options of studying abroad for employment in graphic design?

The above figure is the Survey Report on the Employment Capacity of 2019 Fresh Graduates released by Zhilian Recruitment not long ago. According to the survey results of art design alone, the expected positions of graphic design graduates as the main force of design do not match with the proportion of the positions they actually get signed employment. The data shows that although there are many graduates, the employment market is still in short supply. In fact, it is not difficult to understand the reasons for such research results. A large number of design graduates who can do P charts and logos, as well as some free poster websites that are known as "30s mapping", are driving graphic designers to a dead end.

However, in the face of the increasingly diversified, scientific and modern development of visual communication, the urgently needed high-end graphic design talents in the commercial market still face a huge gap! In order to help you correctly understand the situation and direction of graphic design development, and understand this new era full of variables, what skills do we need to master in order to get a place in the future job market! Today, we will talk about the employment prospects of graphic design study abroad and the possibility of graphic design major from the perspective of employment!

　　 1. High threshold of high education, high skill and high quality

From listed companies to print shops at street corners, graphic design overseas employment uses "vision" as a way of communication and performance to cover all aspects of the commercial market. In addition, the traditional graphic design field is gradually developing towards interaction, websites, products, multimedia and other broader directions, and the demand for high-end talents is also growing.

The level of graphic design works directly determines a company's brand image, business positioning, and cultural output. Therefore, enterprises attach great importance to assessing designers' professional quality. Generally speaking, the assessment direction is based on two points:

The first is the professional discipline background. Although the education background can not directly prove the professional ability of the applicant, to a certain extent, the professional background is more like a ticket, which can most directly reflect the learning ability and basic literacy of the applicant.

This is also because there are a large number of so-called short-term graphic design training courses in China. The training mode is based on high-intensity software courses, and almost does not teach theoretical basis, design thinking and other soft skills, which leads to the serious homogenization of the works of many practitioners entering the market and the lack of the most important creativity of graphic design.

The overseas education background, which has always been known for its "strict in and strict out" training mode, is more valuable. First, overseas art education attaches importance to the cultivation of critical thinking and students' personal style. Generally speaking, overseas graduates also have a high aesthetic level, an international perspective, and the ability to learn independently.

The second is the assessment of professional skills. This can be proved by two substantive achievements: the first is the work, and the second is the work or internship experience. The work achievements are well understood, that is, our collection of works. I believe that works that can be recognized by top universities will also get good feedback in the job market.

The second is work or internship experience. Overseas art colleges and universities attach great importance to the combination of theory and practice. In terms of curriculum, in addition to the construction of basic professional theories, most of the colleges and universities' courses are mainly in the form of studio, workshop, etc., emphasizing students' practical ability.

Curriculum of MICA Graphic Design

Source: MICA Maryland College of the Arts Official website

Secondly, overseas colleges and universities, especially the graduate majors of top art colleges, attach great importance to cultivating students' "integration" with the commercial market, train students to explore the future development and needs of the industry through practice, and use the advantageous resources of the colleges and universities to carry out business cooperation projects. During this period, students' learning ability and practical experience have been certified.

　　 2. Transform from single direction to compound talents

In the past, our understanding of the employment direction and work function of graphic design study abroad was mainly about the design and production of art layout, print advertising, enterprise publicity, etc. In terms of industry selection, there are also some design companies, advertising companies, publishing industry, etc.

But now, with the continuous expansion of knowledge in the field of graphic design study abroad and employment, enterprises' demand for talents is not only a single direction of professional knowledge, but also more focused on cross-border and technical composite capabilities.

The above two pictures are the job requirements listed by Youku and Alibaba's visual designers being recruited. In addition to the professional skills in the field of traditional visual design, both enterprises have required specific work functions such as UI design, user experience, page dynamic design, illustration design, etc.

Looking at the current recruitment market of major companies, enterprises in completely different fields have put forward more diversified career needs when recruiting visual designers, which just proves that compound talents who understand design, interaction, technology and management are necessarily required by the times.

In order to keep pace with the development of the times, art colleges are also adjusting the professional direction and curriculum of graphic design, no longer limited to the cultivation of a single field, but trying to cross borders as much as possible.

First in the United States Parsons School of Design Parsons, for example, offers a more comprehensive graphic design specialty - Communication Design/Communication Design. The core of the specialty is "visual communication". The school supplements professional knowledge through a series of courses in the fields of typesetting design, interaction design, brand promotion, mobile product design, etc. The school will also help students to explore and practice internship projects in the fields of animation, advertising design and information design.

Source: Parsons official website

The undergraduate curriculum is 4-year, and the third year is the academic year that best highlights the characteristics of Parsons' major. In this academic year, there are many interdisciplinary projects. For example, the first class "Topic Studio" focuses on the use of visual design to help promote contemporary brands, including VI design, brand strategy development, and so on.

Parsons has always been a pioneer in the field of art education, and they are good at innovation in the field of graphic design is no exception. In addition to cultivating students' professional design skills, they pay more attention to leading students to explore the diversity of visual culture, and help students to be competent for various future roles in this expanding field.

　　 3. The development of digital media will bring a large number of new jobs

The employment market is closely related to industrial development. In recent years, the emergence of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, VR and AR has freed many simple and repetitive or high-risk jobs that originally needed manual operation. In recent years, new technologies have brought new demands and a large number of new jobs will appear in the market.

Prospective Industry Research Institute Releases the 2019 Employment Guidance Blue Book

Source: useit.com.cn

The combination with digital media is the new trend of the future employment market in the field of graphic design study abroad and employment. In order to meet the needs of the changing industry in the future, overseas colleges and universities have also developed a series of new majors, including human-computer interaction, new media design, information design, experience design, service design, etc. Relatively speaking, students studying these majors are likely to become pioneers in these emerging fields and have absolute competitive advantages in future employment.

But at the same time, in the face of college assessment, because there is no corresponding professional foundation, students also need to show their learning potential and experimental spirit, try to avoid creating a single dimension of professional graphic works, to accumulate more comprehensive strength.

In addition to a large number of emerging majors, the development of science and technology also provides more directions and options for artistic creation in the field of traditional graphic design study abroad and employment. Students should also take a comprehensive consideration when creating art, break through the original form and thinking mode, and combine new technology and science to make products for the life needs of future human society.

In the future, the development of graphic design in the field of studying abroad and employment is bound to be diversified, scientific and sustainable. This trend also means that the market and enterprise talent needs change. They will pay more attention to the compound talents who can bring new skills and creative thinking to the company.

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