The city of Fayetteville, North Carolina is home to more than 200,000 people, 20,000 commercial enterprises and no less than a hundred professional graphic designers. Fayetteville businesses continuously hire communications design professionals for numerous assorted visual tasks.
Fayetteville Schools and Training Programs for Graphic Design
Many fine colleges and Universities in North Carolina host graphic design degree programs. Fayetteville graphic artists earning degrees typically enroll at Fayetteville Technical Community College. Another viable option for aspiring local artists is to earn a degree at one of many online colleges. Among the best known schools offering online degree programs in graphic design are The Art Institutes, ITT Tech, University of Phoenix and DeVry.
Graphic artists attending design schools in Fayetteville, North Carolina can major in visual communications, photography or fine arts. Aside from computer graphics and basic drawing techniques, a graphic design curriculum might include courses in psychology, social networking and online marketing, as well as website design, digital media, animation, typography, printmaking and other advanced topics.
Working as a Graphic Designer in Fayetteville, North Carolina
Some North Carolina graphic designers work for leading local ad agencies. Top Fayetteville advertising firms include Advantage Newspaper Consultants, Affordable Advertising and Hodges Associates. Some local artists design film credits, displays and promotional materials for acclaimed Fayetteville motion picture producers like Nautilus Productions, Williams Design and Wolfe Audio-Visual. Graphic design specialists in Fayetteville also work for art galleries, community organizations, news syndicates, software developers and retailers, among others. There exists an ongoing supply of local design opportunities. These include company logos, technical illustrations, instruction manuals, educational diagrams, book covers, web pages, product packaging and more.
At the present time, more than 280,000 graphic designers are professionally employed at American companies. Starting salaries depend on education, experience, skill level and even geographic location to some degree. The average annual income for North Carolina graphic designers is around $43,650. They earn, on average, about $21.00 an hour. Around fifty percent of graphic designers who work in America earn between $30,000 and $60,000 a year. In terms of average income for graphic design professionals, North Carolina ranks somewhere in the middle among states. In spite of this, North Carolina was recently voted among the very “best states for business” by CEO Magazine and Forbes.
Skills of a Graphic Designer
One essential skill typically required of graphic designers is proficiency in many different drawing styles. Communications design professionals can quickly sketch a verbalized concept well enough for the viewer to accurately visually predict the final result. Other crucial skills are familiarity with graphic design software, some photography, a splash of web design ability and first-rate typographical skills. Above and beyond technical expertise is each artist's unique visual style. Other things being equal, style is often the deciding factor when hiring decisions are made.