Because graphic design has become such a vital part of our lives--and, in the form of advertisements, our economy--the talented individual who is passionate about visual communication chooses, more and more often, to become a graphic design major at school. Many others interested in graphic design are even choosing to attend a specialized graphic design college. The fact is, graphic design has become a competitive field. A graphic design resume, showing that an aspiring designer has excelled at a prestigious graphic design college can be an invaluable asset in the workplace.

What Makes A Successful Graphic Design Major

Successful graphic design requires two types of skills. First, you'll need to become familiar with the techniques of visual presentation, and representation. You'll understand what people focus on first when they look at a picture--or when they only look around them. You'll need to know what creates visual symmetry and what creates visual tension. You must know what calms people, and what excites them; what grabs people's attention, and what makes people's attention wander; where people will look first, and where they'll look last.

Second, you need to become a strong conceptual thinker. Most people store complex ideas visually, "mapping" out the various facets of a complicated thought in a is a less-complicated imaginary diagram. As a designer, you'll need to learn how to translate that diagram into a two- or three-dimensional image. One of the greatest fascinations of images lies in the fact that they can be relatively simple, yet convey complicated ideas. The graphic design major must become familiar enough with the mechanics of thought to be able to translate that complexity of thought into the simplicity of an image.

What You'll Learn In Design Class

At a graphic design college, you'll learn both of these facets of graphic design. You'll learn about colors and color theory. You'll penetrate the secrets of line and pattern, and you'll learn what makes parts of an image contrast with one another--and what makes those parts harmonize. You will become as familiar wit these "nuts and bolts" of visual expression as a visual artist, if not more so. Plus, you will study one of the most basic and unavoidable uses of visual symbols convey ideas: letters. You'll become knowledgeable in typography, the study of letters and fonts.

More importantly, you'll become a strong and independent thinker. A good graphic design program teaches students to understand and analyze the culture around them. At graphic design college, you'll gradually become familiar enough with how people think, and thus you'll able to actually influence them. That's a skill that won't show up in your graphic design resume right away. However, it will show up there over time, through your work.


Madison Media Institute (http://www.madisonmedia.com), located in Madison Wisconsin, serves as a recording studio, video editing, and graphic arts college. The school is targeting at meeting the needs of those interested in a career in creative video production, careers in music production, recording studio training, or a career in digital design. The institute offers specific training based on each individuals careers goals and academic needs.