5 Jobs for Web Designers
Web Designer Jobs
- Educator
- Ad Designer
- UI Designer
- Typographer
- Art Director
The field of web design is a large one worldwide, and it is consistently expanding and evolving as web and graphic designers apply new concepts and software developments to their work. Many also start their own companies or freelance businesses – a fifth or more of web designers are self-employed.
With web design having become such a popular field of study, the job market for web and graphic design is stiffly competitive. Many web designers supplement their main skill set with ancillary skills like writing, social media management, or coding – skillsets that can land web designers some unique and interesting job positions. Here are five jobs for web designers.
Educator
Web designers who also have a passion for instruction often go into the education field as secondary or postsecondary teachers. In addition to a bachelor’s degree in graphic or web design, this position requires an education degree at the bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral level – dependent on the professional goals of the designer. In addition to teaching in a traditional scholastic environment, web design instructors can also utilize their educational expertise to teach proficiently on online learning platforms.
Ad Designer
A blend of artistic direction and marketing expertise, web designers may move into ad design – one of the most lucrative specializations in web design. Web designers who are interested in this field might take minors in marketing, psychology, or both – in addition to the skills they’ll acquire during the course of their degree studies in design, they will also gain the necessary skills to understand individual markets and industries, and what marketing tactics work best in each. Ad designers are often employed by large corporations, and some of those jobs offer excellent salaries, benefits, and retirement plans – in addition to company perks.
UI Designer
User interaction designers work closely with software developers, back-end programmers, and even game developers to create user interfaces that are functional, visually appealing, and comprehensive to users. UI/UX designers blend knowledge of visual arts and programming to hone and practice their craft. Web designers intent on entering UI/UX design may double major or minor in computer science, database management, or even ancillary fields like cybersecurity. UI design is another fairly lucrative field within web design, and skilled UI/UX designers may find their way into long-term – and well-paid – positions with major software and game developers that rely heavily on their expertise.
Typographer
Typographers specialize in the creation or adaptation of textual forms and fonts. While typography is a highly specialized field, it is also one of the most diverse. Typography allows web designers to apply the artistic principles they learned in school to a singular form and, in so doing, to create a wealth and breadth of expressive and highly original font forms. Many typographers work freelance, and can make a handsome living selling their fonts to companies, individual users, and even small businesses like tattoo shops or arts agencies.
Art Director
The position of art director involves not only expansive experience in art and web design, but experience with marketing and management. Art directors oversee large creative projects, ad campaigns, and branding campaigns, and typically will report to the CEO or CMO of a company. This position requires a bachelor’s in art or design, and minors such as marketing, English, creative writing and even computer science can be helpful. While a demanding position, designers with a passion for art and management will be well suited to it and the pay, benefits, and perks are typically excellent.
Conclusion
Each of these jobs for web designers represents different facets and fields of expertise that design professionals acquire during their studies or in professional practice – and no matter where your greatest enthusiasm lies in the field of web design, each of these positions is well worth exploring.
Related Resources:
