Recently, someone asked me how I made the transition from being a print designer to becoming a digital designer and I thought it was a great question, so I am going to share my answer with you.
Just to be clear, this post has to do with my first job in digital design and how it specifically pertains to my personal experience. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of types of graphic design job titles in most industries for both digital and print. My last title was Digital Brand Experience Designer.
Making the transition from print design to digital was not as easy a process as I thought it would be. I had to take a few steps back in my career to the digital production process in order to gain a basic understanding of the UX/UI process, its components, the lingo and the many differences between designing something for print versus designing components for digital. It was worth it.
THE BASICS
At my last job, we designed components for social media, web, apps, connected devices - XBox, Roku, AppleTV, etc. -- and mobile devices. Designing for each of these products is completely different from designing for printed products. From shelf life, to response time, to number of components, the artwork assists in getting the users from point A to point B, then on to point Z and back if they want and it should all feel seamless and logical.
UX/UI
What is UX/UI? It stands for user experience/user interface. The UX designer is concerned with how something feels while the UI designer visually communicates the intended path of the UX designer. The graphic designer designs the component or components on a page or layout that support the overall UX/UI, marketing and/or sales efforts. Make sense? For more information regarding UX/UI, please see below or click here.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Designing for social media is a bit trickier. For example, many studies show that social media designed by fans or that look unprofessional sometimes get more 'likes' than the professionally designed artwork. I'm strictly speaking of social media artwork for entertainment because these are the only studies I know. Of course, there are other factors to consider: the brand, itself; targeted age group and time of day, for starters, not to mention an average of about 3-5-seconds of notability then it's over.
DIGITAL ART vs. PRINT ART
Another important factor when designing for any medium is a thorough understanding of that particular medium's best practices when creating artwork. You need to know canvas sizes, what the final output will be, and how the output will affect color. Another factor to consider is the amount of assets you might need to create. Usually, there are more digital assets in a campaign than print assets.
ORGANIZATION
When you are working with a large number of assets it is important to be super-organized. Chances are, there will be a host of people who need to access those assets and everyone needs to know where everything is at all times. When working on a digital campaign, timing is critical. Especially, if you're working on a show as large as 'The Voice' or 'America's Got Talent,' for example. There are images upon images for apps, the web, connected devices and more. Organization is a key part of a digital design role.
The rest is easy. The same design principles apply to digital art as does to print art. You need to be cognizant of space, balance, typography, color, etc., and you also need to know your audience. If you're a print designer and want to make the crossover to digital, do what you need to do to get your first digital job. The rest will be about your talent, personality, punctuality and professionalism.
Don't let your fears keep you from what you desire. Persevere!
UI, UX: Who Does What? A Designer's Guide to the Tech Industry, Fast Company –
https://www.fastcompany.com/3032719/ui-ux-who-does-what-a-designers-guide-to-the-tech-industry
Solid Digital Growth as Print Slides, New York Times Co. – https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/business/media/new-york-times-earnings.html
Just to be clear, this post has to do with my first job in digital design and how it specifically pertains to my personal experience. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of types of graphic design job titles in most industries for both digital and print. My last title was Digital Brand Experience Designer.
Making the transition from print design to digital was not as easy a process as I thought it would be. I had to take a few steps back in my career to the digital production process in order to gain a basic understanding of the UX/UI process, its components, the lingo and the many differences between designing something for print versus designing components for digital. It was worth it.
THE BASICS
At my last job, we designed components for social media, web, apps, connected devices - XBox, Roku, AppleTV, etc. -- and mobile devices. Designing for each of these products is completely different from designing for printed products. From shelf life, to response time, to number of components, the artwork assists in getting the users from point A to point B, then on to point Z and back if they want and it should all feel seamless and logical.
UX/UI
What is UX/UI? It stands for user experience/user interface. The UX designer is concerned with how something feels while the UI designer visually communicates the intended path of the UX designer. The graphic designer designs the component or components on a page or layout that support the overall UX/UI, marketing and/or sales efforts. Make sense? For more information regarding UX/UI, please see below or click here.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Designing for social media is a bit trickier. For example, many studies show that social media designed by fans or that look unprofessional sometimes get more 'likes' than the professionally designed artwork. I'm strictly speaking of social media artwork for entertainment because these are the only studies I know. Of course, there are other factors to consider: the brand, itself; targeted age group and time of day, for starters, not to mention an average of about 3-5-seconds of notability then it's over.
DIGITAL ART vs. PRINT ART
Another important factor when designing for any medium is a thorough understanding of that particular medium's best practices when creating artwork. You need to know canvas sizes, what the final output will be, and how the output will affect color. Another factor to consider is the amount of assets you might need to create. Usually, there are more digital assets in a campaign than print assets.
ORGANIZATION
When you are working with a large number of assets it is important to be super-organized. Chances are, there will be a host of people who need to access those assets and everyone needs to know where everything is at all times. When working on a digital campaign, timing is critical. Especially, if you're working on a show as large as 'The Voice' or 'America's Got Talent,' for example. There are images upon images for apps, the web, connected devices and more. Organization is a key part of a digital design role.
The rest is easy. The same design principles apply to digital art as does to print art. You need to be cognizant of space, balance, typography, color, etc., and you also need to know your audience. If you're a print designer and want to make the crossover to digital, do what you need to do to get your first digital job. The rest will be about your talent, personality, punctuality and professionalism.
Don't let your fears keep you from what you desire. Persevere!
To view my work, please visit https://josephrey.us
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UI, UX: Who Does What? A Designer's Guide to the Tech Industry, Fast Company –
https://www.fastcompany.com/3032719/ui-ux-who-does-what-a-designers-guide-to-the-tech-industry
Solid Digital Growth as Print Slides, New York Times Co. – https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/business/media/new-york-times-earnings.html
