I’ve gotten calls from aspiring graphic artists in the past weeks. A few still in secondary school and intend to study Graphic Arts wondering what subjects to take, what course to study in the higher institution and most especially where a graphic artist can work. I’m going to answer these questions by sharing my experience.
In secondary school I took Fine Art as one of my vocational subjects, I was the only female in that class, then of course Fine Art was one of my WAEC subjects, I think I had an A. At the University I studied Creative arts, Graphic Art major and went further with a Masters In Creative Arts.
During my undergraduate days, I worked with Lowe Lintas as a student graphic artist under the Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES), that lasted 6 months. In most higher institutions, it’s required for students to go though the SIWES or Industrial Training (IT) as some call it especially if your course is practice based. This usually lasts about 6 months or 1 year. Since then I’ve worked with Public Relation companies, advertising and branding agencies, entertainment and events companies, my primary role in these companies/agencies was to create designs according to briefs. By the way a graphic artist needs to be able to interpret a design brief well and communicate it visually.
Here’s a list of job industries you can work as a graphic artist:
- Advertising Agency
- Print and Publishing Companies
- Teaching
- Event Companies
- Public Relation Agencies
- Entertainment Companies
- Banks
- In-house graphic artist in various companies
If you didn’t study Fine Arts at any level but have a passion for Graphic Design, you can acquire the skills through training. There are resources online and some training schools in Nigeria, I’d do research and gather a list of these later.
