When I tell people I’m a graphic designer, they don’t always know what that entails. “So, logos?” Yes! Plus annual reports, t-shirts, Facebook ads, UI for web apps, the occasional card game, and a bunch of other things that have to look nice. On the other hand, sometimes people assume that because I’m a graphic designer, I also excel at photography or interior decorating (sadly, no).
There are many kinds of professional creatives, and your project might benefit most from one in particular. People don’t get the results they want when they hire the wrong creative for the job — a web developer when they actually need a web designer, or a graphic designer when they actually need a marketing strategist.
Choosing the right creative for the job is important to the success of your project. Below is a short list I made of creative types whose roles and skills sometimes get confused — hopefully it helps you hire the right person!
A note before I get on with the list: you won’t find a creative professional who can do it all. Each of these roles involves a field of learning that is rich and complex, and can’t be mastered in a short time. It’s common for a creative to be very strong in two of these areas; plus, we artsy types love to play and dabble, so we might have basic skills in a couple others. A 10-year veteran can be highly competent in maybe three of the below listed roles. Be extremely skeptical if your talent claims to excel in more than that…unless they’ve been in the business for a really, really long time. (Also: I didn’t include every kind of creative professional — such as videographers — because their specialty is pretty self-evident.)
On to the list:
graphic designer — a commercial artist who arranges text and images in a way that both looks appealing and best communicates your message. They can make original graphics from scratch (illustration) and large amounts of text readable (layout). Graphic designers focus on the two-dimensional world, and almost any kind of medium is fair game, both digital and tactile: posters, t-shirts, web banners, etc. However, it’s not guaranteed that graphic designers have technical skills to create digital media; for example, they can create a pretty design for a website, but they might not know how to actually build, code, or launch it.
web designer — specializes in graphic design for the web. They can design an attractive website that engages customers, plus get it up and running. However, they’re not necessarily equipped to provide you a logo, business cards, or any marketing media that’s not based on the web. Some web designers can do this, but you have to check.
web developer — specializes in the back-end programming and data processing of websites and web apps. To quote an analogy I’ve heard: if web design is like auto body work, then web development is like building the engine itself. Web devs can write programs that fetch or crunch data, automate complex tasks, and generally make your website do backflips.
illustrator — an artist who specializes in making highly detailed pictures that are meant to be the showpiece of a particular design. For example, a magazine article might have an accompanying illustration that helps tell the story. You hire an illustrator when you want highly customized images to do the heavy lifting in your design. Many illustrators work in digital media, but most are able to paint or draw as well. Their education varies: an illustrator might have a fine arts degree, or they might be self-taught. Whether their work is “good” or not sometimes depends on your own personal taste as the client!
photographer — you know what a photographer does. But I want to mention this: don’t assume your designer can also take great pictures! Photography is a complex art of it’s own, demanding unique skills and equipment.
exhibition/display designer — specializes in making appealing 3D environments, from window displays to museum exhibits. Not only does the space have to look great, but it also must inspire the viewer to do something: walk into the store, read the information, interact with an object, etc.
industrial designer — specializes in designing 3D objects that serve a purpose — chairs, tables, prosthetics, anything — and that will be mass produced. They have to consider everything from beauty to ergonomics to materials. These creatives may also design intangibles like systems or processes used to produce an object.
marketing strategist — this person can determine what the graphic designer, and other creatives, should be working on. Marketing strategists analyze data (population demographics, advertising methods, what’s happening in the economy) to figure out the best way to promote a product or obtain customers. They’ll also create advertising budgets and conduct market research. If your graphic designer can think like a strategist, you’ve found yourself a golden goose.