How to Become a Graphic Designer

What Is Graphic Design?

Graphic design is the practice of creating visual content to communicate messages. You use colour, typography, layout, imagery, and composition to produce everything from company logos and brand images to websites, packaging, posters, social media content, and advertising campaigns. The day-to-day varies depending on where you work. At an agency, you might be working on three different client brands in one week. In-house, you could spend months refining a single brand system. Whatever the setting, the process usually looks the same: understand the brief, research the audience, develop concepts, refine the design, and deliver files that are ready for print or screen. Most of your time is spent in Adobe Creative Cloud: Illustrator for logos and vector work, InDesign for layouts, Photoshop for image editing, and increasingly Figma for digital and team-based work. You will also spend more time than you expect in meetings, discussing ideas with clients, art directors, copywriters, and developers. The creative part is genuinely enjoyable. The revision rounds and last-minute deadline changes? Less so. But when you see something you designed out in the world, whether it is on a billboard or a product on a supermarket shelf, that part never gets old.

Why Does Graphic Design Matter?

People make snap judgments based on how things look. A poorly designed website makes visitors leave. Confusing packaging gets ignored on the shelf. An inconsistent brand makes a company look amateur. Graphic designers prevent all of that. They shape how people perceive businesses, products, and ideas. It is not decoration; it is communication. And as more business moves online, the demand for people who can create clear, persuasive visual content continues to grow. According to Next Move Strategy Consulting, the global graphic design market was valued at over $52 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $70 billion by 2030. Businesses know that standing out visually is not optional anymore. That is why the work matters, and why the people who can do it well remain in demand.

Is Graphic Design a Good Career?

It depends on what you are looking for. The pay is not as high as some other careers, but the work is creative, the options are wide, and the flexibility is genuine.

• Demand is broad and consistent. Every company needs visual communication. Agencies, in-house marketing teams, publishers, tech companies, government, charities: they all hire designers. According to the Design Council's Design Economy report, the UK design economy grew at twice the rate of the wider economy between 2010 and 2019, and that momentum has continued. London is the largest hub for UK design jobs, but opportunities exist across the country and remotely.
• The pay is decent, but be realistic. The National Careers Service lists graphic designer salaries between £25,000 and £40,000 per year. Junior roles typically start around £22,000 to £25,000. Mid-level designers with a few years of experience earn between £25,000 and £38,000. Senior designers and creative leads can earn £38,000 to £55,000, while creative directors can earn £60,000 or more. London pays a premium: Glassdoor puts the London average at around £34,000. However, as many designers on Reddit will tell you, salaries have not kept pace with inflation in recent years. Getting past £40,000 usually means moving into management, specialising in a higher-paying niche like UX/UI.
• Remote work is increasingly common. Design work happens on a computer. Briefs arrive by email, feedback comes over video calls, and files get shared through cloud platforms. The pandemic proved that most design work can be done remotely, and many companies have not returned to on-site work. Entirely remote roles are more common in digital design than in print-heavy roles, but hybrid arrangements are widespread. If location flexibility matters to you, graphic design offers real options.
• You can work in any industry. Fashion, tech, publishing, healthcare, government, entertainment, charity: graphic designers are needed everywhere. If you want a change of scenery, you can switch sectors without starting from scratch. Your core skills transfer. One designer on Reddit described moving from print design for luxury goods to product design in tech and seeing their income multiply over a decade.
• Progression exists, but it often means extending your role. The typical path is junior designer, then designer, then senior designer, and finally creative lead or creative director. But the honest truth is that pure graphic design roles tend to plateau in pay. Designers who earn more often move into management, UX/UI design, art direction, motion graphics, or start their own studios. The creative skills you build transfer well to these adjacent roles, so the ceiling is higher than it first appears.

How Do I Become a Graphic Designer? A Step-by-Step Guide

There are multiple routes in, and what matters most is your portfolio, not your qualifications. Here is how to build the skills and evidence you need.

1. 1
   Learn the fundamentals of design. Before touching any tools, understand why good design actually works. That means learning about colour theory, how typography affects readability, how to use contrast and white space, and how to arrange elements so people look where you want them to look. You do not need a degree to learn them. Books like "The Non-Designer's Design Book" by Robin Williams are excellent starting points. Canva Design School is free and covers the fundamentals. YouTube has plenty of decent tutorials, too. But honestly, one of the best ways to learn is just paying closer attention to the world around you. Next time you pick up a product in a shop, look at the packaging. Browse a website and think about why it feels easy or frustrating to use. Start noticing why some things look right, and others do not.
2. 2
   Get proficient with the industry tools. Adobe Creative Cloud is the standard. You need to be confident in Illustrator (logos, icons, vector graphics), InDesign (layouts, print design, brochures), and Photoshop (image editing, compositing). For digital and web design, Figma has become essential for collaborative work and prototyping. After Effects is increasingly valuable for motion graphics. These tools are not optional; they are expected. Most have free trials or student pricing. Spend time building real projects in each one, not just viewing tutorials. Employers will test your software skills, so make sure you can actually produce work, not just describe how.
3. 3
   Consider formal education, but know it is not always required. A degree in graphic design, art and design, illustration, or visual communication gives you structured learning, access to tutors, and a built-in portfolio period. Foundation diplomas in art and design are a common first step before a degree. However, a degree is not strictly necessary. Many working designers are self-taught or came through college courses in graphic design, creative media, or photography. What matters far more than the qualification itself is the quality of your portfolio. If you do go the university route, choose a course that emphasises practical work and industry placements. Courses accredited by the Chartered Society of Designers carry professional recognition.
4. 4
   Build a portfolio that shows the range and depth of thought. In this industry, nobody is going to hire you because of your CV, but because of your portfolio. A mix of real client work and personal projects helps. If you have only done university or self-initiated work, that’s fine, but try to show range: some branding, some layout, some screen-based design. Don’t just dump in final visuals either. Walk through how you got there. What was the brief? What did you try that did not work? What decisions did you make and why? Employers care far more about your thought process than your ability to make something look polished. Keep it to your best 8-12 pieces, as quality always beats quantity. Host it online on a platform such as Behance, on a personal website, or as a simple PDF. Get it reviewed by other designers if you can; student portfolio assessments from entities like the International Society of Typographic Designers can be valuable.
5. 5
   Get work experience. Experience is essential, and it does not have to be fully paid for at first. Internships and placements at agencies or in-house teams are the most direct route, but formal placements are not the only way in. If agencies are not responding, think smaller. A local café that needs a menu redesign, a charity that hasn't updated its flyers in years, and a friend's band that wants gig posters: these are all real projects. You’re still working on a brief, dealing with feedback, and delivering something on a deadline. That counts, and it gives you portfolio pieces, references, and something to talk about in interviews that is actually yours.
6. 6
   Consider an apprenticeship. If university is not for you, apprenticeships offer a way to earn while you learn. You can start as a design assistant and work your way up while obtaining practical skills on the job. Apprenticeships in graphic design, digital design, and creative media are available at various levels. They take longer than the graduate route, but you finish with real experience, no debt, and industry contacts. Check the government's Find an Apprenticeship service for current openings.
7. 7
   Develop complementary skills. The designers who earn more and get hired faster tend to offer more than just graphic design. Knowing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript makes you more valuable on web-focused teams. After Effects keeps popping up in job ads now, mostly because many brands want animated social media content. Understanding UX/UI principles opens the door to higher-paying digital roles. Photography, illustration, and copywriting are all useful extras. You do not need to master all of them, but developing your skill set makes you more versatile and more employable. Several experienced designers note that diversifying into areas such as motion design or digital product work notably increased their earning potential.
8. 8
   Get connected to the industry. The Chartered Society of Designers is the main professional body for designers in the UK, offering membership, networking, and the Chartered Designer pathway. The International Society of Typographic Designers is worth joining if typography is your focus. The Design Business Association provides industry contacts and events. Membership signals professionalism to employers and clients, and gives you access to resources, events, and a community of other designers.
9. 9
   Start applying. If you are just starting, look for junior designer or design assistant roles. These are your stepping stones. Tailor your portfolio to each application: if the company does packaging, show packaging work. If they focus on digital, lead with your screen-based projects. Speculative applications are common in design; research agencies you admire, match your portfolio to their style, and send a concise, well-designed email to a named person. Keep your portfolio website clean and your images sharp. First impressions are more important in this industry than most.

Resources and Further Reading

• Chartered Society of Designers (CSD) – The main professional body for designers in the UK, and the only one with a Royal Charter. Membership is open at different career stages, and if you stick with it, there is a pathway to becoming a Chartered Designer, which carries real weight with employers and clients. They also run events and publish genuinely useful resources.
• International Society of Typographic Designers (ISTD) – A professional body dedicated to typography and typographic design. They run student assessments that are useful for portfolio development and offer a membership that connects you with other designers. If type is your thing, this is the community for it.
• Design Business Association (DBA) – Provides information about careers in design, runs a job board, and connects designers with the business side of the industry. If you are trying to break into agency work, their jobs board and industry insights are a good place to start.
• Adobe Creative Cloud Tutorials – Free, official tutorials for Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, After Effects, and more. Structured by skill level and practical in focus. The best place to start learning the tools you will use every day.
• Figma Community and Tutorials – Figma has become essential for digital and team-based design. Their community section has free templates, plugins, and design files you can study. The learning resources span everything from basics to advanced prototyping.
• D&AD – A global creative organisation that runs awards, courses, and industry events. Their New Blood programme is worth entering early in your career, even if you do not win. Just seeing the calibre of work that gets shortlisted will raise your own bar.
• Design Week – The go-to news site for the UK design industry. They cover everything from rebrands and agency moves to opinion pieces on where the profession is heading. Once you are working in design, checking in on Design Week every now and then keeps you up to date on what other studios are doing and what clients are asking for.
• r/graphic_design – Active Reddit community with over 300,000 members discussing careers, portfolios, tools, and the realities of working in design. People are candid about what they earn, what they think of your portfolio, and what they wish they had known when they started.