Graphics Designer Production Artist Job Description

Production Artists: A Career in Graphic Design

If you have ever looked into a career in creative work, you will most likely know the job title of a production artist. It may seem like a pretty straightforward title, but there is more to it than that. If you are a person who is not afraid to get technical with design, you will find the production artist job description worth your time.

You can find production artists in a lot of places. If there is a creative team present, a production artist can be helpful, as they can make sure the work actually happens and free up designers and directors to think of a proper path. A creative career can be applied to nearly any field of interest.

There are plenty of opportunities for production artists to work with new or interesting clients if the company needs branding and design work completed. A production artist is involved in the production of graphic material, packaging, display and advertising projects. They may work with graphic designers to format artwork, ensure print quality standards are met, and organize files.

The production artist is in the trenches making the design deliverables happen, while an art director graphic designer is in the middle of a project. They are responsible for coming up with creative solutions to make sure things happen the way they are supposed to. Production artists have a keen eye for detail and know how to get the job done, they also work with a variety of design programs.

They need strong layout skills, organizational abilities and excellent file-categorizing prowess to ensure artwork is production-ready and projects are completed on time. The BLS says that candidates for graphic design positions need a Bachelor's degree. A formal education can help you get your foot in the door, but you should also consider a well-rounded design portfolio.

Production Design

The budget is another responsibility that the product designer has. They play a big part in calculating the cost of materials and resources needed for the movie. The production designer is often responsible for helping to steer a production around a misallocated budget.

Money spent wrong can leave departments with little to work with, which is why many film projects fail to bring a story to life. The whole film and the budget must be considered by the production designers. Things don't always go as planned.

A production designer is often called upon to come up with quick, effective solutions on set, all while making sure the whole team stays motivated, creative, and productive. The best product designers have enough patience to lead their team despite unexpected issues so that they can reach milestone. Product designers hold a unique position within a film.

You will be expected to be present and engaged from start to finish, working hard every day to make sure the movie looks right. The production designer has the ability to organize, creativity, and knowledge, which is needed in the art department. A film's look may not be strong enough to tell its story without a cohesive design.

Graphic Design

Graphic designers plan, develop and produce printed or electronic material for their clients. They may specialize in design for marketing communications, digital media, corporate identity, publishing or packaging. Designers use a range of skills.

Good computer skills and knowledge of graphic design software required by them. Designers meet with clients. They ask questions to establish the client's communication needs, the budget and time frame for the project and make recommendations on the scope of the project.

Designers in larger firms may not deal with clients directly. They took the brief from the account manager. Designers use the information in the brief to prepare initial concepts to show the client how they plan to approach the project.

The concepts can be visual, written or both. The proposals include a schedule for taking the project forward. The designer prepares detailed designs and specifications for the project when the client approves the initial proposals.

Designers prepare a layout for each page that shows the amount of text, size and type of photographs, illustrations and diagrams. They prepare a specification for the brochure so that the printers, photographers and copywriters can give detailed estimates for their parts of the job. Designers arrange meetings with clients or account managers to discuss progress on projects and get approval before moving on to the next stage.

The Production Designer

The production designer is responsible for the overall look of a project by taking the script, the director's vision, and the producer's plan and budget and turning it into a visual story. The production designer is involved in every visual element of a project, from pre-production to principal photography and post-production. The production designer is responsible for hiring art directors, set designers, set decorators, graphic artists, prop masters, and more.

They work closely with the director, writer, producers, and director of photography. A degree in film or theater production is required for many successful production designers. They should have the skills to draw, sculpture, digital design, architectural models, and use the software to create great graphics.

Production Artists

Production artists are trained to prepare images for production, adjust color balance, size, and resolution to ensure that images are of the highest possible quality and that there are no errors in colors or gradients. They can use image editing software to correct defects. Many production artists interact with clients directly to ensure that the project is perfect and serves as liaisons between clients and creative teams.

The production artist can be a project manager, gathering information from clients and ensuring that work is completed according to budget and deadline. Production artists maintain file libraries and databases to ensure that image and media files are available for later projects. The production artists create and maintain libraries that contain the various pieces of the project that they created.