Basic Graphic Designer Job Description, Duties and Responsibilities

This post provides detailed information on the basic graphic designer job description, including the key duties, tasks, and responsibilities they commonly perform.

It also highlights the major requirements that you may be expected to fulfill to be hired for the basic graphic designer role by most employers/recruiters.

What Does a Basic Graphic Designer Do?

A basic graphic designer refers to a professional individual who combines his or her creativity and artistic talent with the mastery of technologies to develop and design text and images for various clients, ranging from the creation of one small logo to the creation and/or production of an entire branding package.

In other words, a basic graphic designer is responsible for creating visual communications and representations to convey and/or communicate messages in an effective and aesthetically pleasing manner.

A basic graphic designer utilizes two or three-dimensional (2D or 3D) to create and design visual concepts.

They are saddled with the responsibility of creating and designing logos and layout designs that are used for electronic media, such as websites, magazines, user interfaces, brochures, reports, product labels, advertisements, and so on.

A basic graphic designer also works with professionals and creative team to incorporate typesetting, photography, illustration, and sometimes programming, to ensure that products and/or services are displayed as intended, ideas or messages are conveyed effectively, and that they achieve desired objectives, which usually involves reaching out to a target audience.

To effectively carry out their job duties, a basic graphic designer must liaise and work with clients to represent their goals and ideas with design concepts.

They also create designs by hand, drawing or painting, and/or utilize relevant computer software to achieve similar results.

A basic graphic designer is also usually required to work as part of a team to create a larger design, or to aid the completion of a small portion of a big project.

In essence, all the daily activities of a basic graphic designer revolve around using their creativity and artistic abilities to effectively communicate ideas, inform consumers, and strategically and professionally solve problems.

Furthermore, an ideal candidate or any interested individual who seeks to work in the role of a basic graphic designer is expected and required to possess and showcase certain skills and qualities that guarantee efficiency and productivity in the job duties.

Some of the skills that an ideal candidate is required to possess to qualify for the position of a basic graphic designer include creativity and innovative skills, well-developed verbal and written communication skills, good typography skills, and customer service skills.

Others include strong time management skills, excellent endurance skills, good branding skills, and mastery of graphic design software.

Having in-depth knowledge of design and visual principles and several other relevant skills are required for success as a basic graphic designer.

In terms of academic qualifications, the ideal candidate for the basic graphic designer role is required to have a sound educational background, which involves a Bachelor’s degree with a major concentration in graphic design or a relevant or related discipline.

A strong portfolio that showcases a candidate’s skills and creativity is also favorably considered by some employers.

Basic Graphic Designer Job Description Example/Sample/Template

The basic graphic designer job description consists of the following duties, tasks, and responsibilities:

• Liaising and communicating with clients to understand their needs and requirements for a project, and ensuring that those specific needs are efficiently achieved
• Overseeing the design of advertisements, annual reports, artworks, books, and their covers, logos, magazines, brochures, web pages, and other branding and communication materials
• Revising a design brief to ensure that it complies with a client’s budget and ideas
• Staying up to date with the latest development trends and also learning how to use new software programs
• Working cooperatively as part of a creative team to create a larger design or complete a small portion of a big project
• Establishing creative direction for an organization, as well as brand guidelines.

Basic Graphic Designer Job Description for Resume

If you have worked before or are currently working as a basic graphic designer and are making a new resume or CV, then you can craft a compelling Professional Experience section for your resume by applying the sample basic graphic designer job description provided above.

You can highlight the duties and responsibilities you have performed or presently carrying out as a basic graphic designer in your resume’s Professional Experience to show that you have been successful performing the role.

This can greatly boost your resume’s effectiveness in getting you hired, especially if the new role that you are seeking requires someone with some basic graphic designer work experience.  

Basic Graphic Designer Requirements: Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities for Career Success

The essential skills and qualifications that are important for achieving success on the basic graphic designer job, as well as required by employers/recruiters for hiring for the role include:

• Good verbal and written communication skills, as a basic graphic designer must meet and liaise with clients to discuss and understand project requirements and ensure that they are ascertained
• Strong interpersonal skills, since a basic graphic designer must work collaboratively as part of a creative team
• Adequate knowledge of layouts, graphic fundamentals, typography, print, web, and so on
• Ability to ensure long hours of work
• Good time management skills, as basic graphic designers must complete projects within given deadlines
• Several years of experience in graphic design and a well-developed and strong portfolio
• A Bachelor’s degree with a major concentration in Graphic Design or a relevant field.

Basic Graphic Designer Employment Statistics

According to the May, 2023 report of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS, the number of graphic designers in employment in the United States is about 212,720.

However, survey data on Zippia shows that more than 111,578 graphic designers are presently employed in the U.S. with 50.2% of them being women and 49.8% men, while their average age is 38 years.

Basic Graphic Designer Employment by Industry

The BLS data also shows the industries that hire the largest number of graphic designers in the United States to include:

Graphic Designer: Industry with Highest Employments. Data from BLS

Basic Graphic Designer Employment by State

The Zippia report shows that California and Texas are among the States that employ the highest number of graphic designers in the U.S. with 3,451 and 1,410 employments respectively.

Basic Graphic Designer Salary

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS, graphic designers in the United States make an average yearly salary of $64,700.

However, Zippia gives the average salary to be $49,450 per year.

Basic Graphic Designer Salary by State

The States that pay the highest salaries to graphic designers in the United States according to the BLS include District of Columbia and New York, with average yearly salaries of $93,050 and $80,390 respectively.

Conclusion

A basic graphic designer plays an indisputably important role in the graphic design industry as they understand the effective and appealing ways in which brands and products or services can be visually communicated.

This post is helpful to individuals seeking the graphic designing career, to learn about the duties and responsibilities they commonly perform, as well as to understand what the employment and salary outlook for the profession looks like.

It is also useful to employers and recruiters needing to hire competent basic graphic designers for their organizations.

They can create a detailed and effective job description for the basic graphic designer role by applying the one provided above.