SC008Y_MAD

iTrader: (5)

This thread is for all you graphics designers out there. - i was trying not to come down this route, but i don't really have anywhere else to go for advice

I am currently looking for job in the graphics design business. Now, the thing is the jobs that I see advertised in local papers (herts area) require mac experience with quark express (or In design) Illustrator and photoshop. I have exerpence in photoshop buy only on a PC. So how does one gain experience on a MAC with these other programs?? are there any graphics designers ouot there that use PC, or is MAC the way to go, then if so, I supose it would be best if I myself had a mac to use at home to lean on? if so thats out of the question So im screw either way.

There has got to be some light at the end of the tunnel.

I have done 2 out of a 3 year course at uni doing a media/graphics course which tought me quite a bit .

Can anyone advise me on any course of action.

Cheers
Darren

P.S. Please not down putting or unhelpfull comments.

Avi

I have used quark express and photoshop on my PC.. briefly seen the graphics guys at work using them on the mac, and there doesn't appear to be any difference.. i'm sure if you can use it on a pc then a MAC wouldn't cause any problems after a bit of familiarasation with the MAC OS.

I love graphic design, allways wanted a career in it , but i'm colour blind so have to rely on people to help me a bit with the colours

bren.wright

A lot of graphic design places use MACs and you will find most want experience with a MAC. The reality is there is no difference between photoshop on PC or MAC and nearly every single program you would use on a MAC you can get on a PC.

Get a copy of the following programs as you will need to know most of these for a graphic design roll:

Adobe Photoshop CS2 (latest version)
Adobe Ilustrator
Macromedia Freehand
Macromedia Fireworks
Quark

If you have a good knowledge of all of those then that will give you a good start.

Another thing to think about is what sort of graphic design do you want to do? Most graphic designers start off doing flyer work etc, in which case you should get to know Photoshop, Illustrator and Freehand like the back of your hand.

Job roles like this always ask for experience though, get a portfolio of work together, do jobs for mates for free just to build up a decent portfolio of work.

Oh yeah another thing, just keeping using the programs, you will learn more this way than you will ever do at uni.

SC008Y_MAD

iTrader: (5)

Thanks for that mate. That was a real help.
I had better start saving (to buy the programs)...this could take a while.
I find it better to learn the program, just but playing and expermenting with the software, rather than someone show me.

bren.wright

If you are a student you should be able to get cheap licensed copies. Otherwise the internet is your friend...

Streebeck

It's really tough getting a foot in the door Darren, as you've probably found out.

I graduated in 2004 with a very decent degree in GD, thought (as most fresh graduates do) that I'd walk right into my ideal job... blah blah blah... Just doesn't happen. Mailed out my CV to every design/print firm within about 50 miles, got a few interviews but nothing ever came of them. Can't get a job without experience, can't get experience without a job, it's a tough situation.

I had to take a breather, re-evaluate my priorities, thought about maybe doing a top-up in another pratice but decided to stick it out and keep trying. Had to take some temp work driving forklifts, not ideal but better than going on the dole...

Eventually I found a job in the paper, they were after someone with 2-3 years studio experience (I had about 6 months studio-time at that point) so I just lied . Got an interview, went really well, got my second interview where they got me to work with them for an afternoon. All went well, got the job, only took about a year after graduating

Some useful advice, may seem obvious but worth noting, make sure your CV is the absolute DADDY! Make it clean, crisp, don't ramble, keep it to two pages maximum. Half the battle is getting across what you're like as a person... It doesn't matter if you have the mac skills of Jesus H. Christ himself, if you're a ****** and can't get on with people then you'll struggle
Also, you might not be taken seriously if you aren't fluent in at least Quark/InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator. Lie if you have to, just get your foot in the door, get some interviews and get talking to industry people! The software isn't that hard to learn, I'm self-taught.

And yes, you'll probably need to familiarise yourself with macs. Some places have switched to PC but to be honest, 90% of the industry still revolves around macs and Quark. If you need software, mac or pc, drop me a PM. I might be able to sort you out You can get a nice little mac mini for £300ish now so it's not too expensive to get set-up.

Any questions, I'll be happy to help if I can. Keep your chin up mate, it's tough but not impossible

SC008Y_MAD

iTrader: (5)

PM SENT in reply to yours

Xpress Scooby

I am designer for my own print company, completely self taught. I knew PC's quite well, and thought Mac was a bit odd at first, but its not that different. In fact a lot of things are easier! Programs are basically the same. Looking at the replies to your post, I agree you need to know quark xpress more than anything. It is extremely simple, play with it, sometimes frustratingly simple!!! need photoshop to help with simple tasks sometimes! but when you get the hang of it its a piece of p*ss!! You can get free copies of quark from limewire, lasts 4 weeks but then just re-install!
My advice to you, and all graphic designers, lf you are producing work to be printed, learn a bit about the print process, I get lots of good quality design from agencies but more often than not, its always wrong. Especially when bleed is an issue, another common mistake is setting work in RGB, we need CMYK, if you change at the end......goodbye colours!!! good luck mate

Philip Attaway

Depends what kind of Graphic design you want to do in regards to software.

I am an Art Director at a publishing company (magazine designer)

The whole industry uses Macs and Quark is dying a death. Adobe In-design is now the weapon of choice.

Get yourself Adobe creative suite consisting of Photoshop, In-Design and Illustrator and you can't go far wrong. At near on a grand I doubt many people have a legit copy! You used to be able to download trial versions from Adobe.

At the end of the day it doesn't really matter what you are using. As long as your software allows you to create a hi-res CMYK PDF for a printer then job done.

On maybe a less constructive point. Learn to use your spell check as if you produced a flyer with the amount of typo's as your first post then you won't be making much money

Phil

Silvafox

iTrader: (1)

I'll give you my experiences as a Graphic Designer if its any use!

I've been doing it now for 10 years and gained my degree on Macs. However, my first job up until what I do now has always been on PC. The programs all run virtually identical on both systems, the only thing thats slightly different is the way the operating systems work...and thats a minor thing if your remotely computer proficient. The other things I find are that some of the quick keys are different and thats about it! Companies, such as ours, often use PC's as they are vastly cheaper and can be upgraded more cheaply when new bits come along. I'm not trying to start a Mac v PC arguement either!

I have used all the main packages and a lot of people seem to use Quark...but its only any good as a basic layout program really. If you want to do any decent design or anything remotely complexy then you need something like Indesign, Freehand, Illustrator or Corel DRAW. I use all three and the best one for 'design for print' has been Corel! Its not seen as 'trendy' as the others but it really is a complete package especially when it comes to the repro side. Its very good at everything! Photoshop is obviously a must regarding anythin image manipulation etc.. and thats exactly the same on Mac and PC.

Also, someone made a comment about learning more on the print side... and I couldn't agree more. The most valuable lessons I have learnt are concerning how files are dealt with at the print end. I'm the art director for a magazine at the minute and 90%+ of files are sent wrong to us by agencies and freelancers. People just don't seem to know what they are doing after they have created their masterpiece! Its easy to create the most impressive piece of artwork in the world but sometimes it just won't print without simplifying it and doing simple checks like the RGB or CMYK, resolution, overprint, bleed etc etc.

Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Pro is superb also in helping on the prepress checks etc. We used to supply the actual PRNs to the printers but now we simply PDF the files (at the correct settings obviously) and then check the plate seperations in Acrobat before the files are even sent. Its well worth getting.

My advice would be to not worry about any differences between Mac and PC and although I'd get to grips with Quark, its by no means anything more than a layout program really. We only ever use it when someone else supplies us a file in Quark, then we merely EPS it and bring it into Corel as postscript interpreted and then output from Corel - that way we can make changes without having to use Quark.

Learn everything you can about getting files ready for print and then you'll be confident in sending anything to anyone.

Hope any of this is useful.

Simon

Edited to add: I completely agree with Philip Attoway above...."At the end of the day it doesn't really matter what you are using. As long as your software allows you to create a hi-res CMYK PDF for a printer then job done."