Graphic Design or Communication?

Hi there, as i want to study graphic design at university i've applied for 'Graphic Design' at numerous Universitys. Today i found out that one of those universities has changed the course from Graphic Design to Graphic Communication, is there any difference between the courses? and are the career prospects the same? Thankss...
 
There is no difference in the courses and no career prospect in them either. Learn to code.
 
Ian @ B Design said:
That's a bit of a generalisation. lol

Not really, I've been in this business nearly 40 years at the highest level and have hired hundreds. I've seen jobs and roles appear and dissappear. Design died when the word 'menu' appeared on a Mac. Photography, Print. Newspapers and all form of traditional media and medium has to evolve and adapt to survive. But only those that adapt will continue. the modern designer will be code based. This is the digital age. Digital is based on the binary code. Computers do not read emmotion, they read numbers. Those who can read the code will dictate how technology and design will survive together.
Learn to Code.
 
I agree to a certain extent but there are still traditionalists out there. People do like printed material and graphic design will always be there in the printed form. People will obviously use digital means and the need for it will rise but that doesn't mean to say that print is dead. It's just been joined by a friend called digital.
 
Print isn't dead but it is on it's way out....a designer that can't read and work with web stuff is a three legged race horse....

Illustration is another beast altogether...
 
Berry said:
Not really, I've been in this business nearly 40 years at the highest level and have hired hundreds. I've seen jobs and roles appear and dissappear. Design died when the word 'menu' appeared on a Mac. Photography, Print. Newspapers and all form of traditional media and medium has to evolve and adapt to survive. But only those that adapt will continue. the modern designer will be code based. This is the digital age. Digital is based on the binary code. Computers do not read emmotion, they read numbers. Those who can read the code will dictate how technology and design will survive together.
Learn to Code.


Lol, it sounds like that spiel should be scrolling slowly down the screen in bold red on black type at the beginning of an 80’s movie starring Kurt Russell.

But he’s right, I’m doing Graphic Design at Uni and when I looked at UniStats.com I saw that on 8% of people graduating my course the year before I started, went on to work in the creative industry within 6 months. That number was roughly the same as the number of people who obtained 1st class degrees. I think unless you go to one of the top design Universities like Loughborough, you really need to leave Uni with a top degree and a mac daddy portfolio if you want to find a good job. But if you want to go freelance then it doesn’t really matter what class of degree you get, and you can use the three years to tailor your learning to your field, ideally it wouldn’t hurt to do both.
 
Typo said:
Print isn't dead but it is on it's way out....a designer that can't read and work with web stuff is a three legged race horse...

I don't think its a bad thing to learn extra skills and techniques but I do it so I can refer to it without sounding completely stupid and I'm the first to admit I'll never be a web designer.

That said I'm also not living in fear of my work drying up overnight. I think there's a long way to go before scaremongering. It's taken hundreds of years for print to get to this stage and I know things move faster now but print medium will be here most of my lifetime. People still like the feel and ease of use of printed material. People didn't give up the bike because the car came along.
 
Yes, so is there any difference between the contents of the course? I'd prefer to do graphic design, but is graphic communication the same thing, or a different course altogether?
 
Berry said:
There is no difference in the courses and no career prospect in them either. Learn to code.



Mans got a point.

Have a look at loads of design agencies websites and their 'vacancies' pages.

Not many 'design' jobs going. Plenty, and i mean plenty of developers, front end, php, coding the lot.


Unless your seriously **** hot at design, learn web development.
 
This old chest nut, I heard the phrase 'print is dead' about 8 years ago!

Are we talking graphic communication here or media?

You still need good designers, art directors or creative directors to come up with good concepts that can be translated in whatever media is available or that suits the subject.

Be it an advertising campaign or a new brand idea - to just 'learn to code' will make you a great web developer not a great graphic communicator.
 
Learn to code will get you a job, which is the premise of the opening reply. We are talking about routes of career prospects not graphic communication.
I recall my Studio Manager poo pooing the advent of Macs and that Cow Gum and drawing boards will never be replaced and that there would always be a need fro finished artists. He was made redundant 18 month later.
There will always be a need for an idea and design, but new skills sets will dictate how we do business.
 
Opps sorry I thought the question was "Graphic Design to Graphic Communication, is there any difference between the courses? and are the career prospects the same?"

Of course there are career prospects in Graphic Communication!
 
erichmond said:
Of course there are career prospects in Graphic Communication!

Yeah of course there are! I think we are putting the nail in the coffin a little bit early here. We still use art in graphic design. Does that mean that we shouldn't be looking for artistic flair within design because it's now moving to technical flair? Course not. There is an increasing need for digital design, I don't dispute that, but come on it doesn't mean that we all have to learn code to survive. I don't code, I'm doing fine thanks.

The last place I worked for laid off nearly forty people because they weren't making enough money with their digital coding! Hence, here I am, making money in print media.

I'd never say never and I'm always looking to expand on what I know, but I'm not in a hurry to learn code just yet.
 
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