Artist - Page 2 of 2

Artist - Page 2

My job: Production Artist (aka Graphic Designer/Artist) for local newspaper

Job description: Pagination (arrange and flow text, photos and ads on each page. Apply styles to text.) Output to film (RIP) and load film into processor for developing. Work photos, design ads and covers for tabloids and special sections. Convert pages to PDF and upload to web.

Education: (Mine anyway) Associate degree in Commercial Art/Graphic Design.
1 1/2 years fine art major.

Previous experience before this job: None in field. 13 years at plastics factory as manual laborer.

Programs used: (Mac platform) InDesign, Photoshop, Fetch, Quark XPress, Illustrator (not often) Acrobat, Adobe GoLive (rarely)

Pros: Good working conditions, low stress (but must be able to meet deadlines, be organized) Good hours (but have to work some Saturday mornings) Can be creative (within limits) Always something to do, but seldom feel overwhelmed.

Cons: Pay not that great (better in bigger cities/newspapers, but higher cost of living too) As far as ads go, you have to give the clients what THEY want, not what you like or what you consider good design. Each client is different, some are open and let you do what you want and some are very strict.

Promotions: Very little opportunity for promotion.

Tip: Send a creative resume. I created a little round flip book made of glossy, heavyweight paper. I put text on every other page (Cover letter, education, skills, job experience, references) and little thumbnails with snippets of my works on every other page. I then put a segment of an interesting photo I took on the cover, punched a single hole at the top of each page and held it all together with a small key ring (can also use a small, plain loop earring)