The design industry is a very exclusive industry – to succeed you need to have the most incredible design skills. That being said, technology has meant that learning to be a designer, whether that’s a graphic designer, a product designer, or an animator, has become easier than ever before. In the past, to become a designer you would have to sit at least three years of university and undertake a degree, but today there are various other routes into the industry. It’s still an exclusive industry, but it’s not necessarily still an academia-focused one.
2016’s product design industry trends revealed
Technology has not only changed the way in which designers are taught, but it has also impacted many other areas of the design industry. We are currently living in an era known as the digital age – a time that is famous for the fact that we have gone from using analog and mechanical technology to digital technology. Like every industry, the design industry has changed a lot over the years, but the most rapid changes have come in the past ten or so years and all thanks to new technology.
8 New Graphic Design Trends That Will Take Over 2017
It’s thanks to this new technology that we are seeing designers pushing themselves to create designs that are smarter and more innovative. With the fact that designers are pushing themselves harder than ever before, and the idea that the process of becoming a designer has changed, in mind, we will look at how technology has changed the design industry.
Learning has changed
Has Technology Made Student – Life Easier? It’s Time To Find Out!
This is a big one. Thanks to technology, how designers learn has changed. Today there is less focus on qualifications and training, although these are still important in many sectors, and more focus on results. It’s not about where a designer studied or what grades they got; it’s about what they can do and how skilled they are. There are so many pieces of software that can be used to effectively teach yourself a range of design skills, which is why some designers are choosing not to undertake a formal education. However, for many design roles, a product design, illustration, or graphic design degree is required, but that’s not always the case for all freelance roles. The benefit of undertaking a design degree is that modern degrees are focusing on smart technology, and teach their students how to utilize it to produce better designs.
Everything is computer-based
20 years ago, the majority of design work was done via a drawing board or a sketch pad, with most parts of a design completed by hand. Machinery was still used to bring designs to life, but not in the same way that it is today. Today, every aspect of design is computer-based, or almost every aspect is. Designs are often still hand drawn but via a computer program like Adobe Fireworks or Adobe Photoshop, or via a design pad that’s attached to a computer.
Quality tends to be higher
5 Influencers Who Have Changed Graphic Design Forever
A major benefit of new technology for the design industry is the fact that designs tend to be of a higher quality, thanks to better software and tools, such as designer drawing pads that link to computers or tablets. Today, audiences expect graphics that are smarter, sleeker, more intricate, and perfectly aligned, which is why designers have had to up their game. The fact is that today’s software and tools are capable of creating incredible designs, which is what makes people expect such amazing things from the design sector.
There’s no doubt about it; technology has majorly overhauled the design industry. It has changed it beyond recognition.
