What Graphic Designers actually do

There are over a hundred Graphic Design companies in South Africa. They are responsible for the creation of visual concepts, either created by hand or Information Technology. You can see the work done by a Graphic Designer on magazines, newspapers, and advertisements on TV, websites, and brochures.

If you are a creative individual, then this is the job for you. But it does not end there, because to be a Graphic Designer you need to have a good eye for form and design. As a Graphic Designer, one day you will be creating business cards and other days a website, so it is a versatile career that requires inspiration on a daily basis.

Unlike other jobs in South Africa, to be a Graphic Designer it is not a ‘must’ for you to have a qualification or training. It is a job based on your demonstrated skills. What this means is, you will need to have a portfolio showing how creative you are and what work you have done.

However, it is recommended that you either study towards a degree or diploma in Graphic Design with an influence of Information Technology.

To become a Graphic Designer today, you will be doing most of your work online, and a qualification in Graphic Design and IT can assist you in learning and understanding the use of certain programmes that will assist you in your job, such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign.

Some Graphic Designer companies in South Africa:

Klyx Group:

They specialise in different forms of web digitising, for web, media and software. They provide quality websites for mobile and computer use and online media services such as online advertising and the development of software for small businesses.

Fab Graphics:

The company specialises in what they call ‘visualisation turned into life’. They have different forms of Graphic Designing, but their main one being 3D animations for Property Marketing and Real Estate Agencies.

Fab Graphics shows that Graphic Designing is not only limited to media or web. It is a very broad career.

With Graphic Designing experience you can also do other jobs, such as:

Creative Director or Art Director: Mostly based in advertising agencies, where you will be monitoring visual brands and products created by your Graphic Designing team.

A Visual Journalist: Where you will be creating informational graphics ‘infographics’ for print and digital newspapers.

A Logo Designer: You get a chance to create visually expressive messages that will accompany the logo of a company.

So Graphic Designing can be broad. Here are a few things to consider if you want to become a well-established Graphic Designer:

You will need to be a visual thinker, meaning: Have an eye for detail, beautiful things, colour, and be an unorthodox thinker.

You must have a portfolio, especially if you hope to get hired.

For Graphic Designer jobs and IT jobs in South Africa, visit or browse the Job Mail website for your ideal job in South Africa.