Las Cruces and El Paso Web design and graphics careers

After training and certification: The entry-level Web design or graphic design career

The ultimate goal of Web design or graphic design is to communicate complex ideas through a combination of words and pictures. Skilled Web designers and graphic designers convey ideas through the careful selection and creation of pictures and images, which they artfully arrange with text - and in the case of Web design, code - to clarify and enhance ideas.

No one starts out as a Web design manager or lead graphic designer overnight, of course. Every El Paso or Las Cruces student new to the Web design or graphics field must start out at the entry level, and many cities offer entry level opportunities in the immediate and surrounding areas, if you make your job search thorough. Maximizing what you have learned while completing the Computer Career Center El Paso or Las Cruces graphic and Web design certificate certainly helps, but deciding what area of Web design or graphic arts you want to enter into is also important.

Students who complete the Computer Career Center graphic and Web design certificate might seek jobs in print graphics, as well. One of the easiest ways to get your foot in the door of print graphics is to take a pre-press graphic design job. In this position, an employee will receive finished graphic design files and check them for errors, including invalid fonts and fuzzy or low-resolution images. Understanding how to use photo-editing, line drawing, and layout graphics programs are assets in this type of job.

Another great entry into a graphic design career is as a layout artist. The layout artist might work for a trade publication, daily or weekly newspaper, or magazine. Some typesetting is almost always a part of this job, too; the layout artist will probably also be responsible for ensuring that the copy in an ad or article is error-free, and that the correct font is used. Layout might also involve designing unique ways to format ads or articles; processing and creating display and classified advertisements; editing photos; or creating small graphics and logos for advertisements.

Some students might seek work as professional graphic illustrators. In this job, students will create unique pictures, either by hand, or in a graphic drawing and rendering program. They might work for greeting card companies, for textbook publishing companies, or in any other type of industry needing skilled illustrators. They might color the illustrations in photo editing programs, or might make edits and additions to the illustrations in graphic programs. They can also make hand drawings look splashy or more cartoon-like using these graphics programs.

No matter what direction a student chooses to take after completing a graphic and Web design certificate at the El Paso or Las Cruces Computer Career Center schools, they will fare best by looking for as many entry-level opportunities as they can. Getting initial job experience in a graphic or Web field helps CCC students progress in these career realms. Though students will learn much during their graphic and Web design certification program, the majority of lifetime learning they will experience will be on the job.

An entry-level Web designer typically will need to understand how to select and manipulate photos for a Web site. They must understand photo resolution and Web-safe formats that do not take up too much bandwidth when they load on a Web site. They must also have a good grasp of what colors, fonts, and backgrounds on a Web page look good together - for example, a skilled Web design professional will not use dark text on a black background.

Understanding how Web sites work, and knowing how to structure and edit Web code is also important for the entry-level Web designer to understand. An entry-level Web designer will know what a good site layout looks like, and how to achieve that site layout through code-based formatting. The designer will understand how to make Web text look attractive and to convey the message or describe the services that the Web site is devoted to. Understanding how product or idea branding campaigns work is also essential to good Web design.