Design as a concept is all pervasive and omnipresent. From an app on our phone to the lamp in our rooms, it is an intrinsic part of our virtual and real worlds. Historically, the concept of design has been looked at strictly through the lenses of fine art or industrial application; however, modern design has a much more fluid identity. Design in the 21st century is often an amalgamation of art, science, and technology. And this is precisely why a career in this field is highly coveted today.
Education and employability options in the design world are fast evolving mainly because our world, fuelled by new technology, is hurtling towards everything digital. This means that students have a myriad opportunities. Apart from more conventional areas such as interior, fashion and jewellery designing, the world of website, product, and graphic designing is exploding with new opportunities. Below are four examples of new-age design jobs:
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Remember Pokémon Go when people walked around in real-life locations trying to capture as many Pokémons as possible? An augmented reality designer’s primary role is to create a seamless harmony of the digital and the physical worlds for entertainment. Currently, augmented reality is used mostly in gaming; however, this technology can easily cater to education and medicine. Such unbridled potential will definitely translate to new job opportunities.
Multimedia artist or animator
The role of a multimedia artist or animator is to essentially create animation and special effects for movies, television, video games and other forms of media. They work alongside a team of animators and artists who bring these ideas to life, either by using pre-existing computer software or writing their own set of code.
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User Interface (UI)/User experience (UX) designer
They work on creating interfaces for websites and mobile applications. Their essential focus is on aesthetic appeal, icons, brand colours and so on. Ensuring a smooth digital experience for customers is top priority. Apart from looking into task flows, functionality, affordances, they also double up as interface and experience designer as well.
Graphic designer
Well-trained professionals create designs for marketing collaterals, product illustrations, packaging, brand identities and websites using multiple available technologies. These designers are a blend of technical ability and creative thinking, which enables them to generate an output that matches the consumer’s desires. Further, they can operate independently as freelancers or contractors as well as in-house full-time employees working in a company or an agency.
These are just a few examples of how design jobs will look in the future. ‘Design Thinking’ is a process of developing an understanding of the product and service you are designing. To prepare young students, design courses have to let go of traditional course structures. The syllabus needs to inculcate a hands-on as well as multidisciplinary approach. Students need to have facilities such as augmented and virtual reality labs at their disposal.
Finally, it does not matter which field one hails from, as long as a student finds their calling in this dynamic sphere. Design and creativity is a huge umbrella that has the capacity to accommodate whoever wishes to sample its numerous offerings.
The writer is Dean, Ecole Intuit Lab