Graphic Design Manager Responsibilities

Graphic design managers are senior level employees in an organization who supervise a team and oversee the creation of designs, concepts and layouts. The job of graphic designing requires special skills and abilities to create visual presentations or imagery with the aim of communicating a message to the target audience.

Graphic design manager responsibilities include a list of supervising and executing activities including creation of computer graphics, web page graphics, logos, illustrations, advertisements, brochures and many other forms of visual communication.

A graphic design manager can attain this position only after he/she has gained some experience as a junior graphic designer. Such a professional must have the abilities to plan, conceptualize, strategize, supervise and implement graphic design elements in an effective way. He/she is also responsible for providing training and mentoring sessions to junior team members in this field.

A graphic designer manager helps in creation of visual imagery through an equivalent combination of visual art, page layout, typography, etc. It is to be understood that the work of graphic designing includes both the process undertaken and the final result or outcome of the process.

One of the main duties of such a professional is to interact with the client directly along with the junior designer. He/she must oversee the team's work and check whether they are able to obtain the right data or information in order to sketch out the project concept.

It is his/her responsibility to be a part of the conceptualization process to its implementation stage and finally till the delivery of the product or service. One of the additional duties of a graphic design manager is to perform business development jobs or sometimes in selling the team's portfolio to companies looking for designing services.

In this diversifying marketing and communication industry, graphic designing is an extremely interesting and rewarding career choice. If you are an experienced graphic designer and you aim to move high up in your career ladder, you must apply for the position with great confidence and expertise. For doing so, you must know about the respective job responsibilities in detail.

Responsibilities and Duties of a Graphic Design Manager

• Supervise and lead the graphic designing team

• Participate in designing and redesigning computer graphics, web page graphics, logos, illustrations, advertisements, brochures and many other forms of visual communication

• Analyze and plan the framework of design according to the laid out concept and established specifications of the project

• Ensure that the delivered products or services adhere to the policies and standards of the company

• Delegate job responsibilities among junior team members and oversee that quality work is being completed within the deadline

• Complete the project work within the timeline and estimated budget

• Deal with the client and be the point of contact

• Oversee that new techniques and processes are used to provide best quality of designs

• Train and mentor junior designers and entry-level entrants

• Be aware of the latest techniques and procedures used in designs

• Suggest new ways of improving the quality of designs and other project issues

• Assist the team members to choose the right style, attractive graphics, images, and other visual elements to adept them according to the objectives of the project

• Leverage creative and marketing knowledge to develop new creative campaigns for specific targets

• Work in collaboration with colleagues across different departments

• Bring new business to the organization and sell current portfolio of work to prospective customers

Essential Skills Required

• More than three years of experience in graphic designing

• Excellent creative and innovative skills

• Strong oral and written communication skills

• Extremely convincing with good presentation skills

• Strong project management and organizational skills

• Client interfacing ability with confidence

• Strong interpersonal skills and effective relation building capacity with client, partner and internal team at different levels in the organization

• Knowledge of interactive design including best practices in technology, usability and user experience

• Must be detail oriented and well organized

• Strong delegation power

• Excellent salesmanship skills

• Ability to use strong analytical and artistic approach to solve complex issues

• Ability to handle multiple projects and prioritize different tasks

Educational Qualifications

A graphic design manager requires to complete his/her bachelor's degree in fine arts, along with a minimum three years of work experience as a graphic designer. A master's degree is preferable for this position to be proficient in managerial functions.

Salary Details

The average salary of a graphic design manager is in the range of $35,802 to $82,413 per annum, according to a survey conducted by PayScale. He/she may also receive an additional bonus of maximum $9577 per year or a fixed amount on project basis.

Career Outlook

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the employment rate of graphic designers is expected to increase 13% from 2008-2018 (www.bls.gov). Due to the increasing growth of marketing, communication and entertainment sector, the need of good graphic designing is required to meet the demands.

It is estimated that more job vacancies are expected in the advertising, video, television, movies, animation and internet markets. Thus, both new job seekers and experienced professionals have a rewarding career prospect in this field.

Graphic design manager responsibilities mostly depend on the size of the graphic design team and the tasks and needs of the department. In all cases, he/she possesses a senior level position in the organization with a lot of design experience and expertise.

This is a promising career choice in the long run with a high potential of personal and professional growth.