THE BUSINESS OF GRAPHIC DESIGN

If you're looking for a late-starting class this semester, I'll be starting my Business of Graphic Design class in early February. The class will be M/W, 9:30 am-11:30 am. Look for flyers announcing the class next week.

In other business news, my current issue of Graphic Design USA arrived this afternoon. When I grabbed it out of the mailbox, the first thing I noticed was the cover; great look and texture. When I opened to the first page beyond the double-page ShutterStock ad, I noticed the paper that was used for the interior of the mag was a bright white and also had a great matte texture.

Reading through the magazine, I read that the paper GD USA used to print the magazine is made by SMART Papers. One of the most interesting things about SMART is that all of its papers are chlorine free, and by the end of 2009, all of its papers will be produced using 100% cellulosic biomass (primarily tree, yard and wood waste). This will eliminate the use of fossil fuels in its paper manufacturing and enable all its papers to be designated fully carbon neutral. Definitely a paper company worth using and supporting.

Inside the magazine, there's a lot of great content, but what has stood out so far is the "Hot Skills for 2009" article. The three additional skill sets that remain in demand in this poor economic climate are:

Project Management
Average salaries for positions of Web project manager, traffic manager and traffic coordinator are expected to rise 5.8% in 2009. The individuals in these positions keep projects within budget and on track, making them a valuable asset to companies. Those who can manage print and Web production processes are worth even more money.

Hybrid Abilities
Designers with diverse and complementary skills are in great demand. A print designer who can build a Web site makes the designer worth more, and a copywriter who can design a newsletter can be worth more than just a copywriter. Multiple skill sets will be in big demand in the coming years.

Presentation Skills
Duarte Design, a local design firm whose main office is in Mountain View, has known this one for a long time; PowerPoint is an important and lucrative application to know in the business world. If you can learn PowerPoint, Keynote and Flash, you're making yourself worth even more to a company that develops presentations. Starting salaries for Presentation Specialists with up to three years of experience are expected to rise 5.6% in 2009.

For more information and a nicely designed Salary Market Guide from The Creative Group, call 1-888-846-1668 for their free brochure, or ask to see my copy I picked up at the MacWorld conference.

Check out Duarte Design's Web site and watch the video that shows the making of Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth PowerPoint presentation.

Get a free subscription to Graphic Design USA.

-Daniel