Graphic Designer And Production Manager

How I Got The Job

My Education: Bachelor of Fine Art, Massachusetts College of Art

My Prior Experience: I was a designer and production manager at a printing company.

My Job Profile

My Company: We sell training services to audit and information security specialists.

Job/Career Overview: I am a graphic designer and a production manager. My job is to design and print marketing materials for the web or for print. Marketing materials could be brochures, catalogs, postcards, etc. Web marketing material could be web banners or web buttons.

When I design a piece I need to make sure I get the main idea or selling feature across. Most pieces are used in direct mail so they have a very high chance of being thrown away before they are read. I need to make sure the reader looks at the piece before they throw it away.

First I come up with a concept and then I do a few sketches or layouts. I then present them to the Marketing Director and we settle on a design. I then start building the piece in either Indesign or Photoshop. I present a first draft to the Marketing Director and then we go back and forth with edits to the copy and design.

The production management end of the job is working with the printers who print the marketing materials. I am responsible for getting print quotes for each job and maintaining a budget for the department. After the job is done I prepare it for the printer. The files are exported to the printer's specification and emailed to them or put on their .ftp site. Some parts of this job can be technical.