Multimedia Design

Multimedia Design Career Overview

Multimedia designers work in the fields of advertising, marketing, website design and development, and graphic design. They assist in designing the look, graphics, and images for websites, social networking sites, newsletters, logos, advertisements, and presentations. Multimedia designers often work with a variety of computer and animation programs, photography software, Web design applications, and other visual and audio effects. These designers typically use software programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, Macromedia Flash, and Final Cut Pro.

Multimedia Designer Training & Education

Those who wish to work in multimedia design usually earn a bachelor’s degree in fine art, graphic design, Web design, digital arts, or multimedia arts at either a traditional university or a school specializing in art and design.

Performing an internship can give a prospective multimedia design student an advantage. When selecting an internship it is important to find a position that offers a broad range of experience, exposing you to the many different elements of multimedia design. However, if you know you want to work as a multimedia designer in a particular field such as advertising, an internship in that field will be most valuable for networking and future employment possibilities.

Multimedia Designer Career & Salary Outlook

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were about 87,000 multimedia artists in the United States in 2006, and about 261,000 graphic designers. The BLS predicts an increase in the number of jobs in these fields through the year 2016.

Though pay can vary widely depending on title and experience, according to O*Net, the average salary for multimedia artists in the U.S. in 2007 was $54,550 per year, and for graphic designers was a little over $41,000.

Multimedia Design Career Fields & Specializations

Graphic design and web design are forms of multimedia design. A multimedia designer may also hold the titles of multimedia specialist, multimedia manager, graphic designer, web developer, digital artist, or logo designer. Those beginning a career in multimedia design might start out as a multimedia and design assistant, multimedia production assistant, assistant Web editor, or Web production assistant. Possible roles which multimedia designers may advance to later in their careers are those of director of design, multimedia director, or senior multimedia designer. In addition, many multimedia designers may work for others for a period of time in order to gain experience before branching out to freelance careers.

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