How to Become a Graphic Designer in Aurora, Colorado

Aurora, Colorado is crawling with creative artists finding well paid work in graphic design.  With more than 30,000 commercial businesses and a population around 325,000, Aurora ranks highly among cities for educational and professional opportunities in this broad, creative commercial field.

Aurora Schools and Training Programs for Graphic Design

Several colleges in Aurora, Colorado offer degree programs in communications design.  Popular favorite local design schools include Platt College, TH Pickens Technical Center and Aurora Community College.  Some schools offer graphic design training and degree programs online.  Among the most successful of these are The Art Institutes, ITT Tech, University of Phoenix and DeVry.

Graphic artists in Aurora, Colorado earning degrees in Communications Design often major in visual communications or fine arts.  A typical graphic design degree program in Aurora might include computer science, website design, digital art, animation, technical drawing, typography, commercial marketing, software applications and printmaking techniques.

Working as a Graphic Designer in Aurora, Colorado

Aurora, Colorado graphic designers remain in demand.  Independent businesses need brand logos.  Marketing firms demand effective promotional artwork.  Publishers seek cover art.  A website must have the right “look & feel.”  Graphic artists also design product packaging, textile patterns, visual assembly instructions, billboards and street signs, to name just a few. 

Some graphic designers in Aurora, Colorado are employed by top local advertising agencies like Harrison Company, Ketchum Directory, Marquette and Randi Swisher.  Other local designers team up with Aurora movie producers.  These include Andrew Ahlstrom, Laird Group, Pathways Productions and Transtar Entertainment, among others.  Professional graphic designers in Aurora, Colorado can also find work with software companies, educational centers, book publishers, manufacturers, construction contractors, architectural firms, real estate offices, internet start-ups and many other businesses. 

U.S. companies employ in excess of a quarter-million graphic designers.  About half of them earn between $30,000 and $60,000 a year.  The starting salary of a graphic designer depends on factors like training, experience and skill.  Employers study many designer portfolios when deciding who to hire and for how much money.  The field is, at times, quite competitive. 

Skills of a Graphic Designer

Graphic design professionals communicate with images instead of written words.  A graphic designer alters and arranges symbols in a way that appeals to particular target markets.  The most common task of a professional graphic designer is page layout - defining the size, color, location and orientation of images within a two-dimensional space. 

Graphic designers are visually inclined and exceedingly attentive to detail.  They understand juxtaposition of form.  They consider how colors affect moods.  They utilize the psychological power of symbols.  They remain conscious of how the human eye observes from left-to-right, light-to-dark, top-to-bottom and large-to-small.  This kind of specialized knowledge helps professional graphic designers determine optimal layouts for even the most challenging design jobs.