Designers are one of the most important categories of workers to consider hiring during your next construction project. A designer is an organization or person whose profession involves preparing or advising, designing, arranging, organizing, and/or training others for a job, or simply preparing and modifying designs for building projects. Designers can also be architects, consultants, quantity surveyors, interior designers and construction contractors, or any person who modifies and defines designs as a part of his job. Thus, you can also include architects, surveyors, and even contractors in this category.
Although the term “designer” usually indicates a type of worker, there are different types of designer employed in the construction industry. The three most common types of designer are principal designer, vice-principal designer, and project manager. Each of these has a specific set of responsibilities, which are discussed below. Principal Designer(s) are responsible for the overall strategy and vision of a design; however, they are not the only ones who are responsible for the creation of the designs.
Once the strategy and vision have been outlined, designers begin to develop the drawings and designs. The drawings and designs then go to a person who is responsible for coordinating them with the principal designer. In order for designers to be considered full-fledged professionals, they need to attend a school or receive special certification in order to acquire the skills necessary to become a successful principal designer. Designers also receive extensive training on the job, sometimes going to school or receiving certification, depending on their qualifications.
Professor Craig describes the design process in a very helpful manner in his course “Web Designing: Principles, Practice, and Criticism.” This course provides many different examples, both professional and from his own experience, that can help motivate designers to succeed. One example, Prof. Craig points out, is that of Adobe Illustrator. He says that Illustrator “is a vector program, which means it is a drawing program where you put shapes and text and it will give you what you want.”
Then there’s the art director. Art directors are responsible for creating a series of graphic designs for movies, advertising campaigns, and various other purposes. They are often involved in conceptualizing the looks and feel of an advertisement as well as coming up with a wide variety of designs to fit the project. It doesn’t end there, though. They are also responsible for coming up with a storyboard, which is a document that helps explain how the project will be visually expressed through the use of images. Graphic designers must be extremely organized and detail oriented, because art directors often have to explain to clients the look and feel of their work in a non-verbal way.
Lastly, there is the typist. In general, a designer works with a group of other designers to create a set of typefaces or layouts for a website, brochure, poster, etc. The Typist is basically in charge of making sure that the designs the designer has come up with are readable and appealing to potential customers. Many designers who have been trained in basic art courses such as drawing and painting also have some knowledge of typography. Designers create many kinds of fonts, from script fonts to computer fonts to calligraphic fonts.