What qualities should a junior graphic designer have?

• Photo editing: work with a variety of tools as part of their day-to-day, so they will need to master certain graphic design software (e.g., Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, and Sketch)

• Coding: the ability to design for the web requires knowing programming languages, such as HTML and CSS, as well as content management systems like WordPress

• Design principles: strong understanding of design principles - understanding how to bring together lines, color, shape, space, texture, typography, scale, dominance and emphasis, and harmony to create visually appealing and well-structured designs

• Ideation: idea generation or the creative process of generating, developing, and communicating new ideas (i.e., research, development, evaluation, and application)

• Branding: having an in-depth understanding of what makes that brand unique and how to bring that brand to life through logos, colors, typography, illustration, photography, graphic elements, and more

• Typography: can create meaning and invoke feeling, while the wrong typography can be distracting or repel customers (e.g., selecting the right font for a project to typesetting, kerning, tracking, and leading)

• Designing for print: understanding bleeds, slug, crop, and fold marks, as well as with ink limits, dot gains, and transparency, as well as different file formats and color systems, as well as paper sizes, weights, and stocks

• UX and UI design: ability to create designs that are both visually appealing and functional

Top soft qualities of a junior graphic designer include:

• Creativity

• Communication

• Strategy

• Problem-solving

• Time management