Junior designers usually will lay out pages, draw logos, do text corrections, and redraw logos. They do the jobs that the middleweight designers and senior designers don't do. Junior designers are usually employed straight out of college and will keep this entry-level status for up to two years. Some junior designers have the help of a Mac operator. Working as a Mac operator can serve as a stepping stone to becoming an artworker or finished artist. A Mac operator will often do much of the less creative work in a design studio or publishing house. This can include marked-up text corrections, spell checks, and formatting documents to pre-arranged templates. In a pre-press or print environment, however, the role can be more technical. Mac operators usually have a high level of skill in Photoshop, Illustrator, QuarkXpress, InDesign, Freehand, etc.
Middleweight designers usually have a professional portfolio because they have worked on parts of larger projects and a few small ones of their own. They take design briefs and implement them as they see fit. They are overseen by either a senior director or the art director.
Senior designers take briefs and have a lot more experience in working with clients than a middleweight designer or junior designer. Some designers become a senior designer after just two years. Doing so is one of the main goals of a middleweight designer. A senior designer should be able to employ more complex problem-solving abilities than low-level designers and be able to look at a creative or advertising campaign as a whole. They will often oversee the middleweight designers.
Art director is another main career goal of a middleweight designer. In relation to graphic design, the art director has the role of brainstorming and coming up with new ideas, and is the most senior 'hands-on' creative for a project or creative campaign. Responsibility for overall concepts is the most important aspect of this job.
Creative directors are concerned with the higher-level issues of marketing and have a lot more direct contact with clients. An increasing number of creative directors are coming from marketing backgrounds.
The job description of a web designer varies depending on the company. Some web designers develop HTML or create concepts for web developers to code. Others do the coding themselves and are able to use programs such as Dreamweaver and GoLive. A graphic designer working on interactive design or interactive web projects should have a good understanding of web design.
