Have you had the knack of just scribbling and doodling while studying or even when you’re listening to a lecture? Many of us push those silly doodling aside and pursue something much more serious for our tertiary education. But do you know, according to Malaysia’s critical occupational list 2020, graphic designers were among the top 10 most demanded jobs in Malaysia?
However, although acquiring the essential skills, the creativity that fuels art, a particular foundation is needed for a designer to succeed in the field. Therefore in this article, we will list everything you need to know about becoming a graphic designer in Malaysia.
What is Graphic Design?
Graphic design is a profession where graphic designers often create visual content to communicate their message to their targeted audience. They use typography, illustrations, symbols and colors to create a visual representation of ideas.
For example, when you’re visiting a local grocery store, just stand and look around, there would be plenty of items that have various colors and designs. Most of the time, there will be one product that catches your eye even when it’s new, that is how important a role graphic design plays in our everyday life.
Graphic design optimizes an organization/clients marketing efforts across all marketing channels. This dynamic and exciting field opens up opportunities in various industries where you’ll get to exercise your creativity and personality through graphics.
What are the Skills Needed to Become a Graphic Designer?
Creativity: The most fundamental skill needed to survive being a graphic designer is creativity. Graphic designers need to be creative thinkers as they will be frequently asked to come up with ideas that are conveyed through text and images. For example, they might have to promote a company’s mission through a website or design an image that helps sell products, all of this involves creative problem-solving skills
Communication: In this work line, you’ll be meeting plenty of clients and customers that always change their mind about the designs. You’ll need to be able to communicate well to pass the ideas/message to your clients.
Besides that, being a graphic designer means you’ll be working with many of your team members from different departments. It’s crucial that you can communicate well in order not to give out the wrong message. It’s definitely a plus point if you’re able to communicate and work well with others as it will send out a statement that you’re a team player.
Presentation Skills: Along with communication, presentation skills also play a crucial part in a graphic designer’s life. As you board on projects, your clients will be expecting you to present to them your ideas from the very beginning to the end of the project. Therefore, having it’s not an option to have cold feet during a presentation as it might
Patience: As a graphic designer, you’ll be asked to make multiple changes to your designs even though it might not make sense. Sadly, it is your job to comply with your clients to ensure that they are given what they have asked for.
Technology: Graphic designers need to be on their toes and master various forms of technology as it’s constantly updated. They have to be comfortable using multiple different designing software such as Adobe.
Time Management: Many graphic designers are constantly juggling between multiple projects, therefore time management is very crucial in this industry. Graphic designers should be able to multitask, juggle several projects at a time and meet all the deadlines.
Who Should Study Graphic Design?
If you want to be your own boss: Most graphic designers work as freelancers after several years of working with firms. They acquire the working experience and start off later by working by themselves as freelance designers and eventually becoming advisors for companies.
If you want to get paid for being creative: Graphic designers get paid for expressing their creativity, although it might sound easy, it’s not. A graphic designer always needs to ‘think outside of the box’ to solve briefs as they can’t repeat the same design.
If you’re someone who gets bored quickly: Life of a graphic designer is never dull as you’ll always be up with a new challenge. You could be designing menus for a restaurant one day and the next, creating layouts for a mobile app.
If you want to work in a wide range of industry: Every industry needs visual communication and good graphic designers. There are endless possibilities for graphic designers to work either with clients or organizations.
What are the Common Subjects Taught in Graphic Design?
Graphic design is a very wide course to pursue, which can lead you to endless possibilities and job opportunities. Only being equipped with creativity is definitely not adequate to get through to becoming a graphic designer as they hold the responsibility of creating powerful visuals that more often need more skills. There are various factors that play a role in producing a good quality of visual such as typography, colour schemes, fonts, word choices and many more.
Here are some common subjects that are taught throughout the Diploma and Degree program of Graphic Design:
- Advertising Principle
- Creative Thinking
- History of Arts
- Photography
- Typography
- Web Design
- Principle of Drawings
Career Paths for a Graphic Designer
- Art Director: Takes charge of the visual style and content in magazines, newspaper, and product packaging. They create designs and direct other artists to develop each contributing piece.
- Creative Director: Determines the creative vision of a project. They make sure the overall look stays on track by leading their team through the steps to create something such as an advertising campaign.
- User Experience (UX) Designer: Work to make products, processes and services seamless and enjoyable for users. They often think about how the product feels and how the users will use it.
- Marketing Specialist: Collects and analyzes data on target customers, initiates marketing campaigns, measures the effectiveness of marketing and creates strategies to promote the company’s product or services.
To officially become a graphic designer, it usually takes around 3 years after completing Pre – University (foundation, A-Levels, etc). However, students can also opt into signing up for a Diploma program which takes roughly around 2 – 2.5 years to complete and provides a direct entry into Year 2 of the degree program. The advantages of taking a Diploma program is that upon completion, students would have the choice of either joining the working industry or progress into a Graphic Design degree program with a direct entry into Year 2.
General Entry Requirement
SPM/ IGCSE | Min. 3 credits for Diploma Min. 5 Credits for Foundation/ Pre-University programs |
A Levels | Minimum 2Es |
Diploma | Minimum CGPA of 2.0 |
Top 5 Universities to Study Graphic Design
Taylors University
Image Credit: www.university.taylors.edu.my
Programme | Bachelor of Design in Creative Media (Hons) Major in Graphic Design |
Duration | 3 Years |
Intake | Jan, March & Aug |
Indicative tuition fee (2021) |
Taylors University has continuously provided excellent services for its students in terms of diverse options, relevant curriculum and teaching methods, ongoing partnership with some of the world’s leading universities. Taylors University is known to be one of the top private universities in Malaysia and was ranked at number #379 in the QS World University Ranking 2021 which places Taylor’s top among the 1.3% global universities and 14th among the ASEAN universities.
The One Academy (ToA)
Picture Credits: www.toa.edu.my
Programme | Bachelor of Graphic Design (Hons) | Diploma in Advertising and Graphic Design |
Duration | 3 Years | 3 Years |
Intake | May | Jan, Apr, & Aug |
Indicative tuition fee (2021) |
After being in the education industry for more than three decades, The One Academy has deemed it to become one of Malaysia’s best art and design colleges. The college is also ranked at number 11 for being the best top 25 institutions to provide animation training in the world. They have also collaborated with several reputable universities in the UK, Australia, US and also New Zealand.
UCSI
Picture Credit: www.linkedin.com/company/ucsi-education-group/
Programme | Bachelor of Graphic Design (Hons) | Diploma in Graphic Design |
Duration | 3 Years | 2 Year |
Intake | Jan, May & Sept | Jan, May & Sept |
Indicative tuition fee (2021) |
Proudly ranked among the 500 top universities in the QS World University ranking is now one of Malaysia top private universities. Closely associated with graduate employability and industry relevance UCSI contributes to the pursuit and expansion of knowledge by providing a wide range of industry-acclaimed programs. UCSI has also collaborated with leading universities in the world and has more than 1000 industrial partners.
Segi University
Picture Credits: www.segi.edu.my/visit-segi/
Programme | Bachelor of Visual Communication Design (Hons) |
Duration | 3 Years |
Intake | Jan. Apr. June, Aug, Sept & Oct |
Indicative tuition fee (2021) |
SEGi University has been providing higher education since 1977. Known for its flagship campus at Kota Damansara which accommodates over 12,000 students. With programs tailored to meet both the needs of the industry and their students, their graduates are highly sought after in the job market.
Raffles University
Picture Credit: raffles.edu.my/raffles-kuala-lumpur/
Programme | Bachelor of Graphic Design (Hons) |
Duration | 3 Years |
Intake | Jan, May & Sept |
Indicative tuition fee (2021) |
Raffles University is a subsidiary university from Raffles Singapore and opened its door for Malaysian students in 2011 at Johor Bahru. Taking pride in its practice-oriented curriculum and hands-on experience, and have also collaborated with more than 30 industrial partners which produce an all-rounded graduate prepared for the working world.
iACT College
Picture Credit: https://iact.edu.my/
Programme | Diploma in Graphic Design |
Duration | 2 ½ Years |
Intake | Jan, Apr, June, Aug, & Nov |
Indicative tuition fee (2021) |
Founded in 1970 by industry-leading creative communication specialists and formed by the Malaysian Advertiser Associations (MAA) and the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents in Malaysia (4As), iACT aims to provide only the best creative communication programs for their students. Their students have also won more than 90 prestigious awards even before they’ve graduated.
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About the Author
Rebecca Visvanathan
Caffeine addict thats constantly on the run!