June 22, 2002

Communication design is another area of specialization in the faculty of design. The essential skill of the communication designer is the ability to transmit forceful and meaningful ideas in a wide variety of media. It can be through manual or computer aided graphic design, through the aesthetics of photography, creative illustrations or moving images of film. The most obvious career option for young graphic designers is in the lively, fast-paced, dynamic field of advertising.

Zohra Yusuf, creative director at Spectrum Communications, is optimistic about the availability of jobs in advertising, pointing out that “if students enhance their degree/diploma with some extra training in courses related to the electronic media then their range of job opportunities becomes wider. Previously agencies had to give on-job training to artists to facilitate their adjustment within the agency. Nowadays fresh graduates are pre-trained in many aspects and it is easier to hire them immediately.

“Moreover, a great number of smaller agencies have sprung up where young qualified designers can be assimilated. Some larger companies, multinationals, etc. nowadays have their own publication units because they feel professional advertising agencies change too much. Job facilities in such units is another option. The printing press sector also employs the services of graphic designers,” explains Yusuf.

Similar sentiments were voiced by Alfya Badruddin, associate creative manager at Adcom. She majored in communication design from the Indus Valley School of Art in 2000. Her job was secured when she interned at Adcom while still in college. Almost all her batch-mates, about eighteen of them, also managed to find suitable jobs. She comments that “even if the print media market is saturated there are new openings in the expanding world of the electronic media; music, video, editing, post-production, animation, etc. are gaining prominence.

Talking about work related issues she says “a strong portfolio is a must for landing a good job. Wild ideas are not entertained; in school creative thinking is encouraged but market demands are limiting as they are target-oriented. In larger agencies one’s design passes through the hierarchy and many changes are made at different levels radically altering one’s original concept. In smaller agencies ideas are processed rapidly.”

Talking about gender preferences Badruddin says: “Even though girls are considered stable, practical and dependable, they are not always able to put in late working hours. Boys in this field are generally adventurous and headstrong but can work odd hours for shoots, recordings, etc.”

Sabiha Imani, freelance graphic designer and educator at the graphic design department of CIAC, gives some insight into the publishing experience pointing out “Students can apply for editorial design, illustration or layout of children books or magazine publication.” Offering advice to post-graduates, she urges them “to be realistic and down to earth for they will be made to handle an assortment of assignments; not all will be to their liking. Students must be flexible enough to adapt and adjust to this varied kind of exposure and market experience.”

Imran Mir, who heads Circuit Advertising, reiterates these sentiments. He recounts: “When fresh graduates (especially from elite schools) go job-hunting they start ‘shopping’. When they come to me they bargain and haggle over salaries, perks, etc. Their high expectations need to be toned down. They must realize that we need to train them from scratch as school curriculums do not conform to market requirements. In developed countries professionals working in the advertising industry are invited to teach in art schools and colleges so market experience is passed on to the students. This is not done here.”

Mir has often taken in students from Karachi School of Art, CIAC, and Studio Art. He feels talented students from a middle income strata have greater drive and willingness to learn.

Ehsan Aslam, a final-year student at Studio Art, does part time work at Circuit. He was handpicked by Imran Mir during an internship and is now being groomed for a career as a graphic designer. Commenting on the future of his remaining batch mates — about forty — he felt a few would cater to advertising agencies but the rest will go to Pakistan Chowk and work for the printers. “Pay scales at the printers are high but work lacks creativity,” he observes.

Ambreen Jehangir, editor of a women’s magazine Social Pages, voices her sentiments regarding attitudes of new applicants. She says that “magazines have to work within a budget and when young designers demand large starting salaries we bypass them, giving their job slots to less qualified, short-course certificate or diploma holders. We groom these newcomers on the job. This is not always easy as they lack a formal education and have poor aesthetic sense but the effort eventually pays off.

“In comparison, the qualified graduates are only marginally better and still need to be trained for magazine requirements since work is so important for the economic health of both society and individual it is important that serious thought be given to this stage of young people’s lives. Can attempts like career counselling, internships, short-term house-jobs, or other preparatory measures give better insight to the passing out students?” she asks.

Dean CIAC Niilofur Farrukh held a seminar on career counselling for her students, where relevant personnel spoke on opportunities in the field of graphic and textile design as well as fine art. In graphic design students were updated on the growing role of the electronic media and how advertising agencies were now buying time on media, TV channels, etc. to advertise their products. They were explained the necessity of advanced computing skills to handle animation and web designing.

Farrukh says, “students at CIAC come from a strata that needs to be settled in jobs after graduation. We are teaching them how to address prospective employers, make presentations, how not to fool others or be fooled themselves. We would like to assist them in taking preparatory courses in teacher training, writing or art criticism and other related aspects, as per students’ aptitude. “Such measures are meant to give better sense of direction to students and avert crash landings. But Sabiha Imani very aptly remarks, “career counselling is not always accepted in its proper context. In school students are generally in a carefree state of mind and do not take matters seriously till they come head on with issues of concern, that is, when they begin seeking jobs.

Periods of economic instability have a direct bearing on the employment scene. Zafarullah Poshni, creative director at Manhattan International, believes that jobs opportunities for young graduates will only increase if there is an expansion in advertising. Economic stress does not foster growth and for the present it is a tight situation.