Career Profiles: Design

CSULB Department of Design

The field of design contains a variety of specialty areas which include but are not limited to art, interior, fashion, graphics, multimedia, computers, and industrial. Designers must use words to present information or ideas clearly; to visualize finished designs, objects in pictorial or graphic material and two-dimensional representations of objects; to make visual comparisons and to see slight differences in shapes and shades; and to distinguish colors. Skills that are essential to the field are the ability to use numbers, and eye and hand coordination. Designers must be able to tolerate criticism, to cope with their ideas being rejected, to be flexible and responsive to the wishes of the clients, to make decisions based on experience, to judge the quality of things, to perform work that requires creativity and style, and to work under stress of deadlines. Depending on the type of design specialization one could work in environments such as design firms, studios, and manufacturing companies.