Art and Design

“Art washes from the soul the dust of every day life.” (Pablo Picasso, artist, 1881-1974)

Artists and designers are involved in designing and creating almost everything we buy - and create works of art in many different forms, from paintings and textiles to animation and film.

They plan and produce artwork for all sorts of goods:

• from DVD covers or book jackets to T-shirts or high fashion


• from flatpack furniture to cars or washing machines


• from comic illustrations to animations for computer games and special effects for films and TV.

There is a huge amount of competition for full time work in the art and design world.

Art and Design graduates often find it takes time, and relevant work experience, to build up a portfolio and develop the contacts for freelance or commissioned work. So, it's not always easy to make a living, and many artists take on other jobs with a steady income so they can survive when freelance work is in short supply.

In 2009, although 65% of Art and Design graduates in the UK entered employment, only about 35% of these went into jobs directly related to arts, design and culture. About 25% of graduates take on unpaid work or do voluntary work to get relevant experience. Many graduates enter a wide range of other jobs including retail, clerical, marketing and management.

Obviously this situation varies depending on the area of study or type of work students go on to do. For example, fine art graduates are less likely to go into full time permanent employment than product, or three-dimensional, designers.

To be an artist or designer you need real creative flair. Imagination and originality are extremely important for most jobs in this career area. However, in some sectors, where you are producing work for customers to a specific design remit, you may find that there is little scope for your own creative ideas!

In general, you need to be determined, confident and motivated, to compete and sell your work. If you work freelance you need a good business sense. Most artists and designers must be able to design on a computer – most design is carried out this way.

Why not take a look at the Scottish Arts Council's website at www.scottisharts.org.uk/ for information on getting into the arts - and specifically the visual arts and crafts? Look for the '16 24 explore' menu option.

Talent is important for working in art and design, but it is not usually enough. You probably need to take a college or university course before looking for a job.

There are courses at all levels from a 1 year National Certificate (NC), through Higher National Certificate (HNC) and Higher National Diploma (HND) to a 4 year degree. There are courses in a lot of artistic subjects – search our 'courses' database to find out more.

For entry to most art and design related courses you need to have a relevant portfolio of work to show at the interview.

We’ve split the jobs and courses in this career area into 5 sectors:

• 3 dimensional design


• Fashion or textile design


• Fine art or graphic design


• Interior design or display


• Photography.

Sources

Prospects: What do graduates do? (2010) Fine Art and Design (http://www.prospects.ac.uk/)

Creative and Cultural Scottish Sector Profile (2007) Future Skills Scotland (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Economy/labour-market)

Artists Information Company website (http://www.a-n.co.uk/)