My career aspiration is to become a successful graphic designer. After spending four years in school my love for my degree has increased and I could not be more excited to graduate next year.
Having a minor in advertising has taken me to CAP 210. I never really thought about having anything to do with public relations until this semester. I might ad, I am no experienced writer in any way and it has become more and more clear as my college years go on. With public relations I have come to conclusion that writing is a pretty large part for this job. Public relations might be a big part of my career if I plan to work at a firm in the design department.
Public relations may not be exactly what I would do, but in order to keep the clients there needs to be strategies created and successful plans to keep the customer happy so I am able to do design work for them. As Phil, a blogger called Design Champ states in their blog, “A public relations specialist may not be an expert in color theory, or a graphic designer may not be an expert in relationship building, but understanding each other’s process is crucial. Working together to learn about a target audience, asking questions, and sharing perspectives will help both graphic designers and public relations specialists become better communicators and succeed in their message goals,” (Design Champ, 2012). Phil couldn’t state it more clearly. Designers need Public Relations to help them and vice versa.
Graphic designers focus more on the minor details when it comes to clients. They look more into the art aspect while PR looks at the bigger details such as communication. I believe that designers should take PR into consideration because it would only help in the long run when it comes to clients. Maria Martinez talks about how taking a design class helps her public relations major, “It’s important for us as P.R. majors to understand that it takes more than just a well-spoken individual to succeed in this career. As a P.R. major, we will always be working in teams to meet deadlines and exceed expectations,”(Martinez, 2013). As long as design and public relations work together, there is nothing that can stop the two degrees from becoming a successful power combination.
Like I stated earlier, my writing needs a ton of practice. I am in no comparison to business majors when it comes to the communication skills. But when I am designing, there is nothing that compares. I love paying attention to the typeface chosen and what color is going to look the best. That is my favorite part about design and I’ve always had a passion about it. When it comes to the social media aspect of communication, I tip my hat off to the public relations department. That is another thing that is a growing part of PR. Columnist Kristen Ruby says that its one of the most important needs for an agency, Agencies that continue with the old model of only being a social media agency (without PR) or a PR agency (without social media capabilities) will be left behind. Today, clients want a full-service approach. From content creation to promotion and distribution, clients want one agency handling their social media and PR needs,” (Ruby, 2014). Public Relations is a must on so many levels if agencies and businesses want to become successful, especially when it comes to the social media world.
Designers need Public Relations and Public relations needs designers. With the two degrees working hand in hand there is really no need for anything else. We have the communication with words for public relations and the visual communication and minor details for design. I know that when I have to find a job after graduation a public relations firm will be in my searching and will hopefully land me with a successful future.
Design Champ. (2012, Jan 27). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://designchamp.wordpress.com/tag/integrating-graphic-design-and-public-relations/
Martinez, M. (2014, April 5). The benefits of graphic design in public relations [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://ugaprssa.org/the-benefits-of-graphic-design-in-public-relations-by-maria-martinez/
Ruby, K. (2014, april 5). Fusing social media and pr to succeed [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://westfaironline.com/61948/column-fusing-social-media-and-pr-to-succeed/
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