Educators, employers, and potential employees are looking for guidelines as
to what qualifies people for the rapidly growing field of computer graphics.
Advertising and design professions are expected to employ uniquely talented
people in jobs that will be created in the next two to five years. This
article is intended to provide direction for people who link a field which
is beginning to benefit from computer technology with people who are
considering a career in computer graphics. The term "design" is used to
mean graphic design, the highly specialized adjunct to the advertising
industry.
Case #1: A nine-member advertising firm in a major north eastern city uses
a Macintosh with PageMaker software to write ad copy for its
corporate clients. The design department pastes up true text
produced on a laser printer. This system was developed in the
past year by a recently graduated English major who has grown from
administrative duties to copy writing on the personal computer.

Case #2: Two veterans of the publishing and computer industries saw the
need for the preparation of text and full-color pictures for
commercial printing to be done on inexpensive workstations. Their
first employee was anart teacher with graphic design and computer
experience. She creates visual and spoken presentations,
demonstrates the system, and trains new users.


The infancy of the job market in computer graphics for advertising and
design makes it impossible to describe concrete employer requirements in
these fields. Instead it seems more reasonable and useful to derive
requirements in these fields from employers in a variety of specific
applications. For example, the human requirements of a company producing
television commercials are quite different from those of a large volume
printer of glossy magazines. Interview results will follow, culminating in
a "computer artist profile" and an analysis of the future needs of the job
market.
Current uses of computers in advertising, design and commercial publishing
go beyond the administrative use of personal computers and small multiuser
systems. Even the generations of large, stand-alone, single task computers
that set type, make up pages, retouch images, and edit film are beginning to
look like dinosaurs. Now dedicated workstations and integrated systems
built around minicomputers with graphics capabilities and expanded memory
are used to aid design and production and to educate and sell through
business presentations.


REQUIREMENTS
Requirements are the true center of this article. What kinds of employers
are there in computer graphics for advertising and design? What are the
expectations vs. the real benefits of computer graphics as a design tool?
And finally, what are employers looking for?


KINDS OF EMPLOYERS

The key to the advertising and design business is communicating
aesthetically. Computer graphics in these fields is a tool to accomplish
that end. The application determines the need for image quality and
sophistication and for corresponding taste, skill and knowledge by the
computer artist.

Advertising
In advertising, the need is to represent full-color images and high quality
text for client approval. Resizing images, rewording, and rearranging text
and pictures are all common operations. Currently, workstations whose
strengths lie in electronic painting and shape-oriented image creation are
in use for illustration and page design. As in the following applications,
the technology for output onto paper in full color lags behind the imaging
and text. Some enterprising ad agencies provide the capability for
information to be sent over phone lines so that clients can approve the ad
on their own computers instead of looking at a proof that is lower quality
than they are used to seeing. As in the above example of the small
advertising firm, printing out the ad copy on a laser printer and pasting it
manually onto the comp is an intermediate step to full page design on
screen. Systems such as TimeArts' EVA are strong on color illustration; the
Apple with various software does text and some black and white illustration.
A design artist starting a job today would be asked to do one or the other,
depending on computer experience, but probably not both at first.

According to Peggy Stutts, copy writer at Calderhead and Phin, New York
City, the large ad agencies are not even using word processing much yet for
copywriting. Similarly, in publishing, writers have been slow to take
advantage of the ability to edit more quickly. However, the thinking
process can be improved by a computer, because the writer can use the time
previously spent manually cutting and pasting to think instead. Agencies
whose small size requires employees to "wear more than one hat" create an
innovative atmosphere that invites the application of computers to old
tasks.
In fields where the job market for computer artists is more developed, more
highly specialized skills are needed. In all areas, the artistic taste that
comes from working with people with high standards and the knowledge that
comes from thorough training are essential.

Graphic design

Graphic design has benefitted from the interest and advances in desktop
publishing over the last two years. More of the design process, at least in
black and white, is possible on computers. Graphic designers are devoted
mainly to arranging information on a page to get a desired response. The
information consists of text, graphic elements of various kinds, and images.
Graphic designers are typically more concerned with the aesthetic qualities
of type than ad agency staff, and incidentally, are more entrepreneurial.
The low cost of producing type for design in black and white on personal
computers, combined with the ease of use, makes the text orientation a good
place for potential employees to get some experience.

Dedicated workstations, such as those made by Lightspeed, allow full-color
image manipulation with greeking and complex layout changes. Training time
may be one day or more and is usually provided to proven employees rather
than newly hired ones.

Wendy Richmond, computer graphic design consultant and columnist for
Communication Arts magazine, emphasizes the graphic design training and
experience required to bridge the gap between manual and computerized work.
Her background includes design research and development for Camex, a
manufacturer of computer systems for newspaper publishing, for Bitstream, a
company recognized as a leader in digital type, and for Lightspeed,
manufacturer of graphic design workstations.

Computer graphics in graphic design is currently a very limited market for
computer artists. Very few systems provide services graphic designers can
justify in cost, and many graphic design jobs require intricate manual
skills and complex thought processes that are learned on the job. Graphic
design firms now interested in computer graphics tend to be innovators, so a
demonstrated taste for trying new things puts prospective employees in an
appealing light.


Animation
Animated computer graphics have been used in television commercials and
music videos for several years. They are produced on very expensive systems
such as the Quantel Paintbox. Skilled retouching of colors and shapes are
required, because these systems allow the artist to collage parts of various
images, as illustrated in the Cars' award-winning video by Charlex.
Computer artists with 3 or more years experience are considered for the
openings in this glamorous, limited field.

Judson Rosebush, author, and creator of The Optical House, New York,
describes in further detail the kinds of opportunities he provides as an
employer in computer graphics animation for advertising. He tends toward
"first hires" in the industry. That is, he finds people in other fields and
trains them according to how their temperaments, talent in various areas,
and their strengths fit his needs. Graphic artists begin as animators, then
depending on interest and background, go on to programming and operation in
graphics and text. The creativity factor is central to this particular
company, as its head sees creativity throughout the organization in simple
alertness and problem solving.


Business presentations

Computer graphics in business presentations is becoming established as
dedicated workstations of Genigraphics, Artronics and others are added to
and sometimes replaced by new software for minicomputers. Skill is needed
at producing slides that call the viewer to action with simple illustrations
and a few lines of text (a more difficult assignment than is commonly
appreciated). This skill can be honed with practice on readily available
Apple and Amiga personal computers.

Dianne Kadah is an artist who established a computer graphics production
department at Philip Morris, where she was able to differentiate between the
characteristics of fine artists and graphic artists. The creative style of
the artist has to be suited to the commercial environment: the ability to
assimilate information and to decide on the best way to get a certain result
among various possibilities, always keeping the clients' expectations in
mind. Compare the rational style of Escher to the emotional style of Van
Gogh to uncover some of the difference. In a small, highly specialized
corporate department such as hers, newly hired employees need an
undergraduate degree in commercial arts and 3-5 years experience with the
company product line or in the installed computer equipment itself.

The portfolio for business presentations, as for the other categories,
should show "design sense." Design sense for the business slide creator's
job means, for instance, a limitation on the number of typefaces used--
rarely more than two in a series of slides. Actual slides should comprise
the portfolio whenever possible. Neatness, clarity, and conciseness make
the portfolio look professional.

Some new jobs in computer graphics may not require a portfolio because
enthusiastic entrepreneurs who are drawn to an exciting, rapidly developing
field may not know what they are looking for. In that case, the prospective
employee is more likely to have an opportunity to create a job according to
individual tastes and drive.


EXPECTATIONS VS. REAL BENEFITS

Employers considering the operation of computer graphics equipment have
various expectations of what the new technology can do.

1) Creativity
Do advertising and design fields really have a greater need for
freshness and originality than manufacturing, government or education?
If so, is the potential for computer graphics greater in these
"creative" fields? Novelty and surface appearances, at least, are
valued more highly. Televison commercials will exploit the novelty of
the latest advances in computer animation until the next fad appears.
Meanwhile, the development of computer graphics as a two- and three-
dimensional design tool and for manipulation of images during the
production stages of commercials and printed matter will continue.
Computer graphics become deeply established in processes where they save
time in extremely deadline-dependent businesses, such as magazine
production, where last minute changes are the rule.

The Director of the Pratt Center for Computer Graphics in Design in
Hawthorne, New York, Perry Jeffe, administers a program which
provides designers with information on choosing equipment. He advises
that computer graphics enhances mental flexibility, a key
characteristic of creative processes. It allows the designer to get
to more information more easily, which is of profound benefit to the
research phase of design.

The uninitiated fear computer graphics systems will decrease creativity,
but this fear is partly based on the relative clumsiness of the early
technology. Rapid changes in the technology and configurations of
computer graphics systems are all in the direction of ease of use and
increased capability--these factors enhance creativity. If a fearful
person can be coaxed to try creating on a computer graphics system, that
one try is sometimes all that is needed to dispel the fears. A
knowledgeable, patient teacher is of course a boon.

2) Production speed
Computer graphics are well established in business presentation graphics
partly because the technology closely matches the needs of this market
for simple images with some text, produced in great quantities on tight
deadlines. Many a corporate art department is called on at 4:00 p.m. to
produce 100 slides for a board meeting at 10:00 a.m. the next day.

In contrast, the increased needs of advertising and design fields for
intricate manual skills are just beginning to be addressed by computer
developers. The pressure to produce mechanicals on a tight deadline for
client approval and then for printing is matched by the pressure for
quality. The quality norms in these fields are the highest possible,
specifically, the sharpness and selection of type, the matching,
richness and variety of color, and simply stated, the accuracy of
getting what the designer intends out of the computer system.

3) Cost efficiency
Employers expect the financial benefits to weigh effectively against the
cost of operating the computer graphics system. Of course, the creative
advantage may outweigh the initial investment, but no one stays in
business for long if the profits do not materialize. The decision
makers are looking at not only the cost of equipment, but also training
time and support contract costs, as well as cost of the computer
artists' salaries and benefits.

Computer artists joke that they are no different from other artists,
only hungrier. Many fine artists reach a decision to make a living
using some of their skills, and turn to computer graphics as one
alternative to starvation. Computer graphics salaries range from
$15,000-$40,000, depending on experience and geographical location.
Artists who succeed in computer graphics are committed to the hunger for
new experience, the need to be at the frontier where unique qualities
and initiative are highly valued. Such romanticism will likely prevail
until computer graphics technology and markets mature and become truly
part of the mainstream.


SUMMARY
The following is a profile of a computer artist. It was derived from the
combined experience of employers and consultants in computer graphics,
especially Wendy Richmond and Mills Davis.

The computer artist has a liberal arts background with design education,
has an intuitive sense of color, and is experienced in the choice and
arrangement of type. He or she has proven interest in computers by
gaining experience where possible on personal computers. Most important
of all, the artist has an open, even enthusiastic, attitude towards
learning computer graphics. Talent, while subjectively evaluated, is
more important in a creative process than a production environment.

The personality traits that lead to commitment to the liberal arts fit the
mental flexibility required to learn a new system. Interestingly,
familiarity with specific equipment is not a high priority with employers.
Many are buying newly developed systems anyway, and the open attitude and
experience with color and type are far more predictive of success.

Future Needs of the Job Market

Technological advances affecting the small computer, combined with its
increased acceptance in the home and school, mean its impact on the job
market will likely increase. Personal computer-based systems for the kinds
of businesses described above will lower costs and expand capabilities. The
result will be a wider range of benefits to employers, and consequently a
wider range of jobs available.

Visual communications skills will be in even greater demand, although less
technical knowledge will be needed to master these systems as they become
easier to use. As we see in the current wave of unskilled graphic design
produced by desktop publishers, many people driven to use computers to
communicate simply don't know what they don't know. A computer is a tool
for enhancing visual and verbal communication: a more complex tool than a
brush or pen, to be sure, but no more than a tool. A computer can enhance
the taste and knowledge of the person using it; it cannot replace these
essential qualities.



ANNETTE BURR COAN is director of training at Publishing Technology, Inc.
She was educated at Vassar College and the University of Maine and trained
in graphic design and computer graphics at Parsons School of Design. She is
the art teacher described in Case #2 at the beginning of the article.


INSERT BOX

"WOULD YOU BE HAPPY in a career in computer graphics in the arts?"
Questions for computer graphics students:

1. Do I have formal training in graphic design, painting or illustration?

2. Do I like working on computers?

3. Do I enjoy finding new solutions to familiar problems?

4. Can I criticize my work and learn from my mistakes?

5. Do I enjoy working with color and with text?
Which do I prefer?

6. Do I have trouble following directions?

7. Do I enjoy giving people a message, though I may never see their
reaction?

The life-style of a contract computer artist is not very different from
that of a free-lance commercial photographer or a consulting engineer. You
must have a desire to be self-employed and possess a high level of self-
confidence in order to market your talents. You also need to have effective
visual, spoken, and written communication skills, as well as an affinity for
working with computer technology. In some areas,you may also need more
technical skills.

There are numerous ways to gain the knowledge or educational background
connected with technical and visualization skills in computer graphics (see
Computer Graphics 20(2), February 1986). Although I gained my skills by
working in a computer center at Stanford and teaching myself how to use the
Lisa and Macintosh computers, colleges are now offering courses or programs
in computer graphics (see Computer Graphics, November, 1985).
Now, whether formally trained or self taught, you can become qualified to
be a computer artist. But without persistence and risktaking...there is no
glory, and very likely no paycheck. You must develop your identity as a
practicing contract computer artist or technical communicator.

The first step is to take an inventory of your skills in computer graphics.
Are you best at creating slides for presentations, programming,directing the
generation of images on large mainframe computers, rendering on computer-
aided design systems, or drawing with the aid of painting software? A good
way to evaluate your skills is to think about the things that you spend the
most time doing and enjoy doing the most, and also whether or not other
people like the work that you do. Be sure to have other people review and
critique your work to determine whether it is something others would be
willing to buy.

The next task is to develop the portfolio which permits marketing of your
talents. A portfolio defines an artist's style and technique. Assuming
that you are interested in and skilled in several of the areas mentioned
above, a single portfolio should not contain all of these things. You might
have several portfolios, each illustrating your skills in a given area.
These presentations are best when they define the current skills of the
individual computer artist, along with future aspirations.

Now, here we go out into the real world of computer-generated images. You
can market computer arts services to various groups of businesses and
professionals. You can sell desktop publishing design skills to small
businesses as well as corporate accounts. Professionals in the legal,
medical, and educational fields can have enhanced presentations with your
computer-created slides. (As an example, you might create cover designs for
alumnae publications.) The essential aspect of effective marketing, from
the artist's perspective, is the strength to endure many rejections in
exchange for one or two acceptances. The people who are successful in this
field are the very persistent ones.

One way to find out about potential clients is to attend conferences and
keep track of acquaintances. For example, printing companies may want to
contract art work for publications. Attend printers conferences. Make some
slides of what you can do, and be prepared to sell the concept of artistic
design, as well as the specific art work. Find out about arts organizations
and small companies in the area. People frequently need signs. One of my
recent assignments was the brochure and ticket design for a symphony
orchestra.

Once you have a client, it is time to figure out terms of payment which may
or may not be substantial. Contract computer artwork is frequently
negotiated on a lump-sum, hourly, or combination basis. You may be paid
$15-$50 an hour for a normal job.

If you are hired on a project to create computer art, often you will be
asked to quote an hourly rate for your services or to estimate the cost of
the job. This is a process of guessing and learning. Figure out your own
hourly rate, talk with other computer artists to be aware of going rates,
and learn from your mistakes of under-estimation of time required to
complete a given job. Above all, be prepared to give an estimation on the
spot. If you go home and come back two days later, you are not likely to
get the job.

If a client is buying an already created image from your portfolio, quote a
price for the artwork without hesitation. Also, keep the copyright
privileges on your artwork unless the client wishes to provide you with a
financial offer you cannot refuse for these copyright privileges. An artist
can sell an image and still maintain some control over image reproduction
filing and retaining copyright privileges. In dealing with copyright issues
and future matters of royalties, it is a good idea to consult the legal
profession and to develop marketing approaches which end in the formulation
of a contract. In San Francisco, The Bay Area Lawyers for the Arts, Fort
Mason Center, will provide services for practicing artists. For further
information about how to copyright images, see "Are Your Images Being Ripped
Off?", IEEE Computer Graphics and applications, March, 1986.

Here is a closing piece of advice on being a practicing computer artist.
Keep in touch with colleagues. (ACM-SIGGRAPH is an excellent way to do
this.) By maintaining contacts, you have more opportunities to do new,
interesting things as desired. Expand your future horizons as to the types
of computer graphics projects you would like to be doing, and keep up with
the changing technology.