Comments on: Graphic Designer or Production Artist?

By: Online Trading WebLog » Blog Archive » General Film/Video

Online Trading WebLog » Blog Archive » General Film/Video — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 09:13:27 +0000

[...] Notes on Design » Blog Archive » Graphic Designer or Production … … little difference between the role of Graphic Designer and Production … Matt Grant Says: May 9th, 2007 at 9:16 pm. M and K-Rob. … Each video delivers either a desktop or in-studio view of the … http://www.notesondesign.net/design/graphic-designer-or-production-artist/ [...]

By: Matt Grant

Matt Grant — Wed, 09 May 2007 21:16:21 +0000

M and K-Rob. Thanks for your comments! I totally agree that these are separate jobs and that the technical know-how and skill required by production artists are both invaluable and, well, under valued. Even though there is a bias, as you point out, that suggests that “production artists” do “low-end” work, I share your view that it is actually the work which allows creative design to become a reality. It is also far from unusual for production artists to be called on to “fix” designs because they will not work as created.

By: K-Rob

K-Rob — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 16:32:35 +0000

I couldn’t agree more with M. Production Artist/Prepress employes are really viewed as being at the bottom of the totem pole. We say that around here all the time. We save the company so much pain and agony along with countless amount of money. But i always say, “if designers knew how to build a file, we wouldn’t have a job.”

By: M

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 09:31:40 +0000

I was a Production Artist for 10 years and it always kind of irked me that it was generally considered that Prod. Artist = Jr. Designer. As if a Prod. Artist were an “assistant” or lower on the totem pole than a designer. To me they are totally seperate and but equally important jobs. One left brain, one right brain. As a Production Artist, your job is to make sure all the technical aspects of the file are in order, not the asthetics. In a fast paced environment it is hard to do both design and production roles at once because (depending on how organized the design house is) there usually isn’t time to set up a file correctly from the beginning. It is more important to get an idea down and approved by the client. A LOT of the time Designers will create something on screen or something that will print off your office laser printer that looks great but send that file to a commerical printer or a publication and you could have all sorts of problems. That’s where the Production Artist takes over. The Production Artist is the last person to touch the file before going to the printer or a publication so their role is key to provide a clean file in order to keep costs down if the reciever has to fix the file. While the Graphic Designer’s job is to create for the client, the Production Artist makes sure that the idea is realized.