Typically people come in two flavors; left brained and right brained. The left brained people are the analytical ones who are good with numbers and attack a problem logically. They rely on objective thinking, considering every angle before making a decision. These are the individuals you want doing your taxes, planning your estate, or representing you in a court of law.
The right brained people, on the other hand, are out-of-the-box thinkers who don’t let little things like logic stand in the way of solutions. These are the artistic folks who prefer color-coded parking lot levels over identifying them by number. They see the world in terms of emotion and therefore consider how someone might feel when they drive over a bridge, look at mural, or walk through a park.
There are jobs, however, that utilize BOTH sides of the brain. And now that technology has become part of our daily lives many creative types are required to dip into their left lobes a little more often. And on the flipside, many people who’ve had left brained jobs their whole lives are now making midlife career changes that involve using their more creative right sides. So if you’re looking for a new profession that exercises every nook and cranny within your cranium you might want to start your comprehensive search by considering these three creative career options.
1) Graphic Design
It used to be a graphic designer simply created logos, designed business stationery, or came up with ideas for brochures and marketing collaterals. Now with the use of computer aided design, computer animation, and photo enhancement packages, graphic designers who know how to use these tools are in demand. Every industry from film and TV to advertising to urban planning relies on graphic designers to use technology as a means of finding even bigger, more creative ideas. In other words, computers don’t replace creativity, they just enhance it by giving the graphic artist more tools with which to work.
But this also means more education. Regardless of which (brain)side dominates your thinking a good graphic design college program fills in the cracks where needed. As a start, the CareersandClass.com website recommends some great colleges that offer online degrees in graphic design. The Art Institute of Pittsburgh and Full Sail University, for example, both have BA programs in this field, with emphasis on the technology you need to in order to be competitive.
2) Residential Design
Sometimes called architects or in the case of a planned community, urban designers, a residential designer fabricates everything from a custom single family home, to a housing development, to parks and playgrounds, to schools, to revitalized city blocks. In other words, residential designers create the communities in which we live. As you can image, this requires not just an artistic knowledge of day-to-day living, but also a complete understanding of the CAD drawing tools required to make sure walls and corners line up exactly. But at the same time structures have to be functional, comfortable and aesthetically pleasing.
If you think you’re up to the challenge, then you might want to test both sides of your brain by getting a degree online in residential design. Wherever you attend, however, make sure that in addition to design classes, you get plenty of instruction on the CAD side of your education. All the design talent in the world is worthless if you can’t use the industry technology to get your ideas down on paper (and vice versa).
3) Web Design
Web design has become probably one of the most competitive careers in the last 10 years. A web designer does exactly what you’d think; design and build websites. Part graphic designer, part computer programmer, a web designer truly has to be proficient using both sides of the brain.
But over the years people without the proper training have muddied the waters of web design by selling themselves as professionals, when in reality they didn’t really know what they were doing. This makes it tough for the good ones to get their feet in the door and charge prices that are in line with their talent and training.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t be the one to break through. Several colleges offer online degrees in web design, allowing you to get the education you need while continuing to work. Regardless, keep in mind that a good web design degree program not only offers classes in web programming languages and search engine optimization, but also emphasizes the need for aesthetics and artistic value. Classes in Adobe Photoshop, Apple’s Final Cut, Avid Express, Adobe Premier, and Sorenson Squeeze (for video compression) all add value to your education and make you more marketable as a web designer.
So whether you’re mainly a left or right brain thinker, keep in mind most people use BOTH sides to get the job done. In any career you need the left side to keep you on track and the right side to spark your creativity; plus, a good education to bring it all together.
]]>1: Think SEO! When you’re building your site, take the time to ensure that the pages function properly. This means that all links go to the correct path with no redirects or broken links. Use short, descriptive page titles, and organize your site in a way that is easy to navigate. Make sure it’s easy for your users to find your About Us page, Contact Us page, and any other important pages they may need.
2: Look at it with a Graphic Design eye. Take the time to decide which types of media you’d like to appear on your site – photos, videos, animations, sounds, etc. Make sure that you don’t overload your site with too much interactive media, as this can slow the page load time or worse, frustrate the user and cause them to leave. This is also the time to focus on the site layout. Make sure there are no overlaps of media or content, and if you built your site from scratch, check if the width of your site is compatible with all current browsers.
3: Become (or hire) an expert writer. An eye catching layout on its own won’t get you very far if the content isn’t useful to the user. Ask yourself, “is this informative? Is it useful? Is it easy to understand?”. Build your content around your site keywords but try to avoid keyword stuffing. This would be a great time to design some Facebook and Twitter buttons and add them to your site (I’d suggest adding them to your blog posts. Your “About Us” page usually isn’t tweet worthy).
These are three simple steps that you can use during your web design to help jumpstart your site’s success. Good luck!
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Cosmetology is one of the fastest growing industries in America, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but it is also one of the industries with the lowest average pay and limited opportunity for advancement.
Many creative-minded people begin the process of becoming a licensed cosmetologist, only to become discouraged by the competition, low pay or licensing process. According to the BLS, cosmetologists make between $16,500-$20,000 on average.
• Graphic Designer- Annual Income $32,600-$56,000
Students of cosmetology develop an eye for detail and style, which are also keen skills required for graphic design. Utilizing both state-of-the-art technology and classic art techniques, graphic design requires the same creativity and artistic approach as cosmetology, often performing projects according to a client’s specifications. This is also a career that can be done as a side business to cosmetology, dramatically increasing your income.
Interior Design is projected to be one of the fastest growing jobs in the next 10 years, according to the BLS. The demand for interior designers is growing, especially in commercial, medical and domestic settings. Interior Design is a perfect degree program for people who have a knack for seeing what design elements fit into unique areas, much like stylists can tell what hairstyle will look best with every unique face.
Though this degree is far more challenging and technical, the industry is exploding and is paying well. The industry is full of people who are programmers first and designers second. People who are creative and tech savvy, who also have think design and functionality first can find themselves with exciting, well paying work.
Find your degree using our degree finder tool.
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