How feasible is it to become a graphic designer in Singapore? What's the pay range like? What are the job prospects?

Hello anon,

I'm glad that you've chosen to go into design! There are good prospects but ultimately, it depends on what kind of graphic designer you want to be.

There's advertising, publishing, web, print, motion graphics, illustration... there's a lot of aspects of design that you can potentially go into. But what's important is that you don't limit yourself to one right from the start. Be a bit more open and explore all these different areas, before specialising in a certain one. I believe that's how you stay relevant, especially when there's a lot of automation and new softwares coming up to help non-designers create basic design. As a designer, your skills are obviously important to help you land a job. But your creative process, transferable skills and eye for design is what will make or break your career.

Furthermore, designers are in demand now, partly because companies are slowly becoming more digital (hence the sudden spike in UI/UX roles). Fun fact: UI/UX has existed way before, and it is actually a core in design. Just that it never specifically meant designing for web until recently.

As for pay range, it really depends. If you're working in a company, with the correct qualifications it should range from mid 2000+ onwards. For freelancers, it depends on how much you wanna charge. There are those people who spoil the market by offering $5 for simple designs (Fiverr), but my advice is to NEVER DO THAT. Take your education and experience into consideration. Just as a guage, fresh grads can get paid $100/day for a graphic design freelance. But my advice is to consider the nature of the project, and decide whether getting paid per day or earning a lump sum makes more sense to you.

I'm sure the whole idea of "starving artists/designers" is quite outdated now. So all the best to you! And hopefully you'll contribute to Singapore's design scene and help it grow (:​​​

Hi Anon!

It is very feasible to be a graphic designer in Singapore. It's an easy skill to pick up and it is the passion that keeps you going. There are multiple openings for graphic designers role in Singapore but it really depends on where you want to be — MNC / Startups / Studios / Advertising agency

With the graphic design skills and the eye for aesthetics, you can end up in a lot of different position. The job prospects vary from branding, marketing design, advertising or even Product Design.

If you're looking to join the studio such as Foreign Policy, Do Not Design etc., go for an internship with a smaller studio to try it out first. If you want a formal education, go for LASALLE. If not, spend your hours to read up on design and practice it.

As for the salary, you can read up this article and check out the Google sheets attached in it:

https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/its-time-for-graph...

Stay passionate for the craft!​​​