Majoring in Graphic Design in Canada

[Introduction] In recent years, more and more students are studying art in China and the popularity keeps rising. However, with only a handful of art schools in China, parents are looking overseas. Therefore, the study of art is becoming more and more popular. Graphic design, as one of the matured majors, has a practical curriculum, advanced teaching methods and good employment prospects, so it has won the desire of many international art students.

Canada is one of the few countries with the most developed education system and the highest education level in the world, and the country's investment in education is also very high. Whether it is in teaching quality, learning environments or immigration policies, they all have unique advantages and unique characteristics. The following is a comprehensive interpretation of Canada's graphic design major, so that you can have a better understanding of it.

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Employment prospects for graphic design students in Canada

Job security in graphic design is high. There is no doubt that even during the economic boom, or if the economy declines, there will not be a huge impact on this field. There was a time when the Canadian economy was slow, but the construction industry in many cities was growing. Environmental design, editorial design, interior design, advertising and other areas of business were booming, and a large number of positions were vacant.
Nowadays, the field of graphic design is becoming more and more extensive. It can be said that there are as many designs as there are needs. The professional scope covered by graphic design has also changed from the singularity of the past to the commonality of today. Therefore, the market for graphic design is huge. If you study graphic design, your employment prospects will be brighter.
At the same time, with the vigorous development of the Internet and the expansion of IT software development, the need for interface designers is more prominent, which can be seen from the recruitment advertisements on various job websites, the demand for interdisciplinary talents is growing day by day.
By providing you with the appropriate knowledge base and skills, a certificate, diploma or degree in this field prepares you to understand the evolving needs of the graphic design and video communications industries, thus providing you with a wide range of career options. So if you want to learn more about your graphic design degree or diploma, read on. This graphic design career guide contains detailed career information on career paths associated with this degree, including job descriptions, expected salary, educational requirements and other relevant information related to these occupations.

Career Guide: Positions Related to Graphic Design

As a graphic design graduate, you are well qualified for careers as a web designer, digital animator, and editorial designer.
The following is a list of occupations that are suitable for your degree, certificate or diploma, because education in this field can give you the required skills and abilities:
• Advertising Consultant
• Commercial Illustrator
• Animation Instructor
• Architectural Illustrator
• Construction Technician
• Art Director
• Art Editor
• Billboard Designer
• Blogger
• Cartoonist
• Colour Technician
• Commercial Artist
• Consumer Advocate
• Corporate Designer
• Creative Director
• Digital Animator
• Digital Artist
• Drafting Technician
• Editorial Illustrator
• Entrepreneur
• Fashion Illustrator
• Film Animator
• Graphic Designer
• Greeting Card Designer
• Layout Artist
• Layout Designer
• Logo Designer
• Editorial Designer
• Multimedia Designer
• Packaging Designer
• Photo Editor
• Photo Retoucher
• Photo Technician
• Scientific Illustrator
• Technical Illustrator
• User Interface Designer
• Video Game Developer
• Wallpaper Designer
• Web Designer
• Webmaster
Please note that some of the above occupations may require additional education, training, and experience.

What kind of company hires a graphic designer?

The following types of organizations often use graphic designers. Try to find work with them, whether as a freelancer or a permanent employee:
• Internal public relations departments
• Municipal, provincial/state and federal government departments
• Graphic design studios
• Film and television studios
• Advertising agencies
• Multimedia companies
•Web services companies
• Hospitals and medical institutions
• Industrial design studios
• Book publishing companies
• Construction companies
• Newspapers and magazines
• Printing companies
• Universities and colleges

Courses Designed for Graphic Design Majors in Canada

What does graphic design teach you?
Diploma, certificate and degree programs in graphic design usually employ practical methods and applied elements to prepare students for a direct career in the field of graphic design and visual communication. Courses such as studio art, design principles, computerized design, commercial graphic production, printing technology, and web design will teach you how to structure and organize visual information in order to effectively communicate ideas to target audiences.
Due to the changing nature of the digital communications industry, graphic design education also teaches you how to keep current knowledge of existing technologies, techniques and practices. When you work in the field after graduation, as a graphic design professional, you will know that you must always provide research, cost planning, project management and quality control to your clients. So naturally, you will have to be familiar with these fields before you graduate.
To prepare you for all these various professional responsibilities, graphic design schools usually require you to complete courses in a range of areas such as business, accounting, communications, media studies or management. Education in these areas will also greatly help you advance in your career and take on more responsibility. Background Requirements
The length of study and courses for graphic design majors in Canada: the average length of study is 4 years. Tuition is about $10,200 CAD per year. Bachelor's degree courses are mainly offered, and students can enrolled in January, May and September every year. The minimum education requirement is a high school diploma.
Relevant background: For most schools, applicants with a similar background in graphic design and a similar curriculum are eligible to apply for a two-year program. 
Non-related background: Students are encouraged to apply for a three-year degree in graphic design if they have a background in the humanities that is not related to graphic design. Upon admission, students are required to take a one-year foundation course.
Based on the culturally diverse environment in Canada, colleges and universities attach great importance to the "diversity" and "interdisciplinary" abilities of students in the field of graphic design. Professors encourage students to explore different aspects of art and design by combining multiple disciplines. In addition, graphic design majors in Canada pay more attention to whether students' works will have an impact on the society. That is to say, students' design needs are generated for a certain social phenomenon or social problem, and students' design needs to meet the needs that are rational and objective instead of blindly expressing themselves.
In Canada, graphic design courses emphasize the process of design, typography, quality of image production, and students' strategic thinking. Therefore, when creating a portfolio, students need to have a strong principle and concept at the beginning of their process, so that the audience can understand the content of the project at a glance. Also, the work needs to be clear and innovative. Secondly, in the design process, students need to show creativity and a formal, effective solution.
 "Interdisciplinary" characteristics mentioned above, in brief, is for Canadian graphic designers to not just stay within their comfort zones. Students can learn the knowledge of other disciplines, including health, entertainment, design, software design, transmission design, product design, industrial design, sustainable design and service system design and so on, according to their own needs.

Recommended Schools for Graphic Design in Canada

When it comes to Canada's top art schools, four are prominent ones: the Alberta University of the Arts, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, and Ontario College of Art and Design.

》阿尔伯塔艺术与设计学院 Alberta College of Art and Design

Located in Calgary, Alberta, the university offers a Master of Design that is divided into two directions: industrial design research and visual communication design. Students who want to study graphic design can choose visual communication design. However, the design major of this university does not specialize in the design of commercial products, but focuses on research and design of media, education and information, such as traffic safety signs, industrial safety signs, language teaching materials.
》Graphic Design Undergraduate Degree
Major: Photography, film and television production, multimedia art, sculpture, painting, print, ceramics, jewelry design and metal works, textile design, fashion design, multimedia design (integration of interactive design, product design, etc.), art history and art criticism 
Tuition fee: about $9,182.88 CAD/year Language requirements: TOEFL 90, minimum 20 in each skill IELTS 6.5, minimum 6.0 in each section
》Graphic Design Graduate Degree
Majors: Applied art (partial contemporary art criticism and practice), product and service design, entertainment design, visual communication design, design for health, industrial design, sustainable design, service system design, interactive design, digital media.
Tuition: About $15,000 CAD per year (MAA degree: $14,623 | MDes degree $17,306) Language requirements: TOEFL 90, no less than 22 in speaking, 22 in reading, 22 in writing, and 20 in listening IELTS 7.0, with a minimum of 7.0 in speaking, 7.0 in reading , 7.0 in writing, and 6.5 in listening

》诺瓦艺术与设计大学Nova Scotia College of Art and Design 

Located in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
》Graphic Design Undergraduate Degree
Major: Photography, film and television production, multimedia art, sculpture, painting, print, ceramics, jewelry design and metal works, textile design, fashion design, multimedia design (integration of interactive design, product design, etc.), art history and art criticism 
Tuition fee: about $9,182.88 CAD/year Language requirements: TOEFL 90, minimum 20 in each skill IELTS 6.5, minimum 6.0 in each section
》Graphic Design Graduate Degree
Majors: Applied art (partial contemporary art criticism and practice), product and service design, entertainment design, visual communication design, design for health, industrial design, sustainable design, service system design, interactive design, digital media.
Tuition: About $15,000 CAD per year (MAA degree: $14,623 | MDes degree $17,306) Language requirements: TOEFL 90, no less than 22 in speaking, 22 in reading, 22 in writing, and 20 in listening IELTS 7.0, with a minimum of 7.0 in speaking, 7.0 in reading , 7.0 in writing, and 6.5 in listening

》Emily Carr University of Art + DesignEmily Carr University of Art + Design

Located in Vancouver, British Columbia. Emily Carr University of Art + Design is located on Granville Island in British Columbia - a prominent urban park in downtown Vancouver. Emily Carr University of Art + Design provides a dynamic environment for students. They can acquire knowledge from books and study, and also become professional artists or designers through practical execution.
》Graphic Design Undergraduate Degree
Open majors: animation, film and television production, new media + sound art, visual communication design, industrial design, interactive design, artistic criticism and cultural practice, illustration, photography, ceramics, drawing and painting, print, sculpture. Tuition: about $9,182.88 CAD/year language requirements: TOEFL 84, no less than 20 in speaking, 20 in reading, 18 in writing, 20 in listening IELTS 6.5, minimum 6.0 in each section
》Graphic Design Graduate Degree
Open majors: animation, film and television production, new media + sound art, visual communication design, industrial design, interactive design, artistic criticism and cultural practice, illustration, photography, ceramics, drawing and painting, print, sculpture. 
学Tuition Overview: about $9,182.88 CAD/year language requirements: TOEFL 84, no less than 20 in speaking, 20 in reading, 18 in writing, 20 in listening IELTS 6.5, minimum 6 in each section

》Ontario College of Art & DesignOntario College of Art & Design University

Located in Toronto, Ontario. The Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD University) is,In Canada,public universityThe school is adjacent to the Grange Park and the Art Gallery of Ontario. Ontario Institute of Art and Design is the oldest and largest art and design education institution in Canada, ranking top three among more than 40 similar universities in North America,北美it has cultivated a large number of artists and designers for a long time and is honoured as a “university of imagination" in Canada.
Courses offered mainly include: advertising, graphic design, environmental design, industrial design, drawing and painting, printing, material art and design, etc.
》Graphic Design Undergraduate Degree
Majors: advertising design, art criticism and curation practice, cross-disciplinary art: life studies, cross-disciplinary art: publications, digital futures, drawing and painting, digital painting and expanded animation, environmental design, environmental design: Interior specialization, graphic design, illustration, visual culture, industrial design, integrated media, integrated media: digital painting and expanded animation, material art and design, photography, printmaking, sculpture/installation, visual and critical studies. Tuition: about $23202 CAD/year language requirements: TOEFL 84, no less than 22 in speaking, 20 in reading, 20 in writing, 19 in listening, IELTS 6.5, minimum 6.0 in each section
》Graphic Design Graduate Degree
Majors: Contemporary Art, Design and New Media Art Histories (MA), Design History (MA), New Media Art History (MA), Design for Health (MDes), Inclusive Design (MDes), Digital Futures (MA, MDes, MFA), Criticism and Curatorial Practice (MFA), Strategic Foresight and Innovation (MDes), Cross-Discplinary Art/Media/Design (MA, MDes, MFA). 
Tuition Overview: about $17,200 CAD/year language requirements: TOEFL 84, no less than 22 in speaking, 20 in reading, 20 in writing, 19 in listening, IELTS 6.5, minimum 6.0 in each section.

Summary of Graphic Design Majors in Canada

Graphic design covers a wide range of subjects, so the teaching content and emphasis will vary greatly from university to university. If you want to go into advertising in the future, it is recommended that you choose a graphic design major that includes additional courses, such as marketing, consumer analysis, copywriting, media theory, etc. If you want to work in fashion and interactive media in the future, take courses such as storyboards, computer language scripting, sound editing, and interface design. If your career orientation is in planning and strategic development, you will also need to choose a graphic design major that covers relevant courses, such as team problem solving, systems analysis, business writing, management, communication, and information theory.
Career tip: Develop a portfolio to promote yourself
If you decide to work in graphic design, it is highly recommended that you develop and maintain a portfolio of the best and most recent works, because without projects, securing employment is extremely difficult.
When you go to school to do creative work, it's a good start towards forming your portfolio. The good news is that as a graphic design student, you probably have plenty of opportunities to complete projects that will give you school credits and pieces to put in your personal portfolio.
Whatever you do, don't limit your portfolio to assignments required for your courses. The more samples you can showcase your creative work in your personal portfolio, the better.
Talking to tutors and professors and letting them know what your major interests are can open up many opportunities. You can also take the initiative to look for volunteer opportunities outside of school, as it is a great way to hone your skills and add to your portfolio.