My First Skillshare Class | Interactive PDFs Using InDesign Made Simple

My Interactive PDFs Using InDesign Made Simple course has been a successful exploration of sharing my production art knowledge. For a long time I have been looking for a platform to share what I have learned as a production artist in the graphic design field.

Production art, I have discovered, is a lesser known job title in the field. Many employers I have worked for did not realize the difference between production and graphic design. I will explain what it is below. The difference is HUGE. I discovered this on several interviews. It is something the art world and design programs do not prepare you for. In fact, there was little to no conversation in these programs defining what the difference was between these different job titles.

Production artists produce documentation, labels, diagrams, work heavily in illustrator, and touch up images in Photoshop. Their job also encompasses editing logos, making graphic changes to other designers work, and updating company document branding. A production artist rarely does conceptual work, unless the graphic designer is absent, and in some cases the production artist will do all of the work. However, usually they handle the producing side. They will check that images are prepared for print correctly, that there are no typos, the diagrams are linked to the document properly, and the files are packaged for preflight to a printer. They are quality assurance. With most large companies this is extremely important.

The production artist has a very important role in the marketing department. They might even process requests for highly technical projects, such as creating die lines for packaging, and preflighting art for booth designs in trade shows. Sometimes production also handles the creative Realestate of projects.

Graphic designers conceptualize and produce graphics. This could range from web to print, and include UX/UI work. They may work under the direction of an art director or marketing manager. All of this is important because a designer might go to an interview and discover that the job title does not exactly match the job description. These job titles are defined by HR and management. Sometimes the job is classified incorrectly. I have had this actually happen to me. This causes confusion in departments. If you are are interested in learning more, check out my Skillshare classes.

In my Skillshare class I explain the basics of production work. I’ll walk you through the first steps of creating interactive PDFs and some of the skills you need to know to be a production artist.

My next blog post will discuss in more detail what production artists do all day.