GRAPHIC ARTIST, E43

BASIC  PURPOSE:

Positions in this job family are assigned responsibilities for designing and producing high-quality and cost-effective artwork involving a considerable variety of media; composes and prepares graphic materials for publications.

TYPICAL FUNCTIONS:

Advises and consults with clients to determine their graphic design needs, evaluates the feasibility, and visible objectives of each project or task, and communicates message through any combination of style, words, or images.

• Manages the design process and design services; prepares clear outlined design objectives, manages project logistics, creates cost statements, and plans production schedules.
• Manages and creates style guidelines, branding guidelines, design systems, and color palettes.
• Designs, prepares, and fabricates layouts for brochures, publications, certificates, diagrams, cover-art, exhibits, displays, and other public documents.
• Builds multi-page, interactive documents and arranges traditional prepress activities using digital software applications.
• Designs and fabricates exhibits, displays, and dioramas.
• Creates content, layout, design, and final art elements; logo, artwork, images, illustrations, colors, typography and other graphic elements.
• Illustrates thumbnail sketches and/or assembles miniature mockups or conceptual design layouts.
• Corrects and edits low and high-resolution images.
• Maintains and archives all records, negatives, original art and other related work.
• Maintains the proper legal protection of real and intellectual property
• Purchases and maintains inventory of supplies.

LEVEL DESCRIPTOR:

This job family has three levels, which are distinguished based on the complexity of work, the experience required to perform assigned duties, and the responsibility to manage projects and supervise others.

LEVEL I:                                   Code:    E43A                             Salary Band:  H

This is the basic level of the job family, where employees perform routine duties involving production of simple graphic applications such as business cards, charts, visual aids, graphs, and similar works in support of agency publications and exhibits, from concept to completion.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities required at this level include ability to operate and utilize digital graphic software applications on Macintosh and/or PC based systems or other related design equipment; follow instructions; develop original creative work from general descriptions and with minimal supervision; and organize and archive digital information.

Education and Experience requirements at this level consist of a technical or associate degree in visual communications, design, graphic or commercial art or closely related field and one year of experience in producing projects such as brochures, signage, or other related work using digital technology; or sixty semester hours from a college or university with twelve semester hours in marketing, visual communications, mass communications, photography, advertising or design and one year of experience in producing print media or other related  electronic media using digital technology; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

LEVEL II:                                  Code:    E43B                              Salary Band:  I

This is the career level of this job family where employees perform and manage the design process on a full range of graphic arts functions at the full performance level.  This includes creating style guidelines, branding guidelines, design systems, digital media information, design customized applications, graphic applications, and production work or may include developing, designing, and producing media art projects, exhibits, and publications.  At this level, employees may coordinate program activities.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities required at this level consist of those identified in Level I plus the ability to track jobs; to conduct asset management; to initiate and schedule timelines; to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing; to establish and maintain effective working relationships; to create effective products that communicate to a specific audience; to manage multiple projects; to produce design concepts, draw thumbnails and render illustrations; to establish color management; to select effective typography, ,to conduct photo scanning and editing; to create vector-based graphics including selecting the proper paper and grain direction;  to use advanced digital software applications; to produce color matchups and prepress proofs; to electronically transfer digital documents for printing on a high-end four color press; to convert layouts to PDF for Web imaging and video production; to determine correct print production techniques for four color press and color printers' to select the proper paper for specific outputs; to prepare electronic prepress files for output and to plan and produce web and video productions.  Ability is required to use electronic prepress, photo manipulation, vector graphic creation, web page development and video production hardware and software.