Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Advertising copywriter to graphic designer

An advertising copywriter already meets 26% of what the graphic designer role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From advertising copywriter
26 % overlap
Distant match
To graphic designer
13 You already bring
12 Still to learn
64 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance A rebuild

78.5/ 100

1 How much of what a graphic designer is expected to do is already part of an advertising copywriter’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the graphic designer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A graphic designer role treats 7 of its required skills as things an advertising copywriter already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • copyright legislation
  • desktop publishing
  • develop creative ideas
  • develop digital content
  • follow a brief
  • identify customer's needs

What stands in the way is 12 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A graphic designer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an advertising copywriter background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held brainstorm ideas communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held create advertisements communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held meet expectations of target audience information skills
  • already held follow a brief communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held desktop publishing information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held develop digital content working with computers

All 13 carried skills, including the 7 the graphic designer role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 51 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 communication, collaboration and creativity 6 required, 12 supplementary
  • still to learn adapt to type of media required
  • still to learn develop an artistic framework required
  • still to learn design graphics required
  • still to learn design prototypes required
  • still to learn respect publication formats required
  • still to learn translate requirements into visual design required
  • optional, not held perform ideation activities optional
  • optional, not held create 3D environments optional
  • optional, not held create animated narratives optional
  • optional, not held create moving images optional
  • optional, not held design greeting cards optional
  • optional, not held develop animations optional
  • optional, not held edit digital moving images optional
  • optional, not held operate 3D computer graphics software optional
  • optional, not held select artwork developed by staff members optional
  • optional, not held use traditional illustration techniques optional
  • optional, not held draw design sketches optional
  • optional, not held manage contracts optional
02 working with computers 2 required, 7 supplementary
  • still to learn convert scribbles into virtual sketches required
  • still to learn use creative suite software required
  • optional, not held apply 3D imaging techniques optional
  • optional, not held create 3D characters optional
  • optional, not held edit negatives optional
  • optional, not held edit photographs optional
  • optional, not held use digital illustration techniques optional
  • optional, not held use CAD software optional
  • optional, not held use presentation software optional
03 arts and humanities 2 required, 6 supplementary
  • still to learn digital media required
  • still to learn graphic design required
  • optional, not held 3D lighting optional
  • optional, not held aesthetics optional
  • optional, not held digital compositing optional
  • optional, not held interactive media optional
  • optional, not held motion graphics optional
  • optional, not held photography optional
04 information and communication technologies (icts) 1 required, 10 supplementary
  • still to learn adobe creative suite required
  • optional, not held Adobe Illustrator optional
  • optional, not held Adobe Photoshop optional
  • optional, not held Adobe Photoshop Lightroom optional
  • optional, not held Capture One optional
  • optional, not held GIMP (graphics editor software) optional
  • optional, not held Microsoft Visio optional
  • optional, not held SketchBook Pro optional
  • optional, not held Synfig optional
  • optional, not held graphics editor software optional
  • optional, not held computer graphics optional
05 management skills 1 required
  • still to learn finish project within budget required
06 business, administration and law 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held design management optional
  • optional, not held publishing industry optional

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a graphic designer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 13 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held copyright legislation knowledge
  • already held desktop publishing knowledge
  • already held develop creative ideas skill
  • already held develop digital content skill
  • already held follow a brief skill
  • already held identify customer's needs skill
  • already held perform market research skill
  • already held advertising techniques knowledge
  • already held apply desktop publishing techniques skill
  • already held brainstorm ideas skill
  • already held create advertisements skill
  • already held meet expectations of target audience skill
  • already held use word processing software skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held 3D modelling optional
08 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held use photographic equipment optional
39 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held perform ideation activities optional
  • optional, not held 3D lighting optional
  • optional, not held Adobe Illustrator optional
  • optional, not held Adobe Photoshop optional
  • optional, not held Adobe Photoshop Lightroom optional
  • optional, not held Capture One optional
  • optional, not held GIMP (graphics editor software) optional
  • optional, not held Microsoft Visio optional
  • optional, not held SketchBook Pro optional
  • optional, not held Synfig optional
  • optional, not held apply 3D imaging techniques optional
  • optional, not held create 3D characters optional
  • optional, not held create 3D environments optional
  • optional, not held create animated narratives optional
  • optional, not held create moving images optional
  • optional, not held design greeting cards optional
  • optional, not held design management optional
  • optional, not held develop animations optional
  • optional, not held edit digital moving images optional
  • optional, not held edit negatives optional
  • optional, not held edit photographs optional
  • optional, not held graphics editor software optional
  • optional, not held operate 3D computer graphics software optional
  • optional, not held select artwork developed by staff members optional
  • optional, not held use digital illustration techniques optional
  • optional, not held use photographic equipment optional
  • optional, not held use traditional illustration techniques optional
  • optional, not held 3D modelling optional
  • optional, not held aesthetics optional
  • optional, not held computer graphics optional
  • optional, not held digital compositing optional
  • optional, not held draw design sketches optional
  • optional, not held interactive media optional
  • optional, not held manage contracts optional
  • optional, not held motion graphics optional
  • optional, not held photography optional
  • optional, not held publishing industry optional
  • optional, not held use CAD software optional
  • optional, not held use presentation software optional
22 held skills the graphic designer role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role analyse consumer buying trends skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse cultural trends skill
  • not needed by the target role apply grammar and spelling rules skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct search engine optimisation skill
  • not needed by the target role coordinate advertising campaigns skill
  • not needed by the target role create storyboards skill
  • not needed by the target role develop media strategy skill
  • not needed by the target role draft press releases skill
  • not needed by the target role evaluate advertising campaign skill
  • not needed by the target role evaluate writings in response to feedback skill
  • not needed by the target role give live presentation skill
  • not needed by the target role lay out digital written content skill
  • not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
  • not needed by the target role perform media outlets research skill
  • not needed by the target role practice humour skill
  • not needed by the target role printing techniques knowledge
  • not needed by the target role product comprehension knowledge
  • not needed by the target role proofread text skill
  • not needed by the target role social media marketing techniques knowledge
  • not needed by the target role types of media knowledge
  • not needed by the target role typography knowledge
  • not needed by the target role write to a deadline skill
22 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn adobe creative suite required
  • still to learn digital media required
  • still to learn graphic design required
  • optional, not held 3D lighting optional
  • optional, not held Adobe Illustrator optional
  • optional, not held Adobe Photoshop optional
  • optional, not held Adobe Photoshop Lightroom optional
  • optional, not held Capture One optional
  • optional, not held GIMP (graphics editor software) optional
  • optional, not held Microsoft Visio optional
  • optional, not held SketchBook Pro optional
  • optional, not held Synfig optional
  • optional, not held design management optional
  • optional, not held graphics editor software optional
  • optional, not held 3D modelling optional
  • optional, not held aesthetics optional
  • optional, not held computer graphics optional
  • optional, not held digital compositing optional
  • optional, not held interactive media optional
  • optional, not held motion graphics optional
  • optional, not held photography optional
  • optional, not held publishing industry optional
Index

Other moves recorded from advertising copywriter

Full index of moves from advertising copywriter

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can an advertising copywriter become a graphic designer?

Yes, and it is a career change move. An advertising copywriter already covers 26% of what a graphic designer is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 7 of which the graphic designer role treats as required.

What skills does an advertising copywriter need to become a graphic designer?

12 required skills are missing, plus 39 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is convert scribbles into virtual sketches.

How hard is the move from advertising copywriter to graphic designer?

Its learning distance is 78.5 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.