Graphic designer to desktop publisher
A graphic designer already meets 49% of what the desktop publisher role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
55.4/ 100
1 How much of what a desktop publisher is expected to do is already part of a graphic designer’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 desktop publisher role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A desktop publisher role treats 11 of its required skills as things a graphic designer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adapt to type of media
- apply desktop publishing techniques
- computer graphics
- copyright legislation
- desktop publishing
- develop digital content
What stands in the way is 9 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 19 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A desktop publisher role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a graphic designer background worth leading with.
- already held adobe creative suite information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held translate requirements into visual design communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held interactive media arts and humanities
- already held digital media arts and humanities
- already held computer graphics information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held edit negatives working with computers
All 19 carried skills, including the 11 the desktop publisher role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 25 missing skills fall into 6 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.
- still to learn multimedia systems required
- still to learn prepress processes required
- still to learn printing techniques required
- still to learn typography required
- optional, not held grammar optional
- optional, not held post-processing of photographs optional
- optional, not held reprography optional
- optional, not held spelling optional
- still to learn adapt to artists' creative demands required
- still to learn align content with form required
- optional, not held work closely with news teams optional
- optional, not held apply grammar and spelling rules optional
- optional, not held consult with editor optional
- optional, not held proofread text optional
- still to learn search databases required
- optional, not held digital content creation optional
- optional, not held perform backups optional
- optional, not held problem-solving with digital tools optional
- optional, not held scan photos optional
- optional, not held digitise documents optional
- optional, not held perform image editing optional
- optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
- still to learn ICT software specifications required
- still to learn follow work schedule required
- optional, not held assist customers optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a desktop publisher role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 ICT software specifications study this
- 02 adapt to artists' creative demands practise this
- 03 align content with form practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 19 skills that carry over
- already held adapt to type of media skill
- already held apply desktop publishing techniques skill
- already held computer graphics knowledge
- already held copyright legislation knowledge
- already held desktop publishing knowledge
- already held develop digital content skill
- already held digital media knowledge
- already held finish project within budget skill
- already held follow a brief skill
- already held graphic design knowledge
- already held translate requirements into visual design skill
- already held adobe creative suite knowledge
- already held develop creative ideas skill
- already held edit negatives skill
- already held edit photographs skill
- already held identify customer's needs skill
- already held interactive media knowledge
- already held use presentation software skill
- already held use word processing software skill
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held assist customers optional
- optional, not held digital content creation optional
- optional, not held perform backups optional
- optional, not held problem-solving with digital tools optional
- optional, not held scan photos optional
- optional, not held work closely with news teams optional
- optional, not held apply grammar and spelling rules optional
- optional, not held consult with editor optional
- optional, not held digitise documents optional
- optional, not held grammar optional
- optional, not held perform image editing optional
- optional, not held post-processing of photographs optional
- optional, not held proofread text optional
- optional, not held reprography optional
- optional, not held spelling optional
- optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
45 held skills the desktop publisher role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role 3D lighting knowledge
- not needed by the target role 3D modelling knowledge
- not needed by the target role Adobe Illustrator knowledge
- not needed by the target role Adobe Photoshop knowledge
- not needed by the target role Adobe Photoshop Lightroom knowledge
- not needed by the target role Capture One knowledge
- not needed by the target role GIMP (graphics editor software) knowledge
- not needed by the target role Microsoft Visio knowledge
- not needed by the target role SketchBook Pro knowledge
- not needed by the target role Synfig knowledge
- not needed by the target role advertising techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role aesthetics knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply 3D imaging techniques skill
- not needed by the target role brainstorm ideas skill
- not needed by the target role convert scribbles into virtual sketches skill
- not needed by the target role create 3D characters skill
- not needed by the target role create 3D environments skill
- not needed by the target role create advertisements skill
- not needed by the target role create animated narratives skill
- not needed by the target role create moving images skill
- not needed by the target role design graphics skill
- not needed by the target role design greeting cards skill
- not needed by the target role design management knowledge
- not needed by the target role design prototypes skill
- not needed by the target role develop an artistic framework skill
- not needed by the target role develop animations skill
- not needed by the target role digital compositing knowledge
- not needed by the target role draw design sketches skill
- not needed by the target role edit digital moving images skill
- not needed by the target role graphics editor software knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage contracts skill
- not needed by the target role meet expectations of target audience skill
- not needed by the target role motion graphics knowledge
- not needed by the target role operate 3D computer graphics software skill
- not needed by the target role perform ideation activities skill
- not needed by the target role perform market research skill
- not needed by the target role photography knowledge
- not needed by the target role publishing industry knowledge
- not needed by the target role respect publication formats skill
- not needed by the target role select artwork developed by staff members skill
5 further entries not listed here
9 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn ICT software specifications required
- still to learn multimedia systems required
- still to learn prepress processes required
- still to learn printing techniques required
- still to learn typography required
- optional, not held grammar optional
- optional, not held post-processing of photographs optional
- optional, not held reprography optional
- optional, not held spelling optional
Other moves recorded from graphic designer
- special effects artist 56% covered · moderate
- animator 56% covered · moderate
- advertising copywriter 52% covered · moderate
- animation director 47% covered · substantial
- animation layout artist 46% covered · substantial
- cartoonist 43% covered · substantial
- creative director 40% covered · substantial
- 3D animator 39% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a graphic designer become a desktop publisher?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A graphic designer already covers 49% of what a desktop publisher is expected to do: 19 skills carry over, 11 of which the desktop publisher role treats as required.
What skills does a graphic designer need to become a desktop publisher?
9 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by arts and humanities. The single most important is ICT software specifications.
How hard is the move from graphic designer to desktop publisher?
Its learning distance is 55.4 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
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.