Sophie Boers

Sophie Boers

Job Description

As a Graphic Designer, I am involved in creating a company’s promotional materials, whether print or digital. I design company logos, brochures, presentations, packaging, promotional materials, and website elements. I meet with clients or receive a brief to determine the requirements and vision for each project. I decide how images and text work together to communicate a client’s message. A Graphic Designer needs a creative mindset to be able to bring a design to life with simple instructions and have the patience to go through multiple approval stages before a project is finalized.

A Graphic Designer needs strong organizational skills as well as technical skills in the Adobe Creative Suite of products (InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator), the industry standard for graphic design. Attention to detail to ensure that all client specifications are met and free of any errors is essential.

Time management is important as there can be multiple projects to work on at the same time. A good understanding of print production to manage a project from concept to print is also essential to my profession.

Relevant School Subjects

Arts

Areas Of Expertise

Arts & Culture

Career Story

After high school, I attended the University of Toronto, not knowing my career direction. I took a range of general courses, one of which included Art, the only subject I enjoyed. I took some summer courses at the Ontario College of Art and that fall I enrolled in the Illustration course at Sheridan College. In my second year, I majored in Technical Illustration to improve my drawing and technical skills.

My first job out of College was as a Technical Illustrator for a barbecue manufacturer. I was responsible for updating the technical illustrations and manuals for each model. I was employed here for approximately 2 years until the company was sold. This was at the time when desktop publishing was just starting, and I took some time to broaden skills in Illustrator and page layout programs.

At my next job, I was the sole Graphic Designer at a small print shop in Mississauga. Here, I strengthened my design skills as well as print production knowledge. I learned the process of quoting, working with suppliers, time management, juggling several projects at the same time and working directly with clients. This experience allowed me to eventually resign and build my own home-based graphic design company. Since 2000, I have been self-employed and have a diverse range of clients in different industries.