Graphic artist

Aimee Brown

In high school, Jennifer Batt-Rawden vacillated between three career choices. “I wanted to be a graphic designer, a firefighter or a physiotherapist,” says the 21-year-old Belrose resident. She eventually decided on graphic arts but while completing an apprenticeship in the field, she also signed up as a volunteer firefighter.

“I have now been a volunteer firefighter for four years, based at Belrose, so that is two boxes checked,” she laughs. And as for option three, a career in physiotherapy? “I think I’ve found my passion with graphic arts. I don’t think I’ll be going down [the physiotherapy] path,” she says.

Batt-Rawden studied a Certificate III in Printing and Graphic Arts (Graphic Pre-Press) at Ultimo TAFE while doing an apprenticeship at a graphic arts company, Paragraph the Type Studio, in Surry Hills.

The course gave her the basic skills she needed to get the most out of her apprenticeship, teaching her about the major sectors of the industry and essential methods and techniques of the trade. But what Batt-Rawden liked most about the apprenticeship was the fact it gave her on-the-job experience and thorough knowledge.

“It helped me a lot in finding a job when I finished. It’s so difficult if you don’t have experience,” she says.

“You need experience because it is so deadline driven and budget driven that you have to be able to get straight into it.” One year into her apprenticeship, she and her parents decided to open up their own publishing company, Business and Tourism Publishing.

“We discussed the idea of starting a family-run business together. It was a joint decision,” she says. But her position as a graphic artist within the new company wasn’t served to her on a silver platter. “I had to put my application in to the manager. I wasn’t given special treatment,” she says.

Fortunately for her, Batt-Rawden got the job. City-based BT Publishing produces numerous trade magazines for business and tourism, including mice.net and miceNZ.net.

The majority of her workload involves putting artwork into magazine layouts and retouching product images to perfection. Other responsibilities include deciding on the size and style of the text, page composition and line width.

Batt-Rawden says the graphic arts industry is changing at a fast pace, thanks to significant developments in the technology. “If you don’t keep up with the changes in technology you lose out in the employment race. You have to adapt, you have to push yourself to learn the new approaches.”

How to be a … graphic artist
You can do an apprenticeship while completing a Certificate III in Printing and Graphic Arts (Graphic Pre-Press), or a degree or diploma in graphic design. Contact the Printing Industries Association of Australia, 02 8789 7300 or printnet.com.au

By Aimee Brown, The Daily Telegraph, April 22, 2006.