Design graduate roles

Human-centred design (HCD) is an approach to problem-solving that places the needs of people at the centre of the process. For government, these people are all of us, the people of Queensland. HCD involves people in all stages of the process—from gathering insights, to exploring many ideas through testing and refining possible solutions, to the evaluation of the effectiveness of the outcome. The HCD graduate will support agencies to integrate and uplift HCD project planning, training activities and implementation of HCD solutions.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities in a HCD role may include:

• assisting team members in the creation and delivery of high-quality standards for a whole-of-government HCD approach
• assisting with research into HCD best practice to inform the design of HCD tools, guides and training offerings
• completing research to assist in the creation of Queensland Government specific HCD case studies to build HCD awareness and capability
• participating in service design workshops for user experiences for responsive web, apps or other digital interfaces
• translating ideas and concepts into user flows, mock-up prototypes, style guides
• organising events to support a capability uplift in HCD for staff across the Queensland Public Sector
• assisting with the coordination of HCD training courses including planning, enrolments, promotion, setting up, surveying participants collating and reporting data
• supporting HCD projects including planning, stakeholder engagement sessions and idea development
• contributing to and representing the team with a positive and professional working culture across government and within industry networks
• communicating with key stakeholders regarding HCD initiatives, to reach mutually successful outcomes
• creating content for social media and news channels.

Ideal candidates

Ideal candidates for a HCD role will have:

• a high level of interpersonal and liaison skills
• have empathy and the ability to be innovative and deliver ideas
• strong organisational skills and problem-solving skills
• ability to analyse and collate information
• effective communication and time management skills
• strong project management skills an ability to produce detailed and accurate work including high level writing skills.

Technical skills and qualifications

Understanding of:

• HCD methodologies and modern research techniques
• government writing styles
• agile working approach
• research forums and information sharing.

Your degree may be in design thinking, UX, information management, user-centred design, law, business and Information technology.

In a graduate user experience (UX) role, you’ll work in a team designing and developing tools and services that assist with the interaction between the government and the public. Thinking of the overall experience of the user, you’ll evaluate and improve upon the way government can best serve Queenslanders.

The whole point of UX is to make things simple for the customer. You need to be customer focused, creative, and detail oriented.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities in a UX role may include:

• contributing to service visions by researching, conceiving, wireframing, sketching, prototyping, and mocking up user experiences for digital products
• translating concepts into wireframes and mock-ups that lead to intuitive user experiences
• designing and delivering wireframes, user stories, user journeys, and mock-ups optimised for a wide range of devices and interfaces.
• advising on strategic design and user-experience decisions related to customer centred services.

Ideal candidates

Ideal candidates for a UX role will have:

• a user-centred design approach and rapidly test your designs and ideas
• possess strong research and information synthesis skills
• good collaboration skills with other team members and stakeholders
• a good understanding of the business and technology needs of your agency
• possess strong interpersonal and communication skills.

Technical skills and qualifications

Technical skills:

• Information architecture.
• Ability to function at a conceptual level, identify links and explore partnerships.
• Understanding of wireframing and prototyping.
• Visual communication.

Your degree may be in information technology, business or information systems.

A graduate graphic designer is responsible for planning, organising and creating a visual response to communication issues. A graphic designer will spend time with the clients to gain a solid understanding of the message that needs to be communicated. The graphic designer will then develop the overall layout of the solution by selecting the colours, sounds, artwork, animation, font type and other visual elements that will all be used in the final solution design.

Once the overall concept has been approved by the customer the graphic artist will then work with other professionals such as printers and photographers to develop the detailed designs that will be used by the client.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities in a graphic design role may include:

• preparing work to be accomplished by gathering information and materials
• planning concepts by studying information and materials
• illustrating concepts by designing rough layout of art and copy regarding arrangement, size, type size and style, and related aesthetic concepts
• preparing finished copy and art by operating typesetting, printing, and similar equipment; and purchasing from vendors
• preparing final layout by marking and pasting up finished copy and art
• completing projects by coordinating with outside agencies, art services, printers, etc
• contributing to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed.

Ideal candidates

Ideal candidates for a graphic design role will have:

• strong graphic design skills
• layout and analytical skills
• creativity and flexibility
• attention to detail
• ability to meet deadlines
• time-management skills
• excellent communication skills
• the ability to handle rejection.

Technical skills and qualifications

Technical skills:

• Maintain technical knowledge by attending design workshops, reviewing professional publications and participating in professional societies.
• Desktop publishing tools and graphic design software.
• IT and drawing skills.

Your degree may be a:

• bachelor’s degree in graphic design, industrial design, or interior design, or equivalent experience
• Diploma of Graphic Design or a Bachelor of Design (Graphic Design).