People in Ireland and in all developed economies around the world are becoming more aware of design qualities in the products they purchase and consume. If we reflect on the amount of design that goes into the creation of clothes, the construction of buildings, the production of video’s, film or TV programmes, the manufacture of cars and virtually all products we use in our lives, we begin to realise just how important art and design has become.
 
This sector has created many thousands of jobs in Ireland today.
 
Arts, Craft and Design are words that go together easily. All careers in this field deal directly with work that contains a very high level of artistic talent and energy. They all attract people who like to express themselves by creating a work of art, be it in the form of a painting, a new building, a video, a photograph, an advertisement or a piece of sculpture. However they can also be distinguished from each other in the following way.
 
Visual Arts and Craft

• Art is concerned with the creation of two or three dimensional paintings and sculpture. The climate in Ireland has improved and many artists can now make a living from the sale of their work alone. Others supplement their income with part-time work or full-time work in teaching, lecturing or arts administration.
• Craft refers to the creation of handmade or traditional objects such as pottery, jewellery and glassware. People in these artistic activities also need business skills for promoting and selling their work, organising exhibitions and having the skills to manage a small business. There is a high rate of self-employment in these crafts. 
• Photography: There are many different types of photographers. Some take pictures for the print media. Others take pictures for specialist medical and scientific publications. Most are self-employed and are engaged in meeting the demand to cover all the special events in our lives such as weddings, christenings, family portraits.  

Design
Design often tends to refer to the creation of buildings as in Architecture. However there are many other areas where design is required, for example:

• The design of commercial products is called Industrial Design. It involves a blend of science and engineering to mass produce products rather than craft goods. Making products that are safe and durable and that look and feel attractive is becoming essential in a competitive marketplace. Graduates of industrial design courses from the Institute of Technology Colleges are currently experiencing good employment opportunities.
• The work of Graphic designers is all around us. Adverts in newspapers and magazines, illustrations in catalogues and brochures, design on almost all packaging, the graphics on websites and multi-media products are all the result of the work of the graphic designer. The commercial and business world has now come to depend on design for its success and there is a good demand for graphic designers in Ireland at the moment. 
• Most people who work in fashion design work for small fashion designers. The work involves producing the design, cutting the pattern and finishing the garment. They produce ready-to-wear collections that are sold through selected shops. Others work for large wholesale manufacturers and create designs suitable for large department chain stores.  

Getting into Art and Design
The vast majority of students entering a career in the Art/Design area take a course of study in colleges of Art, Institutes of Technology or PLC Colleges located throughout Ireland. Most art related courses through the CAO system are restricted courses. That means that applicants require a portfolio of work and applications must be in by the 1st of Feb in the year applying for the course. Students are graded for entry to most art/design courses by way of Portfolio and basic Leaving Cert. grades (or their equivalent).
 
Assembling a good portfolio a year or two prior to entry is essential for third level courses in this area. It is possible to take a Portfolio preparation course through a PLC (Post Leaving Course) in a college of further education. In general your portfolio should reflect your style and interpretation of different media through a range of varied pieces. It is a good idea to include preparatory work in order to display your work at the different stages of development. Take photographs of any work that is too heavy or cumbersome to carry. It is always worthwhile to have your work neatly presented and well laid out.
 
It’s important to check out the courses and investigate the course content behind the course title. Courses with similar titles can differ in emphases and offer different areas of specialised study. Courses in design tend to offer opportunities to specialise in areas such as illustration, and graphic design, photography, multimedia and new media and design for industry. Fine Art programmes offer the student the opportunity to work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and interdisciplinary studies.