• Fine Art: Painters, sculptors, print makers, cartoonists, and illustrators make innovative artwork to convey political, social, spiritual, or social messages.
• Craft Art: Individuals in this realm generate handmade items to display or sell. Their work is mostly found in retail shops, craft festivals, galleries, and museums.
• Multimedia Art: Multimedia artists manipulate images to create special effects in movies, commercials, video games, and web-based media.
• Art Director: Professionals who are art directors oversee and direct daily operations and the creative processes of artistic crews in theaters, corporate organizations, and special events.

• Associate Degree: 2 years to complete
• Bachelor's Degree: 4 years to complete
• Master's Degree: 2 years to complete
• Doctoral Degree: 3 to 5 years to complete

Professionals in visual communication are expected to create incomparable pieces of work for the general public. This takes years of training to master their craft and develop skills that will help them establish and sustain professional relationships with prospective colleagues in their industry. As a result, the educational process can be complex and rigorous. Individuals should seek institutions that are accredited by reputable agencies, such as the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.

Although a bachelor's degree is typically what most employers prefer, some associate degree holders can break into the industry as assistants to other seasoned visual artists. Many individuals eventually work their way up the corporate ladder by demonstrating their skills. Visual communication associate degrees are offered at community or junior college and usually last two years. Students acquire basic knowledge of techniques in corporate design, digital graphics along with business and marketing techniques.

Many bachelor's degree graduates decide to continue their education to maximize their chances of landing the job of their dreams. Professionals in the workforce also may opt to return to school for a master's of fine arts to give them an edge in the industry. The two-year program is designed to give an in-depth view of the arts industry and how it contributes to business goals and strategies. Most students are expected to present their original work in a classroom setting, revise their portfolios and complete specified studio work or a research-based thesis project.

PhDs are not necessary to enter the visual communication field. However, those who want to specialize in postsecondary teaching may choose to pursue a doctorate degree. The programs normally requires three to five years of full-time study and deals with quantitative research surrounding specialized visual communication fields. Main courses may include design planning, human perception, consumerism, and cultural and visual studies. A dissertation needs to be submitted to successfully complete the program.

Certification is usually not mandatory for professionals in the industry. Those who want to pursue teaching positions, however, must have acquire a teaching certificate along with their career-related degree. Portfolio development is the key professional requirement for all other types of careers in visual communications. Organizations, such as the International Visual Communications Association, provides individuals with information on common trends in the industry, job opportunities, and conferences that build solid career networks.

Visual communications programs cover the many ways that visual media is used to provide information, such as graphic design, interactive multimedia, photography, Web development, video production, and photojournalism. The degree covers the art concepts and technical skills necessary create striking visual art in many mediums. 

For many degrees in visual communication, the first year of study covers foundational art techniques. Introductory design and drawing courses discuss line drawing techniques, the basics of composition, and the use of color. More advanced courses like typography discuss the use of words in visual art, from the typeface, to how the words are composed within the larger piece. Like the typography course, many visual communications classes are applicable to several different mediums, such as print, web, and video media.

Depending on their degree and focus, students may take advanced courses in more specific communication areas. Photo reportage, for example, would be included in a BFA visual communication degree with a focus in photojournalism, and would teach students about taking effective pictures in a news setting. A photo illustration course would be more for students interested in commercial photography, to teach them how to compose and edit photos for maximum visual communication.

There are usually no on-site requirements for students in online visual communications degrees. Students may have the option of participating in school sponsored art expositions or participating in an internship in their community, however.

The closest degree to the visual communications program is the bachelor's degree in multimedia communications. It, too, covers several topics of design and communication, and in many cases may be quite similar to visual communications degrees.

Since visual communications is a multidisciplinary degree covering many different areas of art and design, there are a number of other, more specialized degrees that focus on one part of the visual communications curriculum. The degree in graphic design, for example, focuses solely on the use of design principles in making print and digital arrangements of text and pictures; students wouldn't learn photography techniques. A bachelor's in Web design provides an even more specific focus; students learn how to make visually appealing websites through the application of design principles. The Bachelor of Fine Art in photography would focus solely on techniques of photographic illustration, such as lighting and exposure, and wouldn't provide much background in general graphic design principles.

A bachelor's degree in journalism is more distantly related, and contains courses about news writing and information gathering -- classes that might be included in a visual communication degree with a focus in photojournalism.