What is Graphic Design?

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Graphic design is a profession that uses visual images to convey ideas and main messages to a target audience. You’ll encounter this form of communication everywhere in the digital era today – on billboards, product packaging, or mobile applications. Using various techniques and principles, graphic imagery can have a significant impact on our perceptions, emotions, and decisions.

Companies connect with their customers through graphic designers. Using text, design, and photographs, they advertise and sell their products and create brand identity. In other words, this field combines art and business, creative process and commercial goals.

 

If you’re interested in graphic design and want to develop in this direction, you’ve come to the right place. Read the blog where I’ll tell you more about this direction and introduce you to the diverse career opportunities this field offers.

What elements does graphic design consist of?

The elements and principles of graphic design include line, color, shape, space, texture, typography, scale, dominance, and balance. Their unity creates a visually striking and attractive image that effectively conveys the main message.

Line – It’s a component of almost every design and comes in various forms: straight, curved, long, short, narrow, thick… It helps to divide space, as well as to draw attention in a specific direction.

Color – It can be said that it’s the most important and obvious, most easily noticeable part of the design. It can make an immediate impression because everyone notices and perceives it. Color can be used as a background or in an element (line, shape, text). It creates emotion and character. For example, green is associated with nature, while yellow can evoke positive emotions.

Shape – A combination of lines such as circle, triangle, square, rectangle, and other abstract forms. You’ll encounter at least one in every design. Like colors, shapes also evoke different associations in people. For example, a circle expresses unity, while a square expresses structure. The color, style, background, and outline of a shape can influence human perception.

Space – White or negative space in graphic design refers to the empty space left around or within shapes. It’s given great importance because it simplifies and improves the perception of the work for the human eye.

Texture – Different materials are now often used in design: paper, stone, concrete, brick, fabric. With these, you can create diverse and interesting three-dimensional images.

Typography – When working with text, a graphic designer should consider two factors and the relationship between them: what the text says and how it looks. Typography is the arrangement of text in such a way that it’s easy to understand, perceive, and attractive. In this case too, different fonts evoke different emotions. Therefore, it’s necessary to choose it correctly to have a strong visual effect on the viewer.

Scale – It’s used to create visual hierarchy, which makes the image more dynamic. With it, you can more clearly highlight important information and emphasize them.

Dominance – Highlighting a part of the design. Outline, contrast, isolation, and other techniques are used for this.

Balance – A balanced design leaves a sense of stability, while an unbalanced one can have a dynamic effect. Balance is achieved by correct placement of shapes, colors, lines, and other elements.

 

Harmony – It’s one of the main goals of a graphic designer. Good design means that each component of it complements each other and together they effectively fulfill their purpose. However, if everything is similar to each other, the design can turn out monotonous and boring. To avoid this, it’s important to maintain a balance between harmony and contrast.

What types of graphic design exist?

There are different types of graphic and UX design and specializations. Each requires different techniques and skills.

Visual Identity (Branding) – This direction works on the visual side of the brand. Its goal is to convey the company’s identity using photographs, shapes, and colors. Graphic designers working in this direction create logos, typography, color palettes, images that express the brand. They also develop guidelines, recommendations to ensure identity is protected in any form of use.

Marketing and Advertising – Used to sell services and products to create different types of advertising. For example, posters, billboards, flyers, catalogs, packaging, or digital advertising (video, social network post). Designers working in this direction create graphics for marketing strategies and campaigns. They create designs for the target audience, so they need to understand well how the product sells and how to attract consumers’ attention.

Web Design – Planning and creating the design, structure, and scheme of websites. It focuses on the external side and user experience (UX). Web designers use various visual elements (text, photo, graphics, video) to create easily usable websites for users. Web design is closely related to UX and UI design.

Publishing – Selection of typography and art samples (from photography, illustrations, graphic works) for publications. A graphic designer working in this direction works on the visual side of books, newspapers, magazines, and catalogs. They need to know how to use colors effectively, as well as printing and digital publications.

Packaging – Packaging not only protects the item, but it’s also an important marketing tool. Graphic designers create the model and print-ready file. They need to know well how the printing process works, industrial design and production. They should actively study existing trends, their competitors’ strategies to stand out for consumers in this regard.

Motion Graphic Design – It’s a new direction in graphic design, but rapidly growing and in demand. It creates moving graphics: animations, video games, trailers, credits.

Environmental, Interior – It’s a multidisciplinary direction that combines graphic, architectural, industrial, interior, and landscape design. It connects people with the environment. Generally, designers working in this direction have knowledge and experience in graphic design and architecture. They may work on public transportation schemes, navigation, retail interior, office setup, and branding.

 

Illustration – Graphic artists create original works using media and various techniques. Most of them have experience studying/working in drawing, animation, or architecture. They collaborate with writers, editors, marketers, and other specialists.

What's the difference between UX design and graphic design?

A graphic designer takes care of the external side of the product, while a UX designer focuses on the users’ experience of using the product. They have many common elements, but there are also significant differences.

The goal of graphic design is to create visually attractive products that contain certain information and appeal. It focuses on branding, typography, composition and works on various marketing materials (logo, advertising, flyer, packaging, animation).

As for UX design, it includes graphic design, but it works directly on the final product. Its goal is to increase user satisfaction by improving the use, accessibility, and interaction with the product. A UX designer’s activities include research, prototyping, and testing.

 

Representatives of these two directions work together and often perform similar tasks. Therefore, it’s easy to change positions and move from graphic design to UX design or vice versa, as designers possess the skills necessary for both jobs.

What are the advantages of graphic design?

It’s beneficial for a company to care about the direction of graphic design for various reasons:

Brand Recognition – A graphic designer helps the company create/choose the right logo, photographs, graphics. This ensures brand unity in all directions, on various channels that it uses to interact with customers. Think of any successful company and consider how big a role graphic design plays in its branding.

Visual Communication – In addition to creating brand identity, graphic design is an important tool for communicating with customers. A photo or text alone cannot convey the message as effectively as graphic design. Therefore, a graphic designer helps the company search for those creative ways that will help them convey the desired information to the target audience.

 

Increased Sales and Competitive Position – Good graphic design makes the company more visible in the market. This is reflected in increased sales and, consequently, revenue. Graphic design has a big impact on consumer behavior, so it really helps the company achieve commercial goals.

 

As you can see, a graphic designer has one of the most important and responsible duties in the company’s success. Plus, they receive quite good compensation for this. Therefore, if you’re interested in the field of design and want to learn it from scratch, I recommend you join our Graphic Design For Beginners course.

 

The program is built on practice-based teaching methods. Here you’ll learn to set up design technically, stylistically, and content-wise, create visuals for brands, properly plan design projects. And if you create the best individual project among graduates, you’ll undergo a guaranteed internship at a Commschool partner company!

So, get acquainted with the course syllabus in more detail and join us at Commschool!

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