ALL ABOUT GRAPHIC DESIGN - A BEGINNER'S GUIDE
“Every day, we take many of the subtly artistic things around us for granted. But hidden in every magazine corner, exit sign, or textbook lies a set of design ideas that influence our perceptions.”
– Founder of illustration Studio, ProductVIz – Jacob Smith
Are you struggling to get a clear head for all the confusion that graphic design has been creating for you lately? If yes, you’re at the right place! In this article, you’ll have a sneak peek into what exactly graphic design is and all that you need to know about it. By the end of reading this post carefully, you’ll have a sound know-how about this otherwise confusing term. Excited? Let’s explore!
1. What Is Graphic Design?
Before starting, let it be very clear that “graphic design” is not a simple term that can be defined and caged within few lines, rather it is an umbrella term, encompassing all that includes the element of “visuals” in one way or the other.
Some may define it as an “art or profession of combining images, words, and ideas in such a way to build an effective visual communication” while some consider it as “a practice of composing and arranging visual and textual elements such as typography, photography, iconography, and illustration, to communicate ideas in aesthetically appealing manner.” Well, don’t get yourself confused with its different definitions since we are here to make things simpler for you.
Graphic Design – A Visual Communication
As an interdisciplinary profession, graphic design is the name of leveraging aesthetic printing to give or develop meaning to a visual content. The main goal is to streamline the communication between the producer and the consumer by conveying the intended information in the most effective manner possible.
Did you know? Graphic design is also regarded as a visual communication, that means a graphic designer is a visual communicator that brings ideas and concepts to life with his visual craft. From business logos to web page layouts and much more, you can consider everything that works on ‘visual principles’ as graphic design. Yes, playing with the visuals is the most fundamental part of graphic deign.
Some Interesting Facts About The Power Of Visuals
Have you ever come across the phrase “a picture speaks a thousand words”? That says volumes about how much of a powerful impact visuals can make!
Studies in science have regarded visuals as the most powerful way of engaging an audience. Here are some facts and figures discovered to reveal the magic of visuals;
- 65% of people in total population are visual learners.
- 90% of the information transmitted to the brain is in visual form.
- Visuals are processed 60,000X faster in brain than texts.
- Brain can get sense of a visual scene in less than 1/10 of a second.
Interesting, right? Using visuals, you can get your message conveyed in chunks that are easier to process and faster to bring a response. Right visuals can convey your words with more comprehensibility than text-based content. Not only this, but visuals have another advantage over texts in that images go directly into the long-term memory where they’re indelibly etched. Yes, you got it right! With visuals, you can make lasting impressions on the viewers’ mind.
2. Basics Of Graphic Design
Before diving any deeper into its types and relation with other areas, it is important to know about some basics of it. ‘Elements’ and ‘principles’ are the two basic factors that make up a design from scratch. If you’re dreaming to learn graphic design you must have a knowledge about elements and principles.
Elements
Elements are the building blocks of graphic design that are either used in conjunction or opposite to each other to craft a visually striking and impactful design. Some basic elements involved in graphic design are:
- Color
- Form
- Line
- Space
- Size
- Type
- Texture
Where colors are deeply associated with emotions and science, shapes are the foundation of any visible thing, and types are equally important in styling the letter to create certain impressions. Similarly, each element has its significant role and demands careful attention to give out a good design.
Principles
Principles are like a set of guidelines with which a graphic designer adheres to in order to create pleasing compositions with balance and stability. Some principles that give effective outcomes in graphic design are;
- Balance
- Contrast
- Emphasis
- Movement
- Proportion
- Rhythm
A perfect usage and combination of all these principles can create masterpieces in graphic design.
3. Types Of Graphic Design
Since graphic design is an all-encompassing profession, it adheres to no single meaning of skill-sets. From print and web design to animation and motion graphics, it is composed of numerous fields and areas of specialization.
However, the types of graphic design in current era stem from the advancement in technology. Examples of some of the most well-known types are discussed ahead.
Visual Identifying Graphic Design
It involves the branding of a business by humanizing it with some unique vibes and tone. The factors included in visual identifying graphic design are:
- Logos
- Color Palette
- Typography
- Other visual elements
Marketing & Advertising Graphic Design
It takes the responsibility of promoting the products or services of a business through different mediums such as;
- Magazine Ads
- Flyers & Brouchers
- Vehicle Wraps
- Billboards
- Web Banners
- Post Cards
User Experience (UX) Design
It focuses on providing better and appealing interfaces to the users to give them a good user experience with effective and fast interaction. It deals with;
- Webpage Design
- Desktop App Design
- Mobile App Design
- Game in-app Design
- Theme Design like WordPress, Shopify, etc.
Packaging Graphic Design
Packaging graphic design is an important area in marketing your goods or products. It involves designing the shapes, forms, and packages in which a product is contained and marketed. It includes;
- Label Design
- Sticker Design
- Container Design
Motion Graphic Design
It is another type of graphic design that mainly brings graphic design elements to life. It covers the following areas of motion designing;
- Lyric Video
- Title Sequences
- Animated Logos
- Video Games
- GIFs
- Tutorial Videos
- Motion Banners
This is not just all! Graphic design goes way beyond these mentioned types with several different notions and concepts added into it. These are just few of the main types currently revolving around.
4. How Is Graphic Design Connected With Business?
Given the ever-evolving, fast-paced digital landscape, a constant addition of many new ideas and niche terms into the pool of graphic design makes it all more complicated than ever. Graphic design itself intersects many aspects of business, such as, marketing, sales, branding, and customer relations, all are navigated by its involvement. It basically combines art and business in the creative process through integrating information in part by business goals.
A well executed graphic design is likely to evoke emotional response in the viewers while motivating them to take the action. Yes! About 50.5% of marketers consider visual content as very important in their marketing strategy and 73% of companies invest in graphic design for the same reason.
5. Common Graphic Design Jobs
In a world where people tend to fall for appealing visuals and graphics, scope and demand of graphic design has witnessed a tremendous growth in the past years. Every next organization is trying to get its hands on a graphic designer that can breathe life into its digital presence. In fact, the employment rate of graphic designers in computer systems graphic design services is expected to grow by 24% through 2028 (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Now, what are come common graphic design job titles? A research analyzed more than 30,000 job postings calling for a graphic design degree over the past few years. The data achieved by them helped in figuring out the most common job titles used for graphic design. Some of the few common titles coming under this area are;
- Photo editor
- Graphic designer
- Web designer
- User experience (UX) designer
- Art director
- Creative director
6. Tools To Learn For Graphic Design
Learning graphic design begins with having an eye for details and a mind for creativity. Graphic design demands critical thinking skills and knowledge of how color psychology works for the minds of the viewers.
If you’re a beginner or new to the field, you can start with a ‘sketchbook’ which is one of the most basic and least expensive tools that designers use to sketch out ideas and rough drafts. Some other software programs that you must need to explore in this journey are:
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign
- Canva
- WordPress
Get more creative with your ideas and their interpretation by using tools that best go with your skills while exploring the new ones to try and expand your skills at their fullest.
7. Why Graphic Design is Important?
There are several reasons that highlight the importance of graphic design, especially in the current digital world. From the basis of logo designs, social media content and advertising, to a part of book cover design, magazine page layouts, and products’ design, what is that which is not covered by graphic design?
With the growing demand of visual communication in the marketing world, graphic design has become a secret weapon in creating brand identity of many businesses. It not only boosts sales but also leverages aesthetics that maximize the usability, and creates visuals that shape users’ emotions. It works as a third eye that peeks right into the consumers’ minds and creates visuals that resonate with their thoughts and needs. Given the power of visuals in influencing the brain in a quick manner, graphic design is all about the game of mind and visuals!
8. Top Graphic Design Agencies
Now that you know all about graphic design and its importance, you must as well know about the top graphic design agencies that are providing their visual masterpieces to help businesses grow more rapidly than ever. Here is the list of some top graphic design companies for you to explore:
- Devbolts LLC
- Duck.Design
- Wildish & Co.
- Burst Digital
- Pollar
- Pentagram
- DBC
Check them out and explore more about graphic design and its expertise! Hope this was a good read for you.