What is graphic design

Graphic design is what it sounds like? This guide for beginners walks users through the meaning of design, and gives examples of different kinds.

Graphic design refers to the art of creating and arranging visually appealing elements in an project.

While the concept of "graphic design" has only been used from the early 1920s however, the art itself has been a crucial aspect of communication through visuals for a number of thousands of years. There are the first instances of graphics in the earliest documents and even cave paintings.

The graphic design field is comprised of many diverse disciplines. It's an exciting area which is always evolving, but its dynamism could make it difficult for someone who is new to know what graphic design is, and what kind of work it is that professionals do.

If you're searching for an overview of basic graphic design, you've come to the right place. Find out exactly what graphic design is as well as some examples and discover the various job opportunities in design.

What is graphic design in simple terms?

Graphic design refers to the process of composing and organizing all the elements that are visual in an idea. The layout of the magazine, making posters for a stage performance, or designing packaging and packaging designs for products are just a few illustrations graphics design.

In reality, nearly everyone nowadays uses some kind or graphic style in their day-to-day life , whether the addition of text to an image to share on social media, or coloring the spreadsheets for work.

What is the main purpose of graphic design?

The goal in graphic design is to communicate or reinforce the message.

Good graphic design improves communication. Imagine a spreadsheet that has data analytics. A graphic designer could use various colors to show the metrics that are increasing and which ones are falling and make it easier for viewers to understand what's happening well and what adjustments are needed.

Graphic design that is well executed can also trigger emotions from the viewers or motivate users to do something. For instance, the "sign up" page on websites, for example is usually intended to encourage people to join an email list, or to begin with a trial free of charge. In addition, the design of food packaging is designed to make food items look more appealing to consume.

9 types of graphic design with examples

Here are nine of the most commonly used styles of graphic design along with examples and links to help inspire your creativity.

1. Brand design

The process of creating a brand identity is the act of establishing guidelines and the best practices for companies to follow for all of its branding products to maintain an unifying brand identity. Brand designers aid in communicating the character, tone and the core message of a company. As such, this job requires quite a bit of strategy.

Brand design work may include but is not only limited to:

• making logos and creating the guidelines for how they're employed
• making icons, letterheads as well as other illustrations
• choosing brand colors and establishing clear guidelines for the use of their colors
• making or choosing fonts, as well as the guidelines for typography
• developing templates that are in line with the brand guidelines . These templates can be utilized by the marketing, growth and other teams.
• Packaging design and graphics packaging design and product designs

Good brand designers are aware of logo design, web design, as well as different aspects related to graphic design, because the choices they make influence the design of future projects of the brand. If you've not worked with guidelines for design of brands before take a look at Starbucks Creative Expression's website. This is a fantastic example of different initiatives in the design of a brand and the types of guidelines a designer for a brand should create.

The design of brands is changing at a the fastest speed. As technology advances and brands look for new ways to interact with their customers -that is why their design must be able to accommodate changing and new channels. If you're a fan of engaging in new challenges and staying up to date with most recent trends, then brand design might be the right choice for you.

2. Marketing design

Marketing design is the graphic design used for marketing projects. Marketing designers might tackle small-scale projects like the design of an promotion email. They can also work on larger multi-faceted ones, like designing booths, handouts and printed materials for trade shows.

Marketing designers could create visual designs for:

• emails
• Newsletters
• billboards and other signs
• posters
• Print ads
• trade show booths
• Physical mailers
• Website assets

Marketing design and branding have some similarities, however, while brand designers tend at setting the general guidelines and messages for the brand, marketers generally focus on communicating a particular message to a particular campaign, or even for a particular kind of asset or platform. Let's look at a few examples.

If we look at this as a fashion issue marketers would probably create at least four distinct campaigns during the year (spring, winter and summer, as well as fallAll of them would require adherence to the branding design. If we go to our Starbucks example every marketing campaign throughout the year must be based on the same guidelines of creative expression.

3. Web design

Graphic artists are often involved in visual elements to be utilized on websites. It's important to remember that graphic design and web design are two different things.

Making a good website requires a variety of skills since websites are interactive unlike fixed assets such as brochures or magazines. Graphic design is a must and experience in the user's experiences (UX) or the user interface (UI) design. This is the reason why many websites are developed by teams of professionals who have complementary skills.

Web designers are able to collaborate on projects that include:

• Designing icons and buttons
• Designing images, illustrations as well as other graphic designs
• Designing web page layouts
• Designing various interactive elements for a website
• Generating videos and GIFs
• Making sure that images are properly optimized on all platforms (desktop and mobile phones, etc.)
• In collaboration in conjunction with Web development UX, UI, and marketing design teams to improve the general experience for users of the website

Of course, a lot of graphic design professionals are also Web designers , and have developed stunning mobile and desktop apps with the help of a massive team. Thanks to platforms that do not require code such as Webflow designers can build amazing interactive websites without the need for an extensive understanding of programming.

4. Illustration design

Illustrations are usually used in marketing, web, or brand design , however, they can also be used in various other ways. Certain designers concentrate on providing illustrations, and collaborate alongside larger teams of designers, providing specific assets to various projects.

Illustrators may design visual assets for:

• Children's books for children.
• T-shirts and other wearables
• stationary and cards
• websites
• social media
• multimedia and video
• marketing campaigns

Illustration styles vary greatly between designers. Certain artists work exclusively using digital tools like Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, or Procreate while others blend digital and physical media. They prefer to start by drawing with a pencil and paper.

5. Type design

Certain graphic design professionals specialize in designing or choosing typography, typeface or fonts.

Type design can include:

• Designing custom numerals and letters
• Digitally or in writing, create typography assets
• Making choices for fonts and creating typography guidelines for brands

Humans depend heavily on words for communicating messages which is why type designers collaborate with a range of tasks. Type designers are often hired to design logos or wedding invitations, and sometimes assist in branding design by deciding, creating and combining fonts. It's also normal for designers to design designs for marketing, web packaging, product or packaging design.

6. Infographic design

In their essence they are just illustrations of data or information that can be viewed visually. They are made up of two-dimensional illustrations as well as interactive elements on websites or videos. They share a common theme: they assist the viewer to easily comprehend large amounts of information or complicated concepts.

7. Textile and surface design

Textile graphic designers may create designs for:

• Fabrics
• Wallpaper
• Carpets
• Furniture

A majority of designers in the field have experience not just designing images, but also printing or designing the fabric itself. To be a top textile designer, you have to know the principles of design, like color theory and hierarchy and also an understanding of the possibilities when working with different fabrics and dyes because the fabric itself can affect the final appearance of the design.

8. Packaging design

From gadgets to food items to designer jewelry the packaging the items are packed in is usually equally important to the goods themselves. The designers of product packaging try to highlight or highlight the products in the packaging.

9. Editorial design

The concept "graphic design" originated from editorial graphic design, and it remains an vital component of digital and print editorial publications.

• books
• magazines
• newspapers
• Digital publications and emails

Editorial graphic design sets the tone for publication and helps to enhance words. Think of a nicely put-in pull quote that is printed in an interview or beautifully organized recipe book.

Getting started in graphic design

If you're considering an occupation in graphic design There's no better way to discover what areas of study you are interested in than to experiment with tools and software designed for graphic design. Make sure to look into physical media, too. Many of the best digital artists begin projects with a piece paper, the use of a paintbrush or pencil.