The graphic design industry is spread across many disciplines and is an exciting field that keeps evolving perpetually. Graphic design is one of the most versatile and powerful design mediums.
In this blog, we will try to understand what graphic design is, what its purpose is and how is it being used as a powerful medium in the present world.
What is Graphic Design?
Graphic design is the practice of composing and arranging visual elements of a project. It is the layout used while creating a magazine, a poster for a performance, designing packaging for a product, etc.
Almost everyone uses the power of graphic design in one form or another and in their everyday life. Whether it is by adding text to an image for posting on social media or using some color codes for a working spreadsheet, the uses of graphic design are many.
Purpose of Graphic Design:
The fundamental purpose of graphic design is to deliver or enhance a message. Good quality graphic art streamlines communication. Think of a spreadsheet with data analytics. To make this sheet more attractive and even easy to understand, a graphic designer can use colours to highlight the metrics that are rising and dropping. This will make it simple for all viewers to see what is happening and also make changes just as needed.
Nicely executed graphic designs can also lead to an emotional response from the viewer and even motivate them to take some action. Hence, the power of graphic design is immense when used rightly. A good design can make a substantial difference in communicating a message.
Types of Graphic Design:
Brand Design:
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- Brand design is the fundamental practice of setting some guidelines and best practices for a company to use across all kinds of branded materials for ensuring a consistent brand image.
Brand designers can help in communicating the tone, personality, and core messaging of a company which also involves detailed strategies. Good brand designers have a detailed understanding of web design, logo design, marketing design, and other aspects of graphic design because the decisions that they make affect design projects.
Brand designs continue to grow at a quick pace. With the development of technology, more and more brands are looking for new ways to engage with their target audience. This also means that their brand design needs to support new and changing channels.
Marketing Design: Marketing design is graphic design for all marketing initiatives. The designers might work on tasks such as designing the layout of a professional email, large multi-faceted projects, and designing booths including print and hand-out materials for trade shows.
The marketing designers may also work on visual designs for newsletters, billboards, emails, posters, print ads, trade show booths, posters, etc. Marketing design and brand design share some common things but they focus on communicating a specific message for a single campaign or one type of asset or platform.
Interaction Design: Interaction design refers to how the specific elements of a website application or a software behave with a user when they are engaged. In other words, interactive design is a discipline that is focused on the structure and behaviour of interactive system of a digital platform.
Interaction design counts pleasant and meaningful loading animations, indicators, motions, page transitions, and sounds. The primary job of interaction designers is to create the best user experiences that can work best to simplify complex web and mobile applications.
Illustration Design: Illustrations get included as a part of web, marketing, and brand design many times. There are some designers who focus entirely on offering illustrations and work with large design teams while contributing ads as individual assets for many projects.
The illustration styles can differ drastically from one designer to another. Some artists may also work exclusively in digital formats and other digital media starting with physical media from a pen and paper.
Type Design: There are some graphic designers who may also specialize in typography, fonts, and typeface. Commonly, the type designs can include custom lettering and numerals, writing and creating typography assets, choosing fonts for a brand, etc.
Many humans depend on words for communicating messaging which is why type designers collaborate on many projects. Type designers may get hired for creating logos or wedding invitations while sometimes contributing to a brand design by creating, pairing fonts, and choosing them. They also do web, product, package, and marketing design.
Infographic Design: Infographics are nothing but simple representations of data and information that can be easily consumed visually. They come in 2D illustrations and interactive elements on many websites and even videos.
Viewers can understand a major share of information or complex concepts using infographics. A good design can make it very easy to understand an infographic.
Packaging Design: Whenever you purchase a new product, it is likely to have some kind of packaging or a visual element like that of a sticker or a label that is used to prepare the distribution of a product.
The elements in packaging design can be created by packaging designers. It is important that the designers are aware of present trends within the marketplace for making sure that the packaging design is successful.
Environmental Design: This is a kind of graphic design that is often overlooked but it is an important area. Environmental graphic design is using visual elements in environmental settings for connecting human beings to places.
The main purpose of environmental design is to improve the experience of people in these places and make the experience memorable. It can include architecture, road signs, event spaces, signage, murals, etc.
Editorial Design: The term graphic design has come from editorial design and in the present world, it is still important for both print and digital editorial publications. The editorial designs span books, newspapers, magazines, emails, and digital publications.
Editorial designs also help in setting the tone for a publication and they can amplify written words. A well-placed quote in a printed interview of a laid-out recipe in a book can be an example of editorial design.
User Interface Design: A user interface is a way in which a user interacts with a device or an application. UI design is basically the process of designing interfaces for making them easy to use and they also provide a user-friendly experience.
UI includes the user interacting with the screen, keyboard, and mouse but in the context of graphic design, it focuses on the visual experience of a user and on-screen design elements such as buttons, menus, micro-interactions, and more.
The job of a UI designer is to balance aesthetic appeal and technical functionality. UI designers specialize in mobile apps, web apps, games, and desktop apps. They work with UX designers and UI developers. Common examples of UI designs are web page design, theme design, game interfaces, app design, etc.
Motion Graphic Design: Motion graphics are graphics in motion. This includes audio, animation, imagery, video, typography, and other effects used in online media, television, and films. This is a medium that has become popular in recent times as technology has improved.
Motion graphic design is a new specialty for designers. It was previously reserved for TV and films only but with technological advances, it has become accessible and affordable to make art. Motion graphics is a new kind of design that can be found across all digital platforms and has created all new opportunities.
Vehicle Wrap Design: Vehicle wrap design has also become a popular form of the modern graphic design industry as it occupies a great value in terms of marketing and advertising a product or service.
The designer is expected to communicate a strong message in a small space with creativity for grabbing maximum attention. To begin designing the object, there must be proper information along with technical things for getting more inspiration.
Some examples of vehicles that it is possible to implement the design are sports cars, vans, sports utility vehicles, pickup trucks, sedans, etc.
Stationery Design: It is important to have a whole pack of stationery design if you want to have a great banding in your organization. Almost all businesses understand the importance of having a good stationery design.
An effective design helps in conveying good information about a business and it makes customers trust the brand. On the basis of powerful stationery graphic designs, office, and business supplies are designed including envelopes, postcards, letterheads, etc.
Book Design: A good book cover design can be a significant driver of any book’s success. The cover of a book is capable of communicating strong messages using many fonts, images, symbols, colours, etc.
You can try to redesign the cover by using many templates but if you want a book cover design to be unique and something that attracts the attention of readers immediately then it is best to hire a skilled graphic designer for doing the job.
3D Graphic Design: Another category that is gaining a lot of importance these days is that of 3D graphic design. It is the art of creating design on the X-Y-Z scale which can be rotated and viewed from all angles.
For complex messaging, companies convey their message in simple forms and this is why they require the graphic design services of a 3D artist. The designers possess strong computer and technical skills and other than photography, they are also trained in lighting, effects, and animation.
The demand for 3D designers is increasing each day because of the rapid growth of the visual industry. Becoming a professional 3D graphic designer can be extremely lucrative in the future.
Conclusion:
There is no doubt in the fact that graphic design is a powerful design medium that is capable of reflecting important messages to the audience.
If you are someone who is seriously interested in making a successful career in the field of graphic designing then pursuing a study program at a prominent design school such as Chitakara Design School can be the best decision for your career.
Once you complete your education, your career will be in a position to grow exponentially in the field of graphic design.
