Graphic Design
Graphic design allows you to use your creative mind to communicate your brand to your consumers.
Good graphic design is cohesive to the branding that you have developed, for example, if your branding is created to be simple, your graphic design assets should also be simple.
Regardless of the skill level, you have in graphic design, below we have put together a comprehensive guide that will give you more direction on creating graphics, or if you want to outsource your graphic design this guide will help you communicate better with your graphic designer.
What Is Graphic Design?
Graphic design is a craft that consists of using visual content to communicate a message to a specific social group with a specific goal.
The 10 Types Of Graphic Designs
Before we get into the basic principles, it’s important to understand the different types of graphic design.
There are a few types of graphic designs, here are the different types:
Corporate Graphic Design
Corporate design is a type of graphic design that mainly focuses on communicating the companies identity and brand and all its values through the use of shape, colors, & shapes.
Marketing & Advertising Graphic Designs
Marketing & advertising design is a type of graphic design that is the most common in today’s day and age, it consists of infographics, magazine ads, vehicle wraps, digital and traditional billboards, postcard, social media graphic sets, email marketing graphics, brochures, blog graphics and more.
Publication Graphic Design
Publication design is a type of graphic design that consists of creating layouts, typography, or illustrations for publications. This type of graphic design also consists of creating graphics to be used in e-newsletters, ebooks, newspapers, and magazines.
Environmental Graphic Design
Environmental design is a type of graphic design that consists of creating an environmental experience for a person. This type of design consists of architecture, murals, signage, road signs, and physical stores interior and exterior.
Product Packaging Graphic Design
Product packaging design is a type of graphic design that consists of creating product packaging designs which include creating labels, wrappers, and packaging visuals.
Motion Graphic Design:
Motion design is a type of design that consists of animations, video games, apps, GIFs, Advertisements, promotional, or tutorial videos.
Art / Illustration Graphic Design:
Illustration and art design consist of creating original artwork that illustrates a story to the consumer. This type of design is mainly used to create merchandise designs, stock imagery, comic books, albums, concept art, technical illustrations, and graphic patterns for picture books & textiles.
Website Design
While web design may not be a type of “graphic design” it is an important type of design, especially if you are building a website. When it comes to website design graphic designers use different kinds of graphic design into one medium, which focuses primarily on imagery, layout, typography to design a website that users enjoy browsing.
User Experience & Interface Design
UI & UX design is a critical type of design for anyone creating any kind of website.UX design or user experience design focuses primarily on the user experience, good UX design ensures that the user can easily interact with the product’s elements and boosts customer satisfaction.
UI design, short for user interface design consists more of interactive elements on the website that a user will be using while navigating throughout the website. UI design consists of the design of different website elements such as buttons, dropdowns, text fields, headers, paragraph text, links, breadcrumbs, notifications, page layout, and more.
The 5 Principles Of Good Graphic Design
in order to be successful at hiring or doing graphic design, it is important to make sure you or your candidate understands the basic principle of graphic design.
If you plan on hiring a graphic designer, we do recommend that you ask the candidate for their opinion on the following principles:
Design Balance
The involvement of symmetry and asymmetry in a design to create balance. Can consist of using lines, shapes, and other design elements to evenly distribute design components. Without proper balance, the design piece has no structure or stability.
Design Repetition
To establish consistency in your graphic design it is important to first understand how you want to display your elements and what patterns you are looking to create. The use of repetition will play a part in bringing together each design part into one cohesive design that will bring strength and a feeling of a well-organized design.
Design Alignment
In order for a design to be considered a success, the design must be organized and the alignment will help create the visual connection you intend on making between the design elements. All design elements should align with the top, bottom, center, and sides in some way.
Design Distance
To create a successful relationship between design elements, you will require closeness in your design. You can use design distance to minimize design clutters, create a focal point, or improve the consumer’s understanding of the design.
Design Contrast
Implementing contrasting into your design will give you the power to alter the consumers feeling on your design while allowing you to emphasize an aspect of your design, or stress a difference between your design elements and whatever you want to stand out.
3 Most Common Graphic Design Softwares
There is various graphic design software out there to help you craft the best possible graphics for your business.
Here are the most commonly used graphic design software:
- Canva ( Free Plan Available )
Canva is a highly recommended tool if you are a beginner and don’t want to take much time to learn the skill, Canva comes with a library of tools and ready to go graphic templates that will help you get off the ground pretty fast. Canva is also easy to learn but is less advanced than photoshop and illustrator. - Adobe Photoshop (Paid)
Photoshop offers advanced tools that allow you to create and edit graphics and photos. Adobe Photoshop does take time to learn and can take a while to master. - Adobe Illustrator (Paid)
Illustrator is an advanced graphic editor, illustrator is great for creating high-resolution graphics. Adobe illustrator does take time to learn and to master.