Graphics Designing

Graphic design is a craft where professionals create visual content to communicate messages. By applying visual hierarchy and page layout techniques, designers use typography and images to meet specific user needs and focus on the logic of displaying elements in interactive designs to optimize the user experience.
When you think of graphic design, does art advertising come to mind? Eye-catching website graphics? Amazingly arranged spreads in magazines? While these examples certainly fit the definition of graphic design, the term covers a lot: posters, infographics, book covers, product labels, logos, business cards, signage, website layouts, mobile apps, software interfaces—the list goes on.
So what exactly is graphic design? Listing these graphic design examples is a good start, but doesn't paint the full picture. While it may not be possible to cover the details and intricacies of the entire graphic design field in one article, this high-level overview will help you better understand this creative career field.

First, what is graphic design?

According to the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), graphic design is defined as "the art and practice of planning and projecting ideas and experiences with visual and textual content." In other words, graphic design communicates certain ideas or messages in a visual way. These visuals can be as simple as a company logo or as complex as a page layout on a website.
"Graphic design takes graphic and textual elements and implements them in different types of media," says designer Alexandros Clufetos when asked to elaborate on the definition of graphic design. “It helps the manufacturer connect with the consumer. It conveys the message of a project, event, campaign or product.”
Graphic design can be used by companies to promote and sell products through advertising, websites to convey complex information in a digestible manner through infographics, or businesses to develop identity through branding, among other things.
“Every day we take for granted many of the subtle artistic things around us. But in every corner of a magazine, bulletin board or textbook lurks a set of design ideas that influence our perception,” says Jacob Smith, founder of illustration studio ProductViz.
It is also important to note that although many graphic design projects have commercial purposes such as advertisements and logos, it is also used in other contexts and graphic design work is often created purely as a vehicle for artistic expression.

As mentioned earlier, there is no single meaning of graphic design. Graphic design consists of many fields and specializations, from print and web design to animation and motion graphics. Graphic design offers opportunities and possibilities for individuals of almost any interest.

If you asked someone 30 years ago to define graphic design, their answer would likely focus on print-related examples such as magazines, movie posters, and advertisements. We now live in a digital age that has given rise to several new types of graphic design.

Some of the most notable examples of modern graphic design come from technological advancements. Here's a quick look at some of these types of graphic design:

Website design involves creating engaging and intuitive websites for users. This includes the overall layout, color scheme and navigation. User experience (UX) design focuses on making a website or app easy and satisfying to use. These designers emphasize value, usability, adaptability and suitability. Motion graphics design—or animation—brings visual elements to life through special effects, television shows, video games, and movies.

With technological advancements introducing new types of graphic design, new jobs in graphic design have also emerged. This development changed the entire field of careers in this field.

Demand for "traditional" graphic designers, who work primarily for print publishers, has fallen significantly, but that doesn't tell the whole story. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment of graphic designers in computer systems design services is expected to grow by 24 percent through 2028.1 Much of this demand is driven by the increased need for digital graphics and imaging by businesses and organizations. because they want to increase their digital presence.

So with that being said, what are some common graphic design job titles? Over the past year, we analyzed more than 30,000 job postings requiring a degree in graphic design.2 The data helped us identify the most common job positions:

• Graphic designer
• User Experience (UX) Designer.
• Web designer
• Art director
• Creative Director

As you can see, once you are armed with the right knowledge and training, there are several career options in graphic design. You have the opportunity to tailor your career to your personal skills and interests.

Graphic design is emotional design

Although working in the digital age means you have to design using interactive software, graphic design still revolves around ancient principles. It is very important that you strike the right chord with the user from the first sight - that's why graphic design corresponds with emotional design. So, as a graphic designer, you should have a good understanding of color theory and the importance of choosing the right color scheme. The choice of colors must reflect not only the organization (e.g. blue suits banking), but also the expectations of users (e.g. red for notifications, green for reminders to continue). You should design by considering how the elements match the tone (eg sans serifs for excitement or happiness). You also need to design the overall effect and note how you are shaping the emotions of the users as you lead them, for example, from the landing page to the call to action. Graphic designers are often involved in motion design for smaller screens. They will carefully monitor how the aesthetics of their works meet the expectations of their users. They can improve the usability of their designs in a fluid and seamless environment by anticipating users' needs and mindsets. With user psychology in mind, it is important to focus on some particularly important aspects of graphic design, namely:

• Symmetry and balance (including types of symmetry)
• Flow
• Repetition
• Pattern
• Golden Ratio (i.e. 1:1.618 ratios)
• Rule of thirds (ie how users' eyes recognize a good layout)
• Typography (including everything from font selection to heading thickness)

Audience culture (in terms of use of colors – e.g. red as a warning or in some Eastern cultures a signal of good luck – and reading pattern: e.g. left to right in Western cultures)

Overall, your mission – when it comes to graphic design in UX and UI design – is to harmoniously display information. You should ensure that beauty and usability go hand in hand, so your design can discreetly communicate your organization's ideals to your users. When you create a credible visual presentation, you signal to users that you know what they want to do—not just because you've arranged aesthetically pleasing elements that are where your users expect them or help them navigate intuitively, but because the values that your designs display, also reflect theirs. Your visual content will quickly decide the fate of your design, so don't forget the smallest trigger that can turn users off.

Create your future in graphic design

What is graphic design, exactly? As you’ve just learned, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all definition. There are countless ways to use graphic design to solve business problems or evoke inspiration. It’s up to you to determine what graphic design means to you and your future career.