Has it ever happened with you that when you looked at an advertisement or poster and said “WOW! that is amazing!”? Undoubtedly yes! Once in a while, we run our eyes across some stunning pieces of product labels, infographics, websites, signs, book covers, software interfaces, logos etc. All these are results of wonderfully designed graphics.
Graphic design makes all these artistic and eye-grabbing. It is an important tool that elevates your ideas to a level where you can communicate with people. But what is graphic design? It is much more than what we discussed now. Therefore, let us dive into this article where we will discuss what is graphic design, why it is important, its uses, and some examples. Let’s get started!
What Is Graphic Design?
It is a craft that involves a combination of images and text used to communicate messages and information. Graphic designing is a very well known profession these days. A company always wants its audience to be attracted to its products. This is possible due to graphic design.
There are many definitions of Graphic design but we will consider the definition given by the American Institute of Graphic Arts(AIGA). According to them, “graphic design is the art and practice of planning and projecting ideas and experiences with the visual and textual content”.
Modern-day graphic design was born in the early 20th century. William Addison Dwiggins coined the term graphic design in 1922. Over these years graphic design has permeated the business space and not only that, it is all around us in our daily life. It has become really prevalent in our lives today like never before.
Although graphic design is predominantly used for business and commercial purposes, it can just be a simple way to express art around us. The main goal behind it is communication. Graphic design isn’t just a black and white concept, there are many principles that build it. It makes sure you communicate with people in an efficient manner.
Graphic designers create visual concepts to inform, entice, and motivate their target audience. It is a blend of art and technology to convey a message. Let us now look at the importance of graphic design.
Why Is Graphic Design Important?
1. It plays a great role in communication
Beautiful designs speak to customers when you are not verbally speaking to them. Looking at a product, logo, banner or website you get a visual message. It has to be attractive so that people don’t get bored. It is a way of distinguishing your brand from others.
2. It gives you a consistent look
Through graphic design, you can give a unique, customised touch to your brand. For it to be professional, the colours, fonts and logo across all media have to be uniform. This in turn keeps your brand message similar on all the platforms and people can connect with your brand.
3. It leads to higher conversions
Good designs have always been overlooked. But as a matter of fact, a good design which is professional and attractive can attract an audience to your site and tempt them to purchase your product. A great design can convert a business from no sales to a lot of sales.
4. It sets you apart from the rest
People like to associate themselves with good looking things. So, it is important that you choose the right design to set yourself apart from other competitors and convince your audience about their choices. The quality graphic design significantly increases your chances to stand out in the market and among audiences.
5. It shows professionalism
The presentation can actually make your business a great one. People tend to look for companies that are trustworthy and seem professional. Graphic design is a great way to convince people who are looking for signs of professionalism. This develops a perception in their minds about your company and they invest in it.
6. It builds an aesthetic value
A good design helps you to look good. It can be compared to going for an interview. For instance, you do not go for an interview in pyjamas and a t-shirt, you always wear formals which creates an impression on the interviewer.
Similarly, a stunning design allows you to put an impression on the audience which will lead them to form initial opinions about your product in no time. Therefore, having a great design can work wonders in framing a positive set of mind towards your brand. Graphic designers try to design elements that work together for perfect visual communication.
Graphic designers need to have both skills and work to make their designs work. These designs can help any business to witness profit.
Moving ahead let us see how graphic design plays a part in business to turn more profit.
How Does Graphic Design Play A Part In Business?
Graphic design is important for any business. Here we will give you reasons why it is crucial for any business venture.
Establish Company Name- When we see our favourite chocolate in the supermarket we recognise it by seeing the wrapper. Even when you see something similar to it, you think of it as your favourite chocolate, but it is not. Have you ever thought about why?It is because our mind has made up an image of the wrapper and as soon as we see it, we get reminded of it. We also see many advertisements, logos, websites, brochures almost on a daily basis. This revives our memories and helps us to recognise the brand name. For businesses, uniquely designed graphics in the form of logo, business card or other marketing items can be helpful in establishing the company’s name and gaining brand recognition.As designer Mark King once said, “Design is the body language of your marketing. Don’t slouch.” The quality of design can help you establish a good business.
Enhance sales – An exceptional graphic design can largely impact your sales. Humans are visual beings, they get attracted to anything that is unique. The message that you wish to convey through your work and the design is necessary for the audiences.They are convinced that your products are of high quality and subsequently they purchase your products. Once they become your loyal customers, the sales increase. Graphic designs can do a lot for your company.
Earn trust and goodwill in the market – Thomas Watson Jr said “Good design is good business.” This is true to the core. Logo design on any other form of graphic design can make a person trust the company’s services and products and give them confidence.If the design is appealing you can win loyal customers to your business. Highlighting your products through graphic design can help you earn that trust and goodwill on the market.
Educate about your brand – Graphic design is a perfect way to convey your brand message to customers. You can be a solopreneur or a multi-million company your business has a story to tell and graphic design does just that.According to Saul Bass, “Design is thinking made visual”, and your thoughts should reach your audience. A brand message is conveyed properly through the design, it is a means to evoke emotions within the customers. Thus, when they know about your product and what it is all about they are for sure going to come back for more.
Encourage professionalism – A thoughtfully designed graphic, in any form, gives the impression of how professional your company is in doing business. It imprints in the customers mind your ways of doing business and that is a fundamental force for your growth.
Ensure Readability – Want to grab the attention of your target audience? Cool. Try using graphic designing. It can improve the readability of your content. Using appropriate colours, images, typefaces and contrast, the designs can gain a lot of attention.
Thus, having a graphic design helps you in the business, as a means of communication between your business and audience.
What Are Some Common Uses Of Graphic Design?
There are a lot of uses of graphic design, from the logo on your coffee mug to your favourite comic book or magazines, newspapers, every day we come across hundreds of these examples. We will talk about a few fields where it is used.
Corporate identity or branding- Graphic designers collaborate with companies to create logos, colour palettes, typography, image libraries, business cards and corporate stationery etc. This increases the visibility of the brand.
Marketing – Graphic designers create many assets for marketing purposes. Some of them are posters, banners, infographics, brochures, social media ads, flyers, postcards, magazines, newspapers ads, vehicle wraps and so on.
Online interfaces – Graphic design can be used for game interfaces, app design, Web page design and theme design. This gives the users a wonderful experience.
Printed/Published material- A Graphic designer can use it in publications to create a classic design for books, newspapers, directories, magazines, catalogues and annual reports.
Packaging material – Designers can create specific packages for products starting from beverage cans, perfumes, beauty products, boxes, food packages, children’s toys, cloth packages etc.
Motion graphics – Think about the opening and closing credits in a movie or advertisements you watch on tv. These are places where graphic designers use their ideas to create beautiful GIFs, title sequences, presentations, promotional videos, tutorial videos, apps, websites and many more.
Environmental design – You must have often enjoyed the wall murals and signage while going across the road. This connects to you and improves your visual experience of that place. Graphic design is used in these places that help people identify places and establish a connection. For instance, office branding, museum exhibitions, retail store interiors, stadium branding, event and conference spaces, public transportation navigation etc.
Entertainment and Illustration – This is a growing area where graphic design is practiced. Be it motion graphics, video games, technical illustration, concept art, t-shirt design, graphic novels etc are the areas where it is used.
Although all of these uses overlap with each other they don’t end. There are plenty of examples you have in front of you, to take inspiration from. Let us discuss some examples of graphic design that can boost your creative imagination and give the audience a great user experience.
Examples Of Graphic Design
Hired by Anthony Wood This was designed for branding the event, “How to get hired in NYC?”. It is a bold kinetic logo where the event’s title, explanation and date appear in large capital letters. The design elements bring out the message behind the topic of seeking clarity in the midst of chaos and confusion.
Digital Plant Identifying App by Becky Wood-This app helps to identify plants by taking a picture and scanning it. Here, the designer shows an order of action for the viewers.
Lite Loaves Packaging by Jessica Bakker The product is a healthy, natural home-baked goods for children, thus the packaging is kept such that it can attract children. It is a powerful way of visual communication with people.
Android Watch Face design by Gmbh Here we have two graphic design examples of watches that use contrast and alignment to create a classic design.
Programs Used In Graphic Design
You need skills to use the technology behind graphic design, and on top of that, you have to be creative. Let us look at some software programs that you should be familiar with to nail graphic designing.
Adobe InDesign- One of the important programs that helps you to design everything from an invitation, posters, business cards and even books.
Adobe Photoshop – This is a must for every graphic designer. They use it to edit photos and create graphics in a professional manner.
Adobe Illustrator – Graphic designers use this for creating vector images that can be scaled up or down without degrading their quality.
Adobe Dreamweaver – Almost every graphic designer uses it to design new Web content, manage existing sites and write and edit code. This is one of the very necessary programs that graphic designers work with.
Microsoft Office applications – knowing this one can solve some layout issues if you ever face it.
Video and animation tools – Being well versed in video and animation tools and skills can help you a lot in your work to create a variety of designs.
OFFEO helps you to create graphic designs in a snap which are different from others and are customised according to you. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner, our platform is very easy to use. You can select from thousands of templates, themes, animations, and colours to give a personal touch to your design.
Let your design speak to people, we have many tools to help you bring your dream design to reality without costing you a fortune or using up your precious time. Just spend a few minutes and go through our collection and see what talks to you, if not you can start from scratch by using your own images through drag and drop.
Our user-friendly interface lets you make professional-looking designs within no time. Once you customise it, save it and you are good to go. So, go ahead and check out https://offeo.com/discover/animated-graphic-library/ and start doing new things and keep learning.
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