Everything You Need to Know About Graphic Design

The history of graphic designing goes as far back as the origin of mankind. From parietal wall paintings of the Lascaux caves to the neon lights in the Ginza district of Tokyo, graphic designing has continued to project visual communications throughout the inception of printing and consumerism as well as the time periods before it.

What Exactly is Graphic Design?

Graphic Design is an interdisciplinary branch of design; it is a craft through which visual content is curated which in turn is used to communicate specific messages. It employs the use of creativity, innovation, and digital tools for problem-solving and communication of ideas. Graphic Designers require a specific skill set and design techniques that use typography, color, imagery, and form in order to create innovative designs, cater to users’ specific needs, and enhance user experience.

Using Graphic Design to Mold User Experience (UX)

Graphic designers that work in user experience (UX) design, take on a human-centered approach, one that identifies with the users in question, prioritizes the creation of captivating designs, and maximizes usability. This is done by first ensuring accessibility for users and then creating a graphic design that takes into consideration the entire user experience. The goal is to use graphic design to construct an appealing, meaningful, pleasurable, and functional design; to fully integrate graphic design with user experience.

Emotional Design

In the corporate world, graphic design is applied to company elements like logos, colors, branding, packaging, advertising, etc. And so, it is crucial for a graphic designer to have a thorough understanding of color theory. Color choices should be used to accurately reflect a company and users’ expectation. When rightly wielded, color schemes function as a powerful tool for attracting attention, organizing content, emphasizing elements, evoking emotion, and helping a design look aesthetically pleasing (e.g., beige for symbolizing calmness and simplicity, blue for knowledge and power). Then there’s the tone of a brand, an aspect of graphic design that is not only used for building a brand personality and conveying a message, but is also used to capture a user’s attention and establish brand value (e.g., script font for elegance and sophistication, serif for stability and reliability).

All in all, there are seven basic elements of graphic design: Line, color, value, shape, texture, space, and form. When combined together to create a specific design, each element can greatly influence the idea or intention behind your design.

The use of user psychology in graphic design plays an important role in either making or breaking a brand. Some key considerations to keep in mind are: Symmetry and Balance, Repetition, Flow, Pattern, The Golden Ratio (1:1.618), The Rule of Thirds (how a user’s eyes recognize a good layout) and Typography. The idea isn’t just to display all of these elements in a cluster. It is to make sure that your visual content is simultaneously aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly.

Types of Graphic Design

There are various types of graphic designs that often overlap but require specific skill sets and design techniques. Some of them are:

Visual Identity Graphic Design – One of the most common types of design, visual identity graphic deals with the visual elements of brand identity. A brand signifies a relationship between a company and its audience whereas a brand identity is the manner in which a company gets across its personality, essence, and tone. In this type of graphic design, the design itself becomes the face of the brand. So, it is crucial that designers create logos, business cards, and corporate stationary, using color palettes and typography that best reflects a brand’s personality.

Marketing & Advertising Graphic Design – Visual content is widely used to engage people based on their wants, needs and satisfactions regarding a product, service, or brand. This type of graphic design is employed by companies that wish to successfully market their brand to their target audience and influence its decision-making process. Designers aim to create designs for print media (flyers, magazine, newspaper ads, billboards, brochures, etc.), content marketing, and digital advertising (email marketing templates, social media ads, banners, and graphics, images for websites and blogs, etc.).

User Interface (UI) Graphic Design – UI is the means by which a computer system and the user interacts. In this kind of graphic design, interfaces are designed such that they provide high usability and response, and a user-friendly experience. Its focus lies on the visual experience of the user and the design of menus, buttons, micro-interactions, and other on-screen graphic elements. The goal here is to create the perfect blend of aesthetic appeal and technical functionality. Examples of user interface graphic design include web page design, theme design, game interfaces, and app design.

Publication Graphic Design – Classically consisting of books, magazines, newspapers, and catalogs, and more recently including digital publications, a publication is a long-form piece that communicates with an audience through public distribution. This type of graphic design involves color management, careful typography, layout creation, and other artwork comprising graphics and illustrations. Publications can also take the form of newsletters, directories, and annual reports.

Motion Graphic Design – Motion graphics are digital footage or animation pieces, usually used in multimedia projects, which are used to create an illusion of motion. Over the past years, with constant improvement in technology and an increased consumption of online media, television, and film, video content has gained unparalleled popularity. One of the newest types of design, motion graphics has created an array of new opportunities in the digital world and can now be found across almost all digital platforms. Examples of motion graphic design include title sequence and credits, animated logos, advertisements, presentations, promotional videos, apps, websites, video games, GIFs, etc.

With the onset of rapid growth in information sharing and the advent of sophisticated technologies, the demand for graphic designing and experienced designers has only been increasing. Having knowledge of the different types of graphic designs is crucial to understanding and identifying the specialist you need for your specific graphic design requirements.

Choosing the Right Graphic Design And Printing Services

We at Design Master, one of the top graphic design companies in Kuwait, have a specialized graphics departments that will help you launch your new product, reposition yourself in the marketplace, or break into a new area, by developing unique and promotional materials. We will first do this by thoroughly understanding your key marketing strategies. We will then explore a broad range of ideas and conceptualize original print designs for your campaigns, setting you apart from your competition. We will work on your print and design requirements including corporate image, corporate media, brand creation, exhibition materials, brochure design, professional logo design, and stationary. Take a look at some of our most prominent graphic design works here: https://www.design-master.com/#Our-Passion