Design, what is design in graphic design?
According to the Robert dictionary, design is the industrial aesthetic applied to the search for new forms adapted to their function. Design can be divided into several categories such as object design or digital design, but here we will focus on graphic design, which is often simplified to the term “graphic design”. Graphic design is particularly interesting in communication and marketing because it is the process that will allow a company to stand out visually and significantly improve the user experience of its customers. Through graphic design, a company can indeed seek to create a visual identity and carry out impacting advertising campaigns. These areas have become essential in the business world today.
Graphic designers are the professionals who work in the field of graphic design. They are trained in the arts and design techniques and have a wide range of skills for producing all types of graphic elements, particularly with the help of software such as Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign.
What is graphic design?
Graphic design is a discipline that consists of creating, choosing and using graphic elements (image, drawing, typeface, etc.) to create a communication support. It is a way of representing something, of creating a project, with the aim of promoting, informing or educating. Graphic design is also known as communication design, commercial design, graphic design or visual communication.
The two forms of graphic design are print design and web design. Print design refers to the physical and material form that graphic design can take, i.e. the communication media that are intended to be printed. Starting with the definition of your logo and your graphic charter, graphic designers can recast and revise the layout of your visual communication with graphic elements (videos, images, drawings, etc.). Web design is the virtual form of graphic design, i.e. what concerns all digital communication, particularly through the creation of pages and websites. Print and web design often go hand in hand, a company will have the same visual identity both on its website and in its print campaigns. Designers need to maintain a consistent look and feel in both for a better user experience.
Graphic design is a job for graphic designers and can be done on any scale (from an advertising campaign for a local event such as a sports race to a worldwide launch of a new smartphone) and for any purpose: branding, print, packaging, album covers, greeting cards, T-shirts and other clothing, flyers, brochures, posters). We are confronted with it on a daily basis, many times and in a multitude of spaces for the promotion of products through advertising.
What are the advantages of graphic design?
- Graphic design can help a company to stand out visually, whether it is for the design of a newsletter, a website, packaging, a poster, a post on social networks or an advertising brochure. Graphic design, and in particular communication design, allows messages, product information or values to be communicated effectively and should encourage brand recall.
- Graphic design also helps to create a good first impression, as it is the visual aspect of a product or service that first marks the consumer. Indeed, communication supports are the first instruments of the customer relationship and they represent the first written and visual link between a company and a customer.
- Graphic design also allows us to differentiate ourselves in a context of competition on the markets: in the digital age, competition between companies takes place at all levels and it is essential to differentiate ourselves in order not to be overtaken. To achieve this, the design and development of a quality visual is fundamental for the graphic designer.
- Graphic design is useful for reinforcing a company’s strategy because it helps to please current customers and attract new prospects and users. It brings credibility, style and personality to a company. It also expresses its values and positioning in a direct way.
- Finally, graphic design aims to create the identity card of a brand or a project thanks to a good logo and an ideal visual identity. These two elements will help to enhance the value of a company and identify it to its potential and current customers.
What are the best practices in graphic design?
- Use the right colours: according to The Manager’s Blog, within 90 seconds of seeing a product, customers unconsciously make a judgment about it. Moreover, between 62% and 90% of this judgement would be formed on the basis of the colour of the product in question. Colour helps customers to remember a brand. According to the same site, colour allows 80% of individuals to identify a brand. Moreover, colours are linked to distinct emotions: blue represents serenity, purple represents wisdom, green represents balance, etc. Hence the importance of choosing them well during the process of creating a graphic design project.
- Use the right typography: like colours, the type of font chosen will influence the tone a brand will adopt. For example, serif fonts will be seen as more formal and serious than sans serif fonts which are seen as more youthful and modern. Using the wrong font can give a completely different impression.
- Create a graphic charter: The graphic charter clearly defines graphic rules for a company. This is very important in order to maintain consistency in a communication strategy. The purpose of the graphic charter is to explain how to use the colours, typography and variants of a company’s logo according to the communication that needs to be made.
