What is Graphic Design?
Graphic design is a subcategory of in the field of design where ideas, concepts, words, and images are conveyed to a target audience through visual and textual communication, which is why it is also referred to as communication design. It is a design profession that specializes in the usage and arrangement of several types of media in the form of a website or a poster. Graphic designers normally use graphic design software programs such as Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop, which are two of the most popular programs in the design industry. These design software programs are comprised of design elements in terms of textures, shapes, colours, illustrations, and images.
Some people might be wondering what exactly graphic design is and where one can see it. The answer is that it is everywhere — from posters, greetings cards, brochures, newspapers, and magazine layouts to huge billboards and advertisements that one encounters everyday, as well as the design of your favorite books. With the continuous advancement of technology these days, social media is another platform where the works of graphic designers are also present.
There are also different areas and roles in graphic design which are the following: creative director, art director, art production manager, visual image developer, package designer, and logo designer, to name a few.
So what exactly does it take to be a graphic designer? More often than not, graphic design is compared to fine arts but in reality, they are two completely different things. In fine arts, artists are expected to be able to present, express, and inspire artworks that represent something that is exclusively theirs. In return, viewers are expected to be able to come up with their own understanding and interpretation of the artwork.
On the other hand, graphic designers are focused on communicating a specific message that people need to understand through their visual and textual outputs. What graphic designers have to do is to be able convey a message without the need for people to come up with their own interpretation because in this case, there is already a presenting problem to be solved or a certain result that is aimed to be obtained. Hence, graphic designers do not need to be good at drawing.
On the other hand, it is said that art is usually inborn and that it is an innate talent that simply needs to be honed as a person grows up. Meanwhile, design is viewed as a skill that can be learned so it is not necessary that graphic designers are good in arts because in the design industry, artists, designers, and animators all collaborate for one project. What graphic designers need are visual thinking skills which include both an eye for aesthetics and a creative and an imaginative mind.
Being a graphic designer is not only about creating eye-catching advertisements or making cool illustrations but it is also essentially about carrying a bigger responsibility of being inspired and, at the same time, inspiring people through one’s visual outputs. With this, one can say that graphic design is not simply a profession but it is part of a person’s way of living.