The craft of making visual designs and using it to communicate the ideas, concepts, and relevant information. In other words, graphic design is the amalgamation of texts and images to create a communication design.

Graphic design is the art with an objective. It is an artistic expression of ideas and messages which includes a creative and systematic plan to achieve certain design objectives.

Graphic design is the intersection of the discipline of communication and the philosophy of art. The functionality of graphic design is interpreted by making the visual part the main focus of the whole concept. The designing process in graphic design involves creation and conveyance of the desired message in an artistic way. On the other hand, the creative part involves designing of eye-catchy designs and visuals.

Graphic designing has become important in almost every field and industry. Be it the entertainment industry or the business sector, the demand for the graphic design industry is ever-increasing. Good design makes you and your company look good. Whether you want to boost your sales or you want to start a new brand, a great graphic design will you set on the track of business success.

The highly-competitive markets of the digital business have increased the demand for high-quality graphic design and well-trained professionals. A great graphic design is not a stroke of serendipity and gaining expertise in graphic designing is not a day’s job.

In this hyper-connected and highly-digitized era, visual content is the driving force of every industry—which might be the sole reason as to why many industries and companies hire the video animation services provider and agencies. The world where eye-appealing visuals are preferred over well-composed text, graphic designers are regarded as the unsung heroes of every industry.

Whether you run a production house or a business firm, having teams of professional graphic designers and content creators on board has become essential for growth and expansion. While content creator composes high-quality, graphic designers convert those text files into masterpieces. These designers not only make your content visually-appealing but they deliver your message effectively. Visualization of the big picture and having a keen eye for tiny details are the crucial ingredients that make a great graphic designer.

Typically, the job of the graphic designer is to use typographic, visual arts and layout techniques to compose exceptional visuals and graphics. From varying the font styles and colors to tweaking the sizes and setting the hierarchy, the graphic designer has to use everything and anything that makes a dull content into the work of art. Having a clear understanding of the technologically advanced tools and knowledge of attention-capturing techniques, graphic designer conveys the message through still images and moving media.

The graphic design like any other discipline adheres to a set of rules and principles that should be followed by every graphic designer to compose high-quality graphics and visuals. These underlying rules are to make the work of the designer well-balanced and stable. Violating these rules can make your work ineffective or even worst—purposeless.

The Ideals of Graphic Design

The underlying principles form the basis of graphic design. While many people consider graphic designing as solely the work of a creative mind, it has some principles which should be followed at all times. These principles determine the proper arrangement, page layout and the overall design of the content. These principles of composition impact the conveyance of your desired message and information. Follow these basic principles to make your next designing project stand out:

1. Emphasis:

This principle is all about highlighting the element of high importance. Make a mental sketch of your project. Organize each element and lay it out in a way that reflects order. Place the element of highest significance and the relevant information either in the center to create or enlarge it to make it the point of focus.

Study the color theory and use new color combinations to accentuate the point of focus. It all about using bold and strong typography to create an eye-appealing composition. Starting a graphic design project without understanding the message and the point of focus is like constructing a building without a blueprint—your design is headed for failure.

2. Balance:

Visual balance is all about orderly placement of each design element. Each design has a weight. Weight is related to fonts, colors, sizes, textures, and patterns. Organizing each design element in a way that it balances out the weight of all design elements. Balance is crucial as it gives stability to the design.

Evenly spaced elements give the design a professional look and add a visual appeal to it. It doesn’t mean that each element should be of the same size and weight. Balance is more about arrangement than equal weights. Your design can be arranged symmetrically or asymmetrically, depending on the type of design and requirements.

3. Alignment:

This principle is all about bringing order to the chaos. Alignment is an important concept in the design industry as it organizes each element and gives a sharp look to the design while ensuring that every element complements each other. Alignment removes sloppiness from randomly placed elements.

The way you align different elements, type and create a relation between the elements and the background make your design easy to understand and give an aesthetic appeal to your design.

4. Proximity:

In graphic design, creates uniformity among different design elements on a page. The placement of each element or grouping of similar elements helps in establishing a relationship between design elements. Proximity is all about connecting the elements visually such as making the similar type of element of the same color or font.

5. Contrast:

In graphic design, contrast is all about making the elements conspicuous. Making your background different from the design element to create harmony between them is what makes your design understandable.

Different fonts, different sized elements, various colors, and shapes are used to give a contrasting effect to the graphic design. Contrast is what grabs the viewers’ attention and arranges your desired information in an easily readable manner.

6. Repetition and Consistency:

Repetition is what makes your design more impactful and influential. It helps in boosting the overall look of the design. Repetition keeps different elements organized and consistent. Consistency is important for making your design instantly recognizable.

Consistent use of similar types and design elements within a design helps the viewers in navigating smoothly through the design. While designing page, make sure that your design is based on the rules of repetition, unity, and consistency.

7. White Spaces:

One of the biggest blunders that many designers make is that they cram their page with numerous design elements. White space doesn’t show unprofessionalism; it gives your design breathing space. Proper use of white spaces enhances the hierarchy of the design and helps the viewers in separating different elements—upgrading mediocre visuals to exceptional design.

The empty space around the design page conveys an entirely different message and concept that creates an engaging and interactive interface for your targeted audience and potential viewers.

The Rules for Modern Designers:

Just like every other discipline and occupation, design industry also has some rules that should be considered before starting any project. With the evolution of design concepts, the conventional rules of the graphics industry have also changed with time. Ever since the digitization of the graphics industry, innovative and better ideas are widely-practiced, and the orthodox ways of graphic designing are now defunct.

1. Old rule: exceptional work needs no promotion

   New rule: exceptional work needs an explainer

   With the rapidly evolving technology and the introduction of advanced smart devices, the demand for high-quality graphics content and trained designers have skyrocketed. The need for expanding the customer base and promoting your content to a broader audience has made graphic design a part of every industry. High-Quality content and work is relevant and resonates well with the targeted audience and potential viewers.

   However, in this highly competitive world where content drives businesses and companies, expanding a business is not easy as it might sound like. For acquainting an entirely different group of audience with your work and content, one needs video animation services or an explainer and interpreter–who can be a better interpreter of content than the graphic designers and creatives.

2. Old rule: thorough analysis

   New rule: analyze it in a glance

   It doesn’t mean going for the easiest way out or skimming through the content before publishing it. With the increase in the use of smart devices and various marketing platforms and a decrease in the attention span of the viewers, the designer only has few seconds to grab the attention of the targeted audience and potential consumers.

   When they say the first impression is the last impression, the fact is completely relevant to the graphic designers. The design should be just as the viewers see it. Figure out what makes your design stand out and work on it.

3. Old rule: data is for accounts and finance teams

   New rule: data is for design teams as well.

   Being a designer or creative person, going through numbers and statistics is not something you would prefer—for that we have account managers. This theory was workable a few decades ago, but now data is crowned with the highest importance. With the introduction of numerous categories and forms, it is time for the creatives to start digging the relevant data and leveraging it for their benefits.

   Big data is the new black, and it is sure to change the course of not only the tech industry but also other industries and fields associated with it—which also includes the graphic design industry. Learning how to use big data is going to become essential for today’s creatives. With availability and accessibility to such huge amounts of data, new ideas and concepts are sure to surface the design industry.

4. Old rule: strive for acknowledgment

   New rule: strive for outcomes.

   There’s no denying that every creative mind and idea seek appreciation. However, doing work for gaining recognition and winning rewards belittles the purpose of graphic designing. The main objective of a professional graphic designer is to compose high-quality visual content and deliver it to the clients on time.

   Whether it’s for creating brand awareness or boosting sales and profits or expanding the customer base, the purpose of a graphic designer is to assist the client in succeeding in his goal. If you can achieve that, that’s a huge achievement in itself.

Steps for Creating Amazing Graphic Designs

Spattering colors and different characters on a canvas is how a painter breathes life to his creative ideas. A graphic designer is quite similar to the painter as he also expresses his imaginative creations but in a strategic manner.

The graphic designing process needs to be strategically driven. A professional graphic designer follows a series of steps before starting the design process. The process ensures that your work meets the client’s requirements and standards. Whatever you design has to fulfill each need and demand of the client, so having a set of standard steps helps in effective and timely production of the desired outcome.

Only by taking the appropriate approach for your designing project, you can make your clients happy with the final outcomes. Let’s take a look at each step of the designing process:

1. Collect All The Relevant Information:

Before you start working on your client’s project, you should be well aware of the objectives and every requirement of your client. When assigned a project, make a list of all the queries that might help determine the scope of the project.

Apart from inquiring about the product, ask your clients about the targeted audience, the desired message of the assigned project, the budget of the project and flexibility of deadlines. Note down every detail as they will help you throughout the designing process.

2. Compose an Outline:

While composing a rough draft of the project, refer to the details and information provided by the client. Once you have composed an outline, let your client review it and if need be, edit it according to the client’s feedback.

Once you and your client are in agreement as to how the project will look like and your client has approved your draft, it’s time to move on to the next step.

3. Capitalize On Your Creativity:

Before jumping directly into the designing process and working on design elements, ponder over your design approach and come up with a better solution for the project. The chief objective of your work should be to come up with a better and innovative design idea that will make your client’s product stand out from the crowd.

Brainstorm on your creative ideas, find some inspiration, indulge in mind refreshing activities, and if nothing works go on a walk, nature is the ultimate source of inspiration. Once you have a clear idea about the assigned project’s approach, start working on the structured layout of the design.

4. Sketch It Out:

Before moving onto to the software part of the designing process, doodle out a few rough sketches and drawings of the design layout and the required design elements. Present it to your client to determine whether you are headed in the right direction or not.

A quick hand-drawn version of the page layout and the arrangement of design elements help you in getting feedback from the clients which is the key to nail down an exceptional graphic design.

5. Make Multiple Versions:

Once you are done with research, content finalization and sketches and drafts approvals, it time to move onto the actual design phases.

The clearer the design concept is, the higher are your chances of producing an exceptional piece in one shot. However, it is highly recommended to present your clients with multiple versions of the design. It not only helps in giving the clients with various options but it also helps the designer in determining the favorite elements of the client.

Limit your design versions to up to two or three as more versions can overwhelm the client, leaving him frustrated and completely confused.

6. Revise and Edit:

Once you know what the favorites elements of your client, you can combine those elements to tailor your produced design according to client’s preferences. You can give your opinion on what might look better for the assigned design project.

You might have to go through the revision process multiple times. Bear in mind that the design project is not about your expert opinion or yourself; you are the translator of your client’s message and idea into an actual product.

Conclusion:

Graphic designing is a collaborative process, and the designer can deviate from it easily without a planned strategy and a step-by-step procedure. In a nutshell, the primary objective of graphic design is to display and deliver the message and information in a harmonious manner.