Graphic design as a creative form is both technically proficient and engaging. It involves using combination of arts and technical expertise to create designs for digital as well as print media. Whether you’re new to the field or just want to enter, it is important that you are clear about what to expect in advance. No matter the fact, if you are a designer for an agency, a freelancer, or even a person who enjoys it, you need to first acquaint yourself with the basic concepts of graphic design. The ability of an artist to create something out of his or her skill and passion is emphasized on the artwork. Explaining the project to the client in clear and precise language should be a priority.
For those looking to get professional support along the way, graphic design services can be a great resource to help bring your vision to life. In this blog post, we’ll dive into the essential things you should know before starting graphic design. From learning the basics of design to getting used to the tools and industry trends, this guide will ensure that you can move through the graphic design world with ease.
1. Graphic Design Is More Than Just Pretty Pictures
As easy as it may seem to perceive graphic design as just creating eye catching imagery, there is more than that. At its core, graphic design is about communication. A design has to communicate a message, provoke a feeling, or convey something to its audience in a convincing manner. When designing a logo, website, or advertisement, everything from color, to typography, to the imagery used should align with the intention of the design.
Get acquainted with important design elements before venturing forth. These include hierarchy, contrast, alignement, balance, and repetition. These, along with your creativity, will enable you to create visually appealing and functional designs.
2. Master the Design Software
Perhaps one of the most basic elements of graphic design is learning to become proficient in design software. There are many different design tools now available, but Adobe Creative Suite is still the standard in the industry. Two of the most critical programs that you will most likely need to learn are Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator:
• Adobe Photoshop: Basically, it is mainly used for photo editing, digital painting, and raster graphics. It is considered the best choice for picture manipulation, texture creation, and web and social media content development.
• Adobe Illustrator: Vector graphics are a perfect application for creating logos, illustrations, and designs that have to be enlarged without losing quality. In the beginning, delving deep into these programs may be quite intimidating, but as you practice more, you will get the hang of it. There are several online tutorials available; some are for free while some are for a fee. They can assist in speeding up your learning process. First, the various software packages such as Canva and Figma come to mind, which have simpler interfaces than the super-advanced ones, but at a lower level of capabilities.
3. Understand Typography
Typography is transferring type to a medium and creating a visual hierarchy. It is one of the most important aspects of design and can shift the meaning of the message you want to present. It is not just about picking a font that looks nice; typography entails picking the correct typeface suitable for the context, legibility, as well as ensuring that the fonts are in sync with the style and emotion of the design.
4. Learn Color Theory
With the right colors for design of a brand or its message, it can stir emotion, interest, and perception which makes color arguably the most powerful tool in graphic design. A graphic designer should understand the color theory which entails relationships of color and the feelings they evoke in a viewer’s mind.
Ensure to explore the principles of color wheel, complementary color, analogous color, and triadic schemes of colors
5. Know Your Audience
Prior your creation procedures, it is important to first consider the users. As graphic design is a form of communication, it is very important to know who is the target audience. Who is my audience? Am I designing for a modern youth orientated audience or a more traditional corporate one? Every audience has their own perception of design attributes, so custom tailor your designs to them.
For instance, businesses would tend to favor softer, lighter colors, whereas younger people would appreciate vivid, striking colors. On the other hand, a more cathedra like font could be preferable for a legal financial firm than a loose handwritten font which would suit a modern youth audience better.
6. Build a Strong Portfolio
A portfolio is the graphic designer’s main weapon. It displays your skills, imagination, and the range of your work. Whether you want to work full-time, part-time, or you just want to show your work to your friends, you must have a good portfolio.
By all means, choose quality over quantity when creating the portfolio. Please, just pick the best work you have and try to show different projects, from logos to posters and web pages, as much as it is possible. Making the portfolio fresh and tailored to the kind of work you are looking for should also be of utmost importance.
Not to mention, today, an online portfolio is a must-have. Websites like re Behance, Dribbble, and even Instagram are a mine of hotspots where you can display your works and establish contacts with employers or clients on them by using in-kind and lagging gift cards from other players.
7. Understand Print Design vs. Digital Design
One other thing that you should know about the graphic design world is that print and online design are two separate things. To be specific, print designs must be created at exact sizes, have color settings with CMYK, and make sure that the design includes elements that provide for bleed regions and safe zones. Unlike print designs that use CMYK color settings, digital designs can be purely based on RGB color, they have pixel-based sizes, etc., and sometimes the images might need resizing for specific sizes. Exploring the differences between digital and print design will significantly improve your decision-making skills while you are in the process of producing. You will also need to familiarize yourself with file formats (like PNG, JPEG, and SVG for digital, and PDF and EPS for print) and be able to export the files to the proper formats for both media.
8. Stay Inspired and Keep Learning
Apart from the fact that you should learn graphic designing in the first place, you also need to understand that the paper-based layout and e-vision approach are quite different. For instance, paper designs should make use of particular sizes, CMYK color settings, and have room for features like bleed and safe areas. On the other hand, the RGB color setting is mainly used for the digital artworks, they are based on pixels, and they may not fit the screen resolution.
If you wish to evolve and improve your design knowledge, the first step is to analyze the differences between digital and print design. Furthermore, you have to be good at various file formats (eg., PNG, JPEG and SVG for digital, and PDF and EPS for print) and have proper skills in file exportation for every medium.
9. Be Prepared to Handle Criticism
Graphic design is subjective, and not everyone will adore your work. Becoming accustomed to constructive criticism and utilizing it to enhance your designs is an essential skill within the industry. Whether feedback from clients, staff, or peers, do not take it personally. Rather, see it as a chance to grow and refine.
Always be willing to listen to feedback, but simultaneously trust your design sense. You are the one who has put in the hard work and thought into each of your designs, after all.
