Learn about the common graphic design myths
Graphic design has long moved on from being only used in the print medium to being used in both digital and virtual reality. With so much evolution happening over the years, there are a number of misconceptions and myths surrounding the craft. Let’s clear them one by one.
Graphic design is all about fonts
In most brand designs, a lot of elements apart from the font are considered. Font tails, spacing, lowercase, uppercase, legibility, and symbols are considered to make the final design look stunning. There is an art to arranging text in accordance with the brand values, message, and target demographics. For example, sans serif fonts are considered to be more modern and cursive scripts have a tendency to impart a traditional look. Graphic designers have to consider the boldness of the text, combination, size, and spacing. Typography includes understanding how everything will play out the graphics, image, framing, shapes, white space, and lines. A powerful design has all these elements working in sync.
Graphic designers don’t follow the latest trends
The truth is, just like any creative industry, graphic design has to stay up to date with the latest trends. One year will be all about pastel colors and handwritten font types, the next year might be all about visual trends. A graphic designer is thus always on the lookout for trends but is never completely dependent on them. Graphic design assets incorporate trends but they never go overboard with them. In fact, if designers kept incorporating the latest designs everywhere, there’s a chance they would look easily outdated in a few months and would lose their impact on the audience. It’s okay to use new trends in social media graphics and posters etc but for collateral that will stick around- like a logo, it is important you stick to timeless classics.
The creator has full control over the graphic design
Graphic design is never about the designer. Yes, they do use their judgment to make something look good on the page but designers never design for themselves or their clients. Designs are made for the target audience. Most professional graphic designers have to always make the hard decision of putting their personal choices aside to create visually appealing designs that will resonate with the audience. This requires extensive research about who the target audience is, what they want, and the kind of designs that have appealed to them in the past. A poster for a workshop for toddlers will have easy-to-read bold texts with illustrations on a brightly coloured theme.
Graphic design is all about logos
For most brands, the logo, although an important asset, is just one part of the overall brand design. Colors, typography, and materials are also extremely important. The logo becomes the face and the emblem of a company and it is what people begin to link the business with. People associate your logo with your brand values. However, this doesn’t mean that design is only dependent on logos. Graphic design is the art of communicating a message by creating visual content on any medium (both online and offline) to give it a cohesive look.
Graphic design is used only for the print medium
The graphic design spans across a number of digital mediums and they are more in number than print. It takes everything into account- from social media graphics and website banners to email newsletters. Graphic design is breaking rules every day and is now experiencing cross-overs with UX design, web design, social media, and content creation.
Graphic design is all about still images
In the world of online communication, people use everything from animated GIFs to slideshows of catchy texts and icons to create posters and advertisements that stand out on social media. Graphic design is no longer all about graphics and pictures. With video becoming a very powerful advertising and communication medium, infographic animations and videos are now necessary for most graphic designers.
You need a number of tools to learn graphic design
It’s true that most professional graphic designers use different design software and equip themselves with tablets to use freehand design icons. While these resources do help designers, you’re not expected to start out with them. One can begin with a number of free graphic design tools available in the market that make branding collaterals accessible and easy.
You need to have an inborn artistic sensibility to be a graphic designer
A lot of graphic designers and graphic design agency do have the visual eye and creative streak but that doesn’t mean that everyone is born creative. Just like any other skill in the market, graphic design is a skill that can be learned in no time. Graphic design is scientific as well as aesthetic. It involves awareness of various elements to help you make effective and powerful designs.
