We are surrounded by countless forms of graphic design – be it in digital or print. All of your products have a logo on them, packaged, and designed according to the brand’s visual identity. In every street corner, you can see posters pasted on walls, flyers being handed over to anyone who walks nearby, billboards, and bright LED signages lighting up the city nights. All these are intentionally designed to capture your attention. Graphic design has been a part of our lives, and our culture, without us realizing it. It has seeped in into our sub-conscious and affects our daily decision-making process. So what is graphic design? why should you care? And how does this help you as a brand owner or marketing professional?
What is it?
Graphic design is an art form with a goal. Having a goal is what separates it from an artwork. Graphic design is also a profession and a discipline. Its purpose is to communicate a specific message to an intended audience, with a particular objective in mind, through visual elements like colors, shapes, text, and imagery. In short, it’s a way to deliver a message to your target market visually.
How did Graphic Design start?
Graphic design is so much a part of our everyday culture that life without it is difficult to imagine. Visual communication can be traced back to cave drawings in 15,000 BC, with the pictographs present in the Lascaux caves in southern France. It has come a long way from using stone tools to create our first recorded drawings to creating designs using computers and software.
Programming Design System stated that William Addison Dwiggins coined the term “graphic design” in 1922 to describe his process of designing books, as a combination of typesetting, illustration, and design. Book design changed from being a simple craft to an interpretive art.
Dwiggins was the director of the Harvard University Press and founder of the Society of Calligraphers in Boston. He was born in 1880 at the exact time of the invention of the Linotype machine.
The work carried out by graphic designers was all done by hand in earlier periods– either sketched art or painted art. Visual artists today have all digital tools to work with, although some prefer working with more traditional tools while creating a business or product visual identity.
Graphic Design Today
To reach its current form, modern graphic design has undergone a considerable amount of change. In an era where technology took over, ideas are exchanged faster, old trends disappear in graphic design quicker, sometimes as fast as they arrive, and new ideas soon take place. The internet has accelerated the evolution of design trends and ideas.
Most graphic designs can now be seen online but that does not mean the printed forms will disappear. It is here to stay. There’s something special when seeing it in front of you. Like how a well-designed packaging can make you feel excited to see the product inside, and how it adds to its value.
We now have more graphic designers than ever before. Computers have become cheaper and design software more accessible. Business owners have realized the importance of visual design in their businesses, especially in the digital age, increasing the demand for graphic designers. According to a study conducted by IBISWorld show, the US market size for graphic design in 2021 is $12.7 billion with an annual growth rate of 4.1%.
Graphic design has branched into several specializations. Be sure you know the right type of graphic designer you should be working with for a particular project. For example, some graphic designers specialize in logo designing, other graphic designers focus on marketing material designs, we also have web designers and many more.
There has been a rise in free graphic design software, free stock photos, and free fonts. Graphic design is not just for graphic designers. With online design tools, it is now easier for everyone to do the graphic design themselves. DIY graphic design tools make it easier for business owners and marketing professionals to create their marketing and branding designs.
Graphic Design for your Brand
The internet has enabled graphic designs and brands to reach a wider audience. Businesses that capitalized on this have experienced growth even in the most difficult times.
Globalization has made the market even more saturated, therefore, it made the competition for your audience fiercer. Businesses and digital marketers will need all the help they can get to set themselves apart in the digital community. One of these ways is with strategy-based graphics and images that can catch the interest of their targeted audience. It makes it easier for businesses to connect with their customers.
With the help of online platforms, business owners can keep track of real-time data and figure out which of the graphical elements and designs worked best for their business and is the most effective. This is called design optimization. This will help businesses create the most persuasive marketing materials, maximizing their marketing budgets and increasing ROI!
A consistent graphic design helps brands build trust with their audience. It adds to their credibility. It makes it easier for the audience to recognize their products and services and remember them.
If you want to take your brand to the next level, the easiest way to add perceived value to your products and services is through a professionally-made, goal-driven graphic design.
Conclusion
Graphic design has now become one of the essential elements for every business and brand’s success. The level of graphic design a brand has, is more often than not, a reflection of the quality of their products and services. If you are serious about growing your business , be sure to take into consideration how your marketing and branding graphic designs are executed. It will reflect your brand’s values and personality.
If you need help with your brand’s graphic, brand, and marketing designs, just send us a message and we’d be happy to help.