You may think that because your business is not in the creative field, you don’t need a graphic designer. Think again. Every business can benefit from the skills of a designer, and we’re going to tell you why.
Graphic designers solve visual problems using text and images. Graphic design is a form of art. Graphic designers communicate ideas visually to spread a brand message or to sell products.
It’s recommended to hire a professional if you need graphic design work done. They’ll have the right skills and experience to make your project come to life. They’ll also have the right kit and tools to make sure your project is done professionally and to industry standards.
In the end, it’ll save you money. You could try doing the design project yourself, but you’ll never be as fast or creative as a professional designer.
What does a graphic designer do?
Anything that can communicate a visual message or tell a visual story can be produced by a graphic designer. The field of graphic design is so varied which is why this is quite a vague explanation.
A graphic designer can help with a plethora of problems from smaller tasks to huge projects like tweaking your logo so it can be used on your Facebook page or making your website more readable. You could improve how you do business by bringing a creative mind to your team. It may even help you see things in a new way.
What are the 10 types of graphic design?
1. Production Design
Have you experienced that “extra” special feeling when coming out of a Coldplay concert? While 80% of it is good music (and we are not denying that), 20% of the feel-good factor is the stage design which resonates with every fan and helps them get the precise experience they were expecting out of the concert – An experience of a lifetime!
Production design is the creation of the visual elements used in stages, films, concerts, sets etc.
2. Advertising
Are you guilty of buying a product because its ad really spoke to you? Like the iPhone X coming right out of your Facebook Newsfeed showing just how magnificent it is, how you really need it in your life, and how your life would lose all meaning if you just don’t buy it, as soon as it is launched? You even put a reminder of the launch date in your calendar, and start saving your money that instant? Well, that’s the magic of successful advertising, with compelling graphics and of course, let’s not forget the copywriting warriors here.
3. Product/Package Design
Have you ever kept the box of your newly bought earphones or phone just because it looked nice? Blame it on the hardworking graphic designer, who burnt the midnight oil designing the images, and stickers, and used the right colours, cuts, and textures.
4. Environmental Design
The helpful signs which keep you safe and sometimes alive during your commute are what Environmental designs are. From ‘sharp curve ahead’ to ‘mind, the gap’, the visual elements used in transportation and architecture constitute Environmental Designs.
5. Video Game Art
There is a reason Red Dead Redemption 2 has more fans than God of War, and that reason is… graphics (and the plot, but c’mon let’s be honest, it’s the graphics). No further explanation is needed, just a MASSIVE salute to our video game graphic designers.
6. Publishing
Publishing is the most competitive form of graphic design. The covers and layout of books and magazines can make or break their sales graph because let’s face it, we all judge a book by its cover.
7. Web Design
This website, this blog, other websites, and the social media channel you are using.
8. Interfaces
Instagram, TikTok, 9gag…every design beyond the web, like a mobile app etc.
9. Corporate Designs
The Vida E logo on your coffee mug, the yellow M on your bag of fries, and the less-than-half-eaten apple at the back of your phone are all corporate designs making a very subtle place in your daily life.
Visual identity of organizations and brands such as logos, fonts, colours etc. is what Corporate Designs are.
10. Signage
Billboards, murals, street signs etc. all fall under the category of ‘Signage’ in graphic design.
What are the 10 common graphic design mistakes to avoid?
1. Not Understanding Instructions
Communication between the client and the designer is crucial as in most things. While it’s important for the client to provide clear and informative instructions, it is the responsibility of the designer to make sure they have understood those instructions, even if that requires further communication and queries sent to the client.
Creative Bloq highly suggests going over the client's directives multiple times while brainstorming and taking notes. Whenever something confusing arises in the directives, it’s important that you contact the client straight away in order to clear things up.
2. Staying In The Box
While thinking out-of-the-box may be old-fashioned advice, that doesn’t mean it’s not true. A huge graphic design mistake in logo design and other designs is sticking to what is known and staying in the well-travelled ruts.
Graphic design is a creative process, and therefore, creativity is critical to truly being successful. Go for the weird and crazy, try things out, play around and experiment. It won’t all be a success, but nothing will be if you don’t try.
3. Too Many Fonts
Playing with fonts is always fun, but if someone is trying to read a flyer that changes font type ten times in a paragraph, it’ll get annoying and tiring quickly. We suggest a single layout should have no more than three fonts.
It would actually be better to stick to just one or two. A single font adds continuity, which is great. You should also keep the number of fonts lower in business card design where space is already limited.
4. Overthinking Everything
Just because you can add something to your design doesn’t mean that’s a good idea. Simplicity has many advantages on its own. So, be mindful about going crazy with the Photoshop filters. Over-designing isn’t a massive mistake, but it can cause some problems.
The busier your design, the harder the viewer will need to think to extract the information. A design needs to flourish and bloom on its own. Blank space isn’t necessarily bad; often, it’s better than filling every square inch of with something.
If your web design is crowded with too many colours, images and fonts try to reduce them to the bare minimum. That will help customers focus on the vital business features that you want to convey.
5. Over-Promise Then Under-Deliver
This is by far one of the most severe out of all the mistakes covered so far and potentially damaging. With graphic design, you’ll hardly ever find a job that is “quick.”
So, when discussing expectations and deadlines with your client, you’ll want to make sure you don’t promise them something incredible, and then fail to meet that promise. It’s far better to complete a project ahead of a long deadline than to be late on a short deadline.
Rather, take your time. Don’t make big promises that lift their expectations to a very high level.
This way, you can avoid putting yourself under pressure by scheduling the work and quality of the design. For example, a website design takes many more days than work than a graphic design item like a logo.
6. Kerning Your Fonts
Kerning is the process in typography where the space between letters is adjusted, either automatically or manually.
Kerning is vital as in some situations, adjusting the space between letters can make the wording more pleasing to the eye. However, not paying close attention to it or the misuse of kerning can cause some major problems, from misinterpreting to destroying a design’s cohesiveness.
7. Choosing Wrong Colours
Colours have their own meaning, and they are associated with different feelings and emotions. A common mistake made by beginner designers is to choose the wrong colour for their design making the message hard to understand or making the viewer perceive a different message. Another mistake made by beginner designers is to ignore colour theory and use bad colour palettes making the design look incohesive and amateur. If you use too many bright colours and don’t use contrast, this will make your design hard to read, instead, you need to learn colour theory to understand how colours interact with each other and use the correct colour palettes.
8. Check For Spelling
You would be surprised how important correct spelling is in graphic design. While you may think that running a quick spell check after finishing your project is enough, there are loads of graphic design mistakes that spell check systems can easily miss.
Therefore, pay close attention to all of the details and double-check your project before sending it to print.
For example, if you are distributing brochures as part of your ad campaign, and if the brochure design has many spelling mistakes, it may backfire. The customers will not appreciate those mistakes. They could simply ignore your business as such silly spelling mistakes convey unprofessionalism.
9. Grammar Issues
In Addition to spelling problems, you want to make sure your project has corrected grammar. While a misused colon or other punctuation marks may not seem like a huge problem, there are plenty of people that will see a small mistake like that and disregard the entire rest of the project.
10. Designing For Yourself
Finally, it is always imperative that you keep in mind the fact that you’re designing a project for a client. Whether you’re working with a company like Triple J Design or are a freelancer, it’s absolutely vital that you stick to the client’s instructions and don’t make changes because you think it looks better.
Your job as a designer is to do all you can to help the customer achieve their vision. This is what they are paying for.
It would be better if you send your graphic design work to Triple J Design, which is a leader in the field. At this company, you get your logo, website, brochure, business cards etc. designs at affordable prices. Contact Us today!
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