Graphic Design Types & Inspiration: Complete Guide

Last Updated on December 28, 2022 by DesignerPeople

Imagine advertisements, brochures or packaging without images, terrible right! Are visuals really attractive and exciting? Just look around, the design is everywhere from your morning breakfast cereal packaging to the process of ordering an Uber ride. Merging communication and strategy with the brand aesthetic with the logic design is displayed everywhere you look around. I am sure 99% of people are not happy to visualize such pictures which lack visual communication. The graphic design process has evolved tremendously with continuous digitalization.

Designing is not only about making pretty looking pictures, but the essential part of the process starts even before the pen touches paper. Designers should analyze clients need and requirement and then start the process. Learn to listen; the research develops the concept and finding a balance between feasibility and aesthetics is a crucial element.

Graphic design is a combination of below principles:

1.Balance for structure and stability

2.Hierarchy to create direction and organization

3.Contrast to generate creative impact and highlight essential fields

4.Repetition to strengthen and unify

5.To align sharper and clarity oriented outcome

“DESIGN ISN’T JUST A CRAFT, ITSA WAY OF THINKING AND ONCE YOU LEARN THAT AMAZING WAY OF THINKING, YOU CAN NEVER SEE THE WORLD IN THE SAME WAY AGAIN”  

Graphic design is a systematic process of communication through visual elements and solving the problem through the use of typography, illustration and photography. Symbols, images are combined with text to form visual representations of messages and ideas.

There are various types of graphic design, and each type requires specific design-related techniques and set of skills. Hence industry is continually evolving, and designers must be updated and adapt to change.

If you are checking out design services for your business or an aspiring designer, understanding the 9 types of Graphic Design will help you to differentiate each brand and focus on utilizing the benefits accordingly.

Types of Graphic Design

1.PACKAGING DESIGN 

The packaging is not related to just the purpose of product protection. Every box, pouch, bottle, jar every container packaging is an opportunity to tell the brand story with audience and route to increase the sales number. The choice of packaging material, colours, fonts, brand story, type of container all are an active part of graphic packaging design.

The design should be creative enough to grab the attention of customers and should engage them. Packaging designers should be updated with ongoing changing trends, conceptualization ability, technically strong background, creativity and problem-solving skills.

2.MOTION 

As the name suggests ‘motion’, it is an animation form with text-based components. Designs which consist of motion are always eye-catchy, and consumers enjoy watching such designs. It includes animation, video, imagery, typography, audio and other effects that are used in the online film, media and television. The popularity of this platform has skyrocketed in recent years as the technology has improved, and video content has become king.

There is a massive number of tools available to create motion graphics, but it takes a professional designer to make the design to a new level. It is also important to know software such as After Effects, Cinema 4D, Final Cut Pro, etc.

3.STATIONERY DESIGN

Also known as Corporate identity design, designers collaborate with brand stakeholders to create products such as typography, logos, colour palettes, and image libraries. Ensure that visual branding is applied consistently throughout all current and future applications.

Brand stationery is having a stable relationship between a business and its audience. The role of brand identities is to communicate its personality, essence, emotion, tone, memories and productive experience. Designs here help to deliver the intangible qualities through the usage of images, colour and shape.

Along with the logo, there are many other identities such as business card, brochure, catalogue, letterheads and many more whose design should be consistent with each other.

Designers who have specialized in visual identity graphic design should collaborate with brand stakeholders to create assets like typography, logos, colour palettes and image libraries that will represent a brand’s personality.

4.ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN 

These are designs which will visually connect the audience to places so that will improve the overall experience by making space more interesting, informative and memorable. Environmental Graphic Design is a type of multidisciplinary form that will merge graphic, interior, architectural, landscape and industrial design.

Signages, Wayfinding and landmarks act as visual cues that will help people identify the correct direction without getting lost or confused. The designers typically have education and experience in both graphic design and architecture. They must be familiar with modern design concepts and able to read and sketch architectural plans.

5.ART AND ILLUSTRATION 

It is a myth that art and illustration designs are the same, but in reality, both are different. Compositions solve problems and communicate while illustrators and graphic artists create original artwork. Their art involves several forms, from fine art to storytelling illustrations.

The graphic artist collaborates with another productive team of writers, editors, managers, art director across various graphic design variants. Here designers are versatile in fine arts, architecture and animations.

6.3D GRAPHIC DESIGNING  

It is an art which creates a design on a scale with width, height, a depth which will be rotated and viewed from all the angles in real-time. These days 3D designing is gaining a lot of importance and attracting a lot of customers. The motive of this type of designing is to convey the technically complex messages in the most straightforward format so that customers can understand it easily and quickly.

The graphic designer in this field possesses a secure technical and computer skills along with photography various computer-aided software’s they are trained in animation, lighting technique.

7.MOBILE APP 

Today from ordering food to booking cab everything you think is done with the app. The mobile industry is such which is growing massively and is having huge potential going forward. Companies have started communicating their message through user-friendly apps.

As per Fortune, 75% of users open their app and never return. Apart from user-friendly features, it is the design that makes an app versatile. source

Designers focus on building a relationship between app and user along with ensuring the aesthetic element of overall designing. The designers should be aware of the latest trends along with making the app look elegant interface, perfect icons and unique art.

8.BROCHURE DESIGN 

The best way to communicate brand information about product and services is through creative designing. The original brochure design acts as a marketing tool and ensures the audience towards it. Your brochure is a form of first interaction about your brand with the audience; hence the first impression should be trustworthy so that the brand identity and image are rendered.

There are various types such as half-fold, tri-fold, roll fold, fold, nexa-fold, which can be adopted into creative and strategic communication through graphic designing.

9.UI/UX GRAPHIC DESIGN 

To increase sales, the best way is to get your UI/UX designing correct it acts as a source to attract customers. The right UI/UX designing agency will help you to build productive elements in the site such as right colours, font style, pattern, creative call to action, user-friendly, and athletically pleasing website. The design should be such that the audience should get curiosity and engage so that he spends more amount of time on the site.

Hiring a professional and expert graphic designer will save a lot of time and workforce efforts. If you are a budget-conscious and want a professional graphic design service, then you are at right place.

GRAPHIC DESIGN CHARGES IN INDIA 

In India, two sets of bodies get designing done that is a freelancer and professional design agencies.

FREELANCER LEVEL

Beginner – 500 INR to 2000 INR for two concepts

Junior level – 1000 INR to 10,000 INR for 3-4 Concepts

Mid-level -10000 INR to 50000 INR for six concepts

AGENCY LEVEL

Always remember “The cost of bad design is much higher than the amount you try to save with cheap agency or freelancer”.

They try to understand the nature of your business based on form, conduct research, analyze strategy and help you to gain competitive advantage.

They charge based on requirements and needs, where they work with a creative team where each person with unique skill works on projects. Everything is processed in a systematic and organized process which involves even client in the process to understand their feedback and suggestions.

Few agencies work based on fixed modifications, while few works with unlimited modifications until your satisfaction.

As a graphic design agency will always value your money and focus on providing you with the best designs, which will help you to gain brand awareness and increase brand sales.

BIGGEST GRAPHIC DESIGN CHALLENGES

The five most significant challenges faced by graphic designers are as below:

1.OVERSATURATED 

Various youngsters are turning towards graphic designing as career choice along with the dynamic nature and creative freedom. But along with this, the number of graphic designers in the market has increased, and job opportunities have lead saturation.

2.STAY UPDATED 

The graphic designer’s challenge is to stay updated and along with current market trend. Brands are also facing severe difficulties to update their systems, workforce, and work culture as per the latest tools and technologies.

3.INCREASE IN FREELANCERS 

Though freelancers do not have enough skills in various fields yet there is an increase of freelancing which is shrinking the opportunities of new designers in the traditional full-time employment.

4.LACK OF CREATIVE CONTENT 

The feeling of lack of ownership and control around your work can be the most challenging thing for any creative professional. Use your free time to do personalized projects, client work, not for exposure, but for the experience of doing work where you can negotiate full creative control and explore your creativity.

5.BALANCING THE WORK WITH THE THOUGHT PROCESS

There are a massive number of ideas which are hitting your mind and thought process, but it is a real task to identify the right one and convert it into a design is not an easy task. However, it’s beautiful that the world now understands graphic designing in a bigger context.

When we have discussed so much about graphic design challenges, there is also a lot of scope and opportunities in this industry. There are many people who will plan and want to get into it but are not sure where to start and what all job potential is available hence to understand that check out below content.

6.PRICE COMPETITION

Increasing competition is also bringing diverse pricing policies by various brands in market. The companies strive hard to stay updated with reasonable pricing trends so that they are not out of competition.

7.EXPENSIVE RESOURCES

To enrich knowledge in graphic designing is a task of challenge because the resources involved are costly and not everybody’s cup of tea. There is high cost in terms of Hardware, software licensing and various other resources.

HOW TO BECOME A GRAPHIC DESIGNER?

If you find yourself daydreaming about creating designs or just thinking of creative drawings, then you are having ample of opportunities in graphic designing.

Get started with training yourself formally or get systematic education on it, and one can also apply for an internship to gain required work experience. Make your best portfolio which will showcase your talent and circulate them around your local branding and creative agencies to obtain a job.

Whether you are planning to gain a traditional degree or self-guided training outside the institute, then follow below necessary steps to become a graphic designer.

1.Build your foundations 

We appreciate your skills in the world of social media, live streams, hashtags, posts and painting, sketching but make sure your technical computer tool skills are also strong enough. Understanding is required about design theory, commercial art skills, and learning industrial standards are mandatory.

Along with necessary drawing skills, one also needs the ability to illustrate ideas on paper effectively. Should know about typography, colours, grid systems. Website designs, professional copywriting and art of critique are some of the essential aspects which a designer should be aware of.

2.Master in Software 

Computer design skills are vital in exploring professional layouts. To become proficient, the designer will require a higher degree of skills related to the industry’s standard software programs which usually acquired through long hours of practice. Many professionals advise designers also to learn at least some programming, using the languages of the web: CSS, HTML, or JavaScript. Ensure to learn Photoshop, Coreldraw, adobe illustrator and Adobe InDesign which will improve your editing, illustration and to organize text and create layout formats and insert page placeholders.

3.Earn a Degree

Degree in Graphic Design will carry weight with clients and graphic design firms when you’re applying for a job. Learn the software to understand the history of design and how to design will impact your audience; a lot of information is not available through searching google or attempting a process of trial and error. Plan and earn a degree by doing online courses from udmey which will help you to gain competitive advantage over others.

Skilled, experienced professors and the correct combination of marketing, art, advertising, and writing classes will ensure you to learn the information and skills you need to succeed in the graphic design industry.

4.Finalize the area of niche 

Having a specialization in a single area will help you to gain a solid understanding of all aspects of graphic design, one has to gain specific knowledge so that firms are eager to hire you with specialized talent.

A few famous areas of specialization will include Logo design, Web design, Digital design and multimedia design.

 5.Display a strong portfolio 

The excellent portfolio helps to prove your skills and industry understanding, quality of work over quantity always matters. Your best work should be highlighted, which will demonstrate your skills and abilities. Add your images on website such as BEHANCE, Dribble, Wakelet, Pinterest, case.wantedly and Imvges so that it enhances the visibility of work.

Your pieces of work will demonstrate your abilities and showcase level of confidence in your work. Pick art that showcases your abilities of skills. Involve pieces which will showcase your web design, typography, and logo design skill. Initiate the talk about your inspiration and interest in the design and your creative process. Make sure to involve the information about the success of your designs.

6.Start Career

Initiating the next step may look scary, but hence your education has prepared you. The core key to working as a top professional is to continue your education by being involved in the industry and staying updated on the trends. Don’t settle for middle-of-the-barrel work. Keep pushing for better and better designs. Become a great leader in the design industry, not simply a follower. It’s important always to be learning when you’re in a digital career.

7.Understand Business basics related to marketing, contracts and many more

As you continue to grow with productive learning, expand your horizons to include the various aspects of business and marketing, which will improve your ability to design and support the brand effectively.

GRAPHIC DESIGN JOBS  IN INDIA

According to the US Bureau of Statistics, 2019- The graphic design industry growth rate between 2016 and 2026 will reach 4%. Consequently, the industry will add more than 11,000 jobs.

Here are a few jobs which can get with a graphic design degree:

1.Multimedia Artist/Animator

2.Art Director

3.Technical writer

4.Web Designer

5.Creative Director

6.Marketing Manager

7.Film and Video Editor

8.Graphic Designer

9.Drafter (Architecture and Engineering)

10.Industrial/Product Designer

If you are planning to apply for graphic design job aligning with above elements then apply directly to agency jobs page and yes, if your portfolio is interesting enough as fresher then we will contact you soon.

Author: Priyanka Thakkar

Passionate, adventurous and my never-ending learning approach lead me towards the world of content writing after working years in core marketing profile. My experience of working in world-famous MNC motivated me to understand the niche requirement of strategic words to communicate correctly about brand message towards people. My zeal in an informal way of writing articles allows anyone to enrich their knowledge in the world of branding, packaging and digital marketing. Being an MBA in Marketing and HR, my excellence lies in framing marketing strategies as well as relationship building. Do connect me personally my LinkedIn & I love to share my expertise with you.