Graphic design is everywhere. From your favourite album cover, to that store on Instagram that’s just so aesthetically pleasing you can’t stop looking at it. Every day we look at meticulously thought out colour choices and fonts, but often never give it a second thought.
By definition, a graphic designer is a person who combines text and pictures in advertisements, magazines, or books. But you wouldn’t be alone in wondering what the role actually entails, and why it’s so important in today’s world. We’ve put together this list of what a graphic designer does…and it may be longer than you thought!
Put together a design brief and determine requirements.
A design brief is a document put together by the designer, consulting with the client, to outline all the necessary information to complete the project. It can include costs, timing, scope, and a project overview. There is a lot to take into consideration when writing a design brief, your designer will deem what the needs of the business are to outline an essential point of reference for both parties.
Identify the best way to communicate the clients’ vision while creating a cohesive brand.
A designer must be able to explain to the client how the project will meet their initial brief. They need to consider all the information gathered, and turn that into results! Maintaining a brand identity is key for growth within a business, it builds trust and lets the audience know exactly what quality they can expect when working with you.
Selecting colours, typography, images, and layout.
These factors contribute toward building your brand. It’s important to have consistency, and your graphic designer will choose components that visually communicate your ideas in order to tell your story in the best light.
- A thorough knowledge of colour theory is important. The chosen colour palette needs to be appropriate for the project and how people perceive colour in certain situations comes into that decision. For example, a company selling bottled water using the colour red would be confusing; as red wouldn’t usually be associated with water.
- Typography is arranging letters and text in a way that makes words legible, clear, and visually pleasing. It includes the style of font used, structure of text, and appearance.
- Picking relevant images with aesthetically pleasing compositions and the correct colours will greatly add to the overall design. Knowing what images to choose and where to put them is a graphic designer’s speciality!
- The layout is the way all components come together to form a design. The aim is to convey the message in a way that meets the design brief, and present it in a logical, cohesive way ensuring all important elements stand out.
Create designs.
This is the most common perception of a graphic designer! A large range of software is used to create the desired outcomes established in the design brief. Your graphic designer uses much more than just Photoshop, there is software for illustrating, editing photos, creating layouts, and almost anything else you can think of. Alongside using a computer, they may also design by hand. The overarching goal of design is to visually communicate information using shapes, colours, typography, images, and more, in an engaging way that feels clear and cohesive to the target audience. These designs can be for flyers, posters, social media posts, packaging, apps, magazines, signage, logos, websites, annual reports – almost anything you look at has been designed by a graphic designer.
Collaborate with other team members to deliver the final project.
To achieve the best results, it’s important that a graphic designer can work with a wider team. Not everyone has the same talents and putting creative heads together can lead to more and more possibilities! They may also collaborate with people in marketing, business advisors, developers, or printers – just to name a few. Being able to communicate effectively, actively listen, problem solve, and understanding other people’s needs is key to delivering a successful project.
Keep up to date with the latest design trends, tools, and technology.
Things don’t look the same today as they did 10, or even 5 years ago. Aesthetics and trends are constantly evolving – this means your graphic designer must evolve too! New technology continues to push the limits of what a designer can create. Staying on top of new design trends and technology is crucial to staying relevant in a competitive market.
Provide ongoing support for client needs.
Giving clients ongoing support is critical for maintaining the relationship between designer and client. Depending on your needs, that support may include things such as updating a website, creating digital adverts, or developing a social media presence.
Design social media content to communicate with an audience.
When developing a design strategy, social media marketing is an integral part of creating brand awareness and keeping your audience in the know about what is happening inside the business. Social media has a strong focus on visual communication. The more targeted and aesthetically cohesive your posts are, the higher the chances of your brand reaching an extended audience. Using a graphic designer create these posts for you can be an essential tool to seeing growth and building trust with your audience through consistency.
A graphic designer is a jack of all trades.
There is a lot of technical knowledge that goes into the images around us. But the good news is – they know all the tricks, so you don’t have to. If you’re thinking about rebranding or have a project that needs to pop, get in touch with a graphic designer. Or better yet, get in touch with us – we love a creative challenge!
