The Eight Types Of Graphic Design

Graphic designs solve problems and communicate ideas through typography, imagery, color, and form. That’s we have several types of graphic designs with specialization in each of their areas.

Although they are often overlapped, each graphic design requires a specific set of skills and design techniques. Different designers specialize in different ways while others focus on a set of related and similar types. As the industry is constantly changing, the designers must adapt so they could change or add specializations throughout their careers.

If you are an aspiring designer or are seeking design services for your business you must understand the eight types of graphic design that might help find the right skills for the job.

1. Visual identity design

A relationship between a business or the organization with its audience is called a brand. Its identity is about how the organization communicates its personality, tone and essence, memories, emotions, and experiences. The visual identity graphic design is the visual elements of the brand’s identity acting to the face of a brand that helps communicate the intangible qualities through images, color, and shapes.

They specialize in visual identity that collaborates with the brand helping them create assets like logos, typography, standard business cards, color palettes, image libraries, and corporate stationery. The designers develop a set of visual brand guidelines or style guides that describe best practices in providing an example of the visual branding across various media. They help to ensure the brand’s consistency throughout future applications.

The designers should possess a knowledge of all graphic designs to create the design elements suitable across all visual media and need excellent communication, conceptual and creative skills. 

2. User interface design

A UI is how a user interacts with a device or an application designed is the process of designing interfaces making it easy to use and provide a user-friendly experience.

It includes all things a user interacts with like screen, keyboard, and mouse but in the context of graphic design. The design focuses on the user’s visual experience and that of the on-screen graphic elements like the buttons, menus, and micro-interactions. It’s the designer’s job to maintain the balance of the aesthetic appeal with the technical functionality.

They specialize in desktop apps, mobile apps, web apps, and games and work closely with user experience who determine how the app works and UI developers that write the code to make it work like the Web page design, Game interfaces, and App design.

3. Marketing & advertising design

When you think of designs you think of the one created for marketing and advertising. Almost all companies depend on the marketing efforts that help tap into their target audience’s process of decision making. It depends on the wants, needs, awareness, and the satisfaction they have about a product, brand, and service. As people always find the visual content more engaging, the graphic design helps in promoting and communicating. 

The marketing designers work with the company’s owners, directors, managers, or professionals to create assets for marketing strategies. Designers can specialize in different types of media like vehicle wraps or magazine ads, or create a broad assortment of collateral for print, and digital. These types of designs have grown to include more digital assets, to be used in content marketing and digital advertising like Postcards, flyers, Magazine and newspaper ads, posters, banners and billboards, Signage and trade show displays, etc. 

Marketing designers need problem-solving, excellent communication,and time management skills. With being proficient in several graphic designs, layout, and presentation apps, the designers must also be familiar with production for print and online environments.

4. Publication design

They are long-form pieces that help communicate with an audience through their public distribution and have traditionally been a print medium. The publication design is a classic type of design such as books, magazines, and catalogs, and has a significant rise in digital publishing.

Specialized in publications along with the editors and create layouts that carefully select typography and artwork including photography, graphics, and illustrations. The designers may work as freelancers, creative agency members, or in-house as part of a publishing company. Examples of publications are Books, Newspapers, Newsletters, Annual reports, Magazines, etc.

They must possess communication, color management, layout, organizational skills, printing, and digital publishing.

5. Environmental design

Environmental is a specific type of environmental graphic design that consists of strategic signage, landmarks, and visual cues helping people to identify where they are as opposed to where they need to go. 

It is a multidisciplinary practice that merges architectural, interior, graphic, landscape, and industrial design and collaborates with people. The designers typically have education and experience in graphic design and architecture and must be familiar with industrial design concepts.

6. Motion graphic design

They are graphics in motion that include animation, video, audio, typography, imagery, and other effects used in online media, television, and film. The designers are reserved for TV and film, technological advances that have reduced the production of time and the costs making the art more accessible and affordable. It is one of the newest types of designs that can be found across all digital platforms creating all sorts of new areas and opportunities. Examples; Title sequences and end credits, Advertisements, Trailers, Presentations, etc. 

They begin by developing storyboards and bringing their concepts to life with animation, video, and traditional art. 

7. Packaging design

Products need packaging in order to protect and prepare distribution, storage, and sale but also communicate directly to consumers making it a valuable marketing tool. Concepts are created to develop mockups, and print-ready files for a product that requires expert knowledge in print processes with an understanding of industrial design and manufacturing. The designers may be a jack-of-all-trades, specialize in a specific type of packaging like labels or beverage cans, or a specific industry like food or children’s toys. Their work requires top-notch conceptual and problem-solving skills with a knowledge of print and industrial design. 

8. Art and illustration design

The designers create compositions to communicate solve problems, graphic artists, and illustrators that create original artwork. The art takes numerous forms, from fine art, decoration, and storytelling illustrations.

Even though they are not technically graphic design, commercial use is created within the context of graphic design that makes it impossible to talk about without the others.

Examples are; T-shirt design, Graphic patterns for textiles, Motion graphics, Stock Images, Graphic novels, Video games, Websites, Comic books, etc.

Combinations are used in media and techniques to create work collaborating with writers, editors, managers, marketers, and art directors across all design types. They have a foundation in fine arts, animation, or architecture and overlapping skills and apps make it possible to find graphic designers. 

FAQs-Types Of Graphic Design