What is Graphic Design? (& Types, History & Examples)

What is Graphic Design? (& Types, History & Examples)

The first thing that comes to mind when you think of the graphic design? It may be a magazine cover, an image, a digital marketing graphic, a logo, or something else entirely. And what about that? You'd be on the money!

There are many various types and sizes of graphic design. They all share the feature of being visual forms of communication that are frequently carried out on a computer or tablet.

To assist you in learning more about graphic design and how it evolved into what it is now, we have put together this extensive reference.

Let's get started.

Table of Contents

• What is Graphic Design?
• Why is Graphic Design Important?
• 9 Graphic Design Types You Need to Know

What is Graphic Design?

The practice of producing visual content that aids in audience communication is known as graphic design. Graphic design is the ideal way to express ideas visually, which is especially important for brands trying to connect with their target market.

Graphic design is used by brands in their logos, marketing collateral, commercials, website graphics, internal documentation, and email correspondence.

You must comprehend the various components of a design in order to have a deeper understanding of how graphic design functions. These visual components consist of:

• Color
• Typography 
• Line 
• Shape 
• Size 
• Space 
• Texture 
• Hierarchy

Graphic designers must also go by a number of rules if they want their creations to be successful and draw viewers in. These have reportedly been referred to as Gestalt design concepts.

Some of these principles include:

• Simplicity
• Proximity
• Continuity
• Symmetry

Combining all the various components and concepts can transform a design into a graphic with a polished appearance.

Although professional graphic designers are frequently trained in these concepts, even those with little to no design experience can develop a striking visual design with the aid of a basic understanding.

After going over some fundamentals of graphic design, let's explore the significance of this talent

Why Is Graphic Design Important?

There are many purposes for graphic design. It's the foundation of any logo design you've ever seen, to start. Second, consider all of the posts and adverts you encounter on social media every day. All of graphic design, indeed.

Graphic design is also a component of other types of design, such as book covers, magazine layouts, product designs, and clothing designs.

9 Graphic Design Types You Need to Know

You ought to have a solid understanding of the origins and principles of graphic design. Let's now briefly discuss the different types of graphic design that are currently familiar to you. You might not even be aware that some of these involve graphic design.

Let's get going.

Type #1: Brand Identity Design

Brand identity design is the first category in graphic design. The most crucial type for you to understand as a business professional is this one alone.

While your business will probably utilize a variety of them, no business can thrive without a strong brand identity.

A brand identity consists of:

• Logo
• Color palette
• Fonts/typography
• Imagery style
• Patterns/shapes
• Brand guidelines

Graphic designers tend to specialize in just a couple of different types of design. Brand identity designers have to be well-versed in graphic design trends, what types of designs resonate with customers and more.

Type #2: Marketing & Advertising Design

The next type of graphic design we’re going to cover is marketing and advertising design. This specialization focuses on the graphics we see on social media, websites, and advertisements, both online and offline.

All of the billboards you pass by while driving down the interstate, all of the brochures you see at the coffee shop counter and all of the business social media graphics you see while scrolling through your feeds are all part of marketing & advertising graphic design.

There is an endless number of marketing materials that can be created to promote a brand, and many designers specialize in this type of graphic design.

Type #3: User Interface Design

The design of actual websites, apps, software, and other online programs is more emphasis of user interface (UI) design.

For this specialty, the designer must be able to create a program that is both aesthetically pleasing and simple for users to browse and comprehend how to use.

Type #4: Product Design

Product design involves creating the overall design of products and how they’re presented to the audience. This can be anything from t-shirt prints and bottles to the actual design of a watering can or coffee mug.

Product designers have to make sure that the products they create work well for the end user. Sometimes this involves reinventing the wheel on products that people already use and love while other times it can be helping to design something completely new.

Type#5: Design for Publications

We'll discuss publication design as the next sort of graphic design. The design of magazines, ebooks, white papers, reports, books, newsletters, brochures, and other publications falls under the category of publication design.

The material on each page must flow naturally, and publication designers must be able to design something that is both aesthetically pleasing and still readable.

It's not solely about the design in this case. The design should simply serve to emphasize the words and substance, not take precedence over them.

Type #6: Packaging Design

Another important type of graphic design is the packaging. When you’re selling something that many other companies sell, you need to find some way to stand out — a lot of times your packaging can help you do just that.

Whether you appeal to a certain audience with minimalistic packaging designs or you get creative, having packaging that pops is key.

Type #7: Typeface Design

Think of all the fonts you see on a daily basis. Look at the fonts that are used just within this blog post. Someone had to design all of these.

Every single font, even the most basic ones like Arial and Times New Roman, was created by a typeface designer. 

Both fonts in this font pair below were also designed by someone who specializes in creating typefaces.

In this day and age, we typically see typeface design used when brands want to create their own font. For example, Netflix’s logo is in its branded Netflix Sans font, and Samsung has its own SamsungOne font.

Type #8: Motion Graphic Design

Motion graphic or animation design is another type of design that you often see in videos and GIFs.

For example, take a look at this YouTube video where we unveiled our new brand mascot. Designing animations or motion graphics requires special tools and the ability to create something that moves.

However, if you want to start small, you can use Visme’s video maker to create a motion video by customizing the template below.

Type #9: Illustration Design

The last type of graphic design we’re going to cover is illustrative design. 

This type of graphic design typically is done in professional programs like Adobe using a stylus and touchscreen to draw out the elements and turn them into a digital design. However, every designer has their own style and process.