It’s too easy to make unfair assumptions about graphic design. One reason why is that many people are unaware of exactly what the term ‘graphic design’ means.
You could have deemed a graphic designer’s job to involve little more than creating logos and other pretty images. However, there’s a lot more to it than that — and, if you didn’t realise this, you could have long failed to mine as much promotional potential from it as possible.
What actually is graphic design?
The obvious thing to do here is look up the term in a dictionary. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines graphic design as “the art or profession of using design elements (such as typography and images) to convey information or create an effect”.
The term can also be used to mean “a product of this art”, as the same dictionary acknowledges. Still, these to-the-point definitions can fail to quite capture graphic design’s essence.
After all, a brand’s identity isn’t tied up just in its logo. That’s only one of the visual identifiers a company can use — along with colours, shapes and typefaces — to represent itself.
A graphic designer is responsible for merging many such motifs into a cohesive whole intended to long remain imprinted in the minds of customers — both current and potential — who see it.
Don’t underestimate how long the graphic design process takes
Once a graphic designer has completed a particular design for you and it has landed into your hands, you might reckon at first that, visually, there isn’t that much to the finished result.
However, graphic designers are adept at making their work look easy. In reality, a lot happens behind closed doors once one of those designers has received your brief — even if that is just for a single new logo rather than something much closer to a comprehensive brand identity.
Graphic designers can’t — or at least shouldn’t — simply churn out a design at short notice if they don’t already understand your company, its objectives and where it fits in the market.
Therefore, when you engage a graphic designer to do some work for you, be prepared to get involved in the creative process itself. That way, the designer will be able to more easily come up with something that meets your specific needs.
Graphic design can be pivotal to your company’s success
Yes, that’s right — graphic design is far from merely a cosmetic concern. At this point, you might be thinking: “Surely it’s my range of products or services that will really drive my business success?” You aren’t entirely wrong, but graphic design can hugely augment your efforts.
That’s because it can do a lot more than just make your business look more competent or innovative. It can also effectively convey what makes your brand unique — and what values it stands for that competing companies don’t.
As for what those values are, you can let our graphic designers know so that they will be able to produce aesthetic solutions to suit. Why not phone 01325 582112 to learn more?
