Graphic design can be the best way to tell your customers whatever you deem important. It’s the most effective way of communication known to humans. And the most interesting thing is that graphic design is everywhere – on packages, on social media, on billboards – you name it. Thus, you can view graphic design as a way to interact with other people no matter the place. Be it graphic design in marketing or something else entirely, a graphic design studio can become the source of power for boosting your business and your brand.

What is graphic design and how does it relate to design in general

The main gist of graphic design as a term is as follows – a means of communicating messages and concepts using graphics. It’s that simple, but there’s a lot more to graphic design than one may think. Design in business is not only about marketing or creating amazing visuals that force purchase decisions. If you look around you, everything you see is design, no matter what it is. Whether it’s a laptop that you’re looking at right now or a cozy bed in your bedroom. Everything was designed at some point, and a lot of things have some elements of graphic design. For instance, a book cover or a pack of cookies. You can even say that the way you order pizza is also designed. Yes, UX and UI design is a huge part of the modern world.

Now, graphic design is a bit more precise at communicating with the audience. That’s because creating visual assets that are aimed at a certain group of people is a highly effective way of transmitting messages and ideas. It’s not enough to create nice-looking pictures and call it a day. Developing concepts that resonate with the client’s needs is an art in itself, and graphic design studios put a lot of effort into striking a balance between aesthetics and conveying what’s needed. The fusion of the two makes your messages compelling and they speak to the emotions of the audience. The emotional part of consumer behavior is also a critical button that corporations around the world don’t hesitate to push. And neither should you – as long as you provide value to people and make the world a better place.

Graphic design 101

Now you see that flawless design is a valuable tool in your business. And the most important thing, as with other realms of human activity, is following the basics. There are a bunch of elements of 2D and 3D graphic design, but for the sake of brevity, we’ll cover only the most important ones. Graphic illustrations that are effective at communicating concepts are going to include all these elements.  

There’s space. You may think that blank areas serve no purpose, but this cannot be further from the truth. Spaces are used to add emphasis to whatever there is on the canvas. If there were no space, then how would you tell what’s important and what’s not?

Texture is about the feeling of touch – what it would be like to touch an object that you see. Even if it’s just 2D graphic design on paper, professional designers can introduce this kind of feeling to their drawings.

Color is one of the elements that transmit messages at light speed. Literally. There’s a whole field of psychology that studies how different colors affect the human psyche. Of course, graphic design in marketing does not shy away from implementing this knowledge and increasing the effectiveness of graphic assets.

Then there’s typography. In essence, it’s how designers go about placing type. Combinations of different spacing, weights, colors, etc. can change the way people perceive what’s written. And playing to type’s strengths is especially huge for graphic design in branding.

The line is the basic element of any design. There would be no shapes if it weren’t for lines. Again, various types of lines can convey different messages. It can also determine what other people think about your brand, as branding design relies on subtle things to create a compelling “why” for the audience.

Types of Graphic Design

Now let’s talk about the subcategories of graphic design. A professional design studio is oftentimes skilled if not in all design fields, but in the majority of those.

Web design. It’s about arranging content on a website from the design point of view. User experience is also included here because it’s tied to the appearance and structure of a given website. Today web design cannot be neglected, thus it’s necessary to create aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly websites that people love to spend time on.

Brand design. It has to do with brand identity. Logo design is one of the facets of a greater brand design strategy. The latter is comprised of smaller things that create a compound effect that promotes a brand and helps it reach new heights. By utilizing design elements that we’ve talked about before, professionals can communicate a company’s values clearly and effectively.

Packaging design can be the most popular type. It’s on everything that you buy – be it food, toys, car parts, etc. Companies do this for a good reason – a product package is a great space for showing off and telling people why they should choose this exact product.

Marketing design. This one is a no-brainer because when you think about graphic design you are probably thinking about promo materials for social media or ads. This subset of design has subcategories of its own, and branding services of a reputable design studio include them as well. The main idea is to entice consumers and create visuals that are tailored to the target audience.

Why you need graphic design

If you’ve come this far, you already see how proper graphic design can benefit your business. While boosting sales is important, a lot of companies are missing out on the opportunity to create an emotional connection with their customers. Graphic design that is done with attention to detail and your values in mind can be a great tool for reaching new audiences that would be happy to shop with you.

Graphic design cannot be viewed as a mere collection of different elements that designers put together to create trustworthy and good-looking environments. Every design component is tied to another, and this creates consistency for your presence across all platforms. It’s crucial for building brands that can stand the test of time. Also, it’s the trust of people that you should be chasing, and graphic design can achieve just that.

Another important point that we wanted to mention is the power of images and graphics in general to convey important messages. Think of seconds – this is how much time it takes for someone to decide whether to continue scrolling or to click and read about what you’re offering. It’s just one of the benefits of investing in great graphic design. The importance of this is on the rise due to the overwhelming streams of information around us.

Conclusion

Graphic design is a way of communicating with other people. It’s also the fastest way to convey complex ideas. While design surrounds you wherever you go, graphic design can benefit your business like nothing else. Design studios that cater to big corporations and small businesses have a lot of aces up their sleeves. It’s not just about creating pictures for marketing campaigns or branding efforts. It’s even more about connecting with people at a deeper level in a matter of seconds. It doesn’t matter if it’s web design or logo design you’re after. The Ubunzo Design Studio is here to help you with all kinds of creative endeavors. Our in-house graphic design team is dedicated to outfitting you with creative and highly effective visual content that you can use in your business. Please go ahead and contact us. We make your design dreams come true.