Top 10 myths about graphic design

Graphic design is the craft of creating visual content to communicate messages. Applying visual hierarchy and page layout techniques, graphic designers use typography and pictures to meet users’ specific needs and focus on the logic of displaying elements in interactive designs to optimize the user experience.

Top 10 myths about graphic design :

1. Graphic design is just about creating logos

Logos are an important graphic design asset for any business. They become an emblem of your company, which people will come to identify with your brand values and what you offer. 

Graphic design isn’t solely about creating logos. Graphic design is the art of creating visual content to communicate a certain message. Mockup

2. Graphic design is only for print mediums

In 2018, graphic design encompasses a wide range of digital mediums, perhaps even more so than print. This includes website banners, social media graphics, and email newsletters. Many graphic designers even find that their roles now cross over with web and UX (user experience design), content creation and social media.

3. Graphic design only uses still images

Graphic design is no longer limited to still imagery or graphics. As video continues to grow into one of the most powerful advertising mediums, animation and videos are becoming an important part of the graphic design toolkit. This includes GIFs, graphics for YouTube videos, animated infographics and social media ads featuring a slideshow of images and graphics.

4. You need fancy tools for graphic design

Most professional graphic designers use complex design software and a tablet with a stylus for freehand design elements. While these resources can give designers more freedom with their designs, they can be quite expensive and take years to master. The good news is, the average person doesn’t need to invest in these pricey tools to create graphic design elements.

There are many free design tools on the market (including Canva) that make graphic design easy and accessible. Using these tools for every piece of branding collateral will help give your brand an elevated and professional look.

5. Graphic design is just about picking the right font

The art of arranging text is one of the key elements of creating beautiful designs. However, this is not simply about choosing a font that looks good. You must consider which font type suits your brand message, values and target demographic. PSD Mockup

6. Graphic design is about following visual trends

As with any creative industry, trends rapidly come and go in the graphic design world. In 2018, it was all about handwritten fonts, pastel colors, and textures. It’s more than likely that 2019 will bring with it a new crop of visual trends.

It's the job of graphic designers to stay on the pulse of these trends, but not be a slave to them. The same can be applied to beginners who are creating graphic design assets for their own business.

Trends can be fun to incorporate into your designs, but they shouldn’t be the main focus. Designs that incorporate fleeting trends can easily look dated a few months down the track, meaning they will no longer have a powerful impact on their audien.

7. You need to be a natural born creative to do graphic design

It’s true that many graphic designers have a natural creative streak and visual eye, hence why they gravitate towards the field. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to be a natural born creative to make effective designs. Like anything, graphic design is a skill that can be taught and learned.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s not always just about having a vision and magically bringing it to life. Graphic design is as much a science as it is an art. There is a method and technique to it, which begins with being aware of the various elements that make up a powerful and effective design.

8. Graphic design is about making things pretty

This design concept for alcohol brand 19 Crimes is far more gritty than it is pretty, but the grunge aesthetic perfectly complements the brand. By Cory Andres via Dribbble.

One of the biggest misconceptions about graphic design is that it is simply about making things look ‘pretty’ or aesthetically pleasing. However, this is not always the case. Firstly, ‘pretty’ is a highly subjective term. What one person thinks looks good, may look tacky or messy to another. Secondly, ‘pretty’ isn’t always the goal of graphic design. While making designs look neat and beautiful in the traditional sense may work for a women’s beauty or fashion brand, this may not necessarily work for a men’s hardware brand.

The objective of the design isn’t always to make the audience think, “Oh, that looks pretty” either. Sometimes, it’s to shock the viewer, prompt thought, or even make them angry.

9. Graphic design is about what the creator thinks looks good

Similarly, graphic design isn’t just about what the creator thinks looks nice in a design. Of course, it’s important for a designer to use their best judgment as to what is going to look best on the page. Ultimately, designers shouldn’t be designing for themselves or even their client, but rather their audience. Often, professional graphic designs are required to put their personal tastes aside in order to create visuals that are going to resonate with their audience. The same approach should be taken by people DIYing their graphic design using an app like Canva.

10. Graphic design is about creating 100% original designs every time.

Originality is important when it comes to graphic design—it’s what allows you to set your brand apart from competitors. However, this doesn’t mean you have to create 100% original designs from scratch every time you want to make visual materials. Even professional graphic designers set up templates, for when they are going to be creating similar assets on an ongoing basis. This allows them to achieve consistency across their brand collateral.

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Why Is Good Packaging Important

If you have ever scoured the shelves of your local retail store and seen products with packages that seemed obnoxious, overwhelming or even too plain, you understand the importance of product package design.

The package design of your product is like the face of your product. It is the first thing consumers see about your product. Whether your packaging leaves your product visible or invisible, your packaging still plays an important part in the opinion consumers form about your product before ever opening it.

If consumers are turned off by your product's package, chances are they will not buy it and will never discover the importance of your actual product.

Unless you are a graphic designer, it is best to leave the product package design for your product to the specialists that do this for a living.

Letting a graphic designer design your package allows you to have a package that is attractive, easy to read and informative. Graphic designers understand what works in each industry and know how to make the most of your package so that it catches consumers' eyes, as well as keeps their attention for more than a few seconds.

The shelves are packed with competition, which is why it is important to have an edge on shelf space and the attention of consumers.

Your product package design also serves as a message to consumers. It is what gives consumers an idea of what your product is and how it works without having to read the fine print or thoroughly read the instructions.

Consumers want to be able to glance at a product and be able to understand what it is and how it works in a matter of a few seconds. If it takes more than a few seconds, chances are consumers are going to move on to the next product on the shelf.

The competition is too fierce and time is too short for most consumers to make choosing a product a lengthy process.

Since your time is so short to grab the attention of consumers, as well as to keep their attention, it is important to utilize the best product package design possible. The best way to ensure you are using the best is to use a graphic designer that has helped various industries and understands what works and what does not when it comes to package design.

It is not worth leaving your product to chance with poor package design - use the experts and give your product what it deserves.

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Why Is Branding Important For Your Business

The success of a business depends on many aspects. These aspects may vary from management, products and services, rules and regulations, marketing strategies, business location, working relationships, and many more.

On the internal part of the business, it would vary depending on how the management handles its people or well, or how the employers work well with each other. On the external part of the business, its success depends on how the products and services are marketed, designed, or branded. But overall, all of these aspects are important in ensuring the future success of the company.

When talking about the external aspects of the business, advertising or marketing is one of the most important and influential. This is the strategy used by the business to promote their products through media - may it be through television, radio, brochures, flyers, magazine or newspaper ads, or online advertising. Mockup

This marketing strategy may include factors like creating tag lines for the business, logo, branding, packaging, and others. For a business to become recognized, it should be able to create a retail brand design that would attract people. This specific design would help the business be easily remembered or hard to forget.

Retail brand design may involve creating logos, designing brochures, website designing, creating printed material, etc. Creating these designs is very important for two main reasons:

1. Brand consistency will build brand recognition.

The branding of the product can become the most important asset of the company. It should not be considered a lesser priority than the other aspects of the business. The brand of a business will make the consumers think about the company and what it offers, as well as other thinks related to the business. So establishing a brand for your company will include the logo, stationary, marketing literature, or even a website. The process of branding should also include establishing the voice of the company. This includes all communication done by the company, may it be through written or oral communication, visual images of printed materials, and online or offline communication. Logo Mockup

2. Brand recognition will lead to brand growth.

According to research, the value of the brand will represent 15% of the overall value of the company. Compared to bigger companies, that percentage is equivalent to 50% of their company's value. Therefore, achieving a 15% positive result is important and very helpful for a business. This would mean that when the brand identity of the business is strong, it would have a substantial impact on the business that would generate positive results.

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Graphic Design Vs Brand Design

Many companies believe that logos, headers, and business cards are what make a brand. They’re wrong. Understanding the difference between branding and graphic design is the first necessary step to creating your own brand that is unique, strong and alive. Mockup

What is Graphic Design?

The graphic designer handles all visual solutions for the brand development process. They are the guardians of your visual identity so that, whatever is being issued visually, stays cohesive on every platform. Graphic design is anything that is created by a professional graphic designer for your business.

While their contribution to the graphic design branding process is primarily at the end (because they are the ones that have to materialize ideas into something palpable, and, tangible) they should also be part of the entire creative process.

The graphic designer branding campaign is like that of a personal shopper, stylist and tailor all in one. They make sure that you look good at all times no matter the occasion. They take your personality and transform it into a visual medium (your clothing) in hopes of attracting like-minded people.

Graphic Design Is the Skeleton

When thinking about what makes a brand, it’s natural to start with the visual cues: logos, headers, business cards, websites. In truth, these elements are only a very basic skeleton of what makes a strong brand.

Great designers are the guardians of your visual identity, taking great care to make sure that each element – colors, shapes, typography, and yes, the logo – is compelling and consistent across all environments. When done right, graphic design ensures that everything is cohesive and in its right place, like a proper working skeleton.

What is Branding?

“BRANDING is any conscious activity that the company performs to try to influence this set of perceptions in people’s minds.” – Brands Come True

Essentially, this means that everything you do for your company is considered branding and has the potential to be part of your brand. This can include your offices/stores, your vehicles, your social media presence, your shipping, your website, your customer service, your employees and yes, your best graphic design logos. PSD Mockup

If high end graphic design is the master tailor, then branding is your attitude/personality. You develop this on your own, over several years. Your personality consists of your past experiences, relationships, and opinions. While your clothing can reflect your personality, it is hardly ever the other way around. Your clothing may draw them in, but it will be your personality that will make them fall in love with you. The same principle holds true with graphic design brand identity.

Branding Is the Body and Soul

But of course, a business can’t run on bones alone. To keep the metaphor going, branding is the entire fleshed out body. Not only one’s muscles and clothes, but one’s beliefs, behaviors, and personality. It’s everything from how your customer support answers the phone to the stock photography in your sales deck. Branding is any action a corporate body makes, and the art of branding is making that movement as deliberate and harmonious as possible.

Graphic design and branding are inextricably linked. Aesthetics mean nothing without a solid strategy, and a solid strategy means nothing if it can’t be expressed. As an agency, we constantly have to balance these two forces. Sometimes, that means choosing between something beautiful and something purposeful. In a perfect world, you’re able to get the best of both worlds, but at the end of the day, every decision must be made in service of adding depth to the brand.

Conclusion

Simply put, graphic design feeds your brand, your brand feeds your business. If your visual elements are competing with one another, you’ll never win the competition for your customer’s attention.

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10 Books To Consider For Graphic Design

Graphic Design Books offer a great way of learning and at a much lower price than taking, for example, a specialist  Graphic Design course. By reading a well written and highly informative Graphic Design Book, you consume a huge amount of research and best practices in a relatively short amount of time, and it is one of the best ways to improve your Graphic Design skills.

Learning graphic design is a lifelong process, so graphic design students don’t worry: you’ll have plenty of time becoming an expert in your field. This said, I know that when you are getting started you are really eager to learn more quicker, that’s why I’m suggesting a selection of design books that are in my opinion worth reading for graphic design students, but also for others. Mockup

1. Making and breaking the grid

Some graphic designers are crazy about using grids in their designs, others depise it because they feel it makes all layouts look the same (or at least they think so). Even if you are one of those grid-haters, you should know what is a grid and how to use it. You can learn just that in this book.

2. The Elements of Graphic Design

A good book for beginners, learn some basics of graphic design as well as parts of the history. In this book you’ll learn some key concepts of space, unity, page architecture, and typography. Premium Mockup

3. Designing Brand Identity

Branding is much more than just logo design, it even goes beyond graphic design. This book is a real guide to become better at understanding what branding is and creating powerful brands. 

4. Paul Rand: a designer’s art

Learn directly from one of the iconic graphic designers of the twentisest century: Paul Rand. Here he describes his work with the same precision, economy and passion that he displays in his graphic designs, seeking to help us to understand the nature of his relationships with his clients, his audience and his art.

5. Type: A Visual History of Typefaces and Graphic Styles

Typography is one of the important basics of graphic design, and this book is one of the must-have if you plan to do a design career. It covers some typography history with works of masters of typography.

6. Thinking with type

Another great book about typography. It is a more practical approach to using typography in your designs, with many examples and theories about typography.

7. Stationery design now

An excellent book to get tons of inspiration. In it wou will see good examples of how stationery design should be done.

8. Package Design Workbook: The Art and Science of Successful Packaging

If you are interested by the multi-dimensional side of graphic design, then packaging is what you need to learn. Get started with this great book.

9. How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul

Perhaps one of the most important design books for graphic design students, it teaches you everything you need to know about making a design career, and you won’t learn that in school.

10. The Art of Color

Probably the best book ever written about color. Learn about the physics of color, how to mix it, color effects, color impression, and so much more.

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6 Elements Of Poster Design

Creating a graphic design poster can be effective in relaying a specific message to a desired audience. It's a tried-and-true format that's been used consistently for over a century.

To get your message across, you must pay attention to all the elements at your disposal. With the help of these six tips, your graphic design poster will be more fluid, unified and persuasive. Mockup

1.Poster typography

The typography of a poster refers to the type of font and style utilized. One of the most overlooked but key defining aspects of a poster is the font usage. Whether a font is curly and wavy or rigid and strict can help to relay your message in a way that is not glaringly noticeable.

While it may be tempting to pick multiple creative fonts to relay your message, it's also vital to consider how it relays your message. Ideally, you want to choose two or three fonts total in your design. Fonts used for titles should be a display typeface (either creative or sans serif fonts), while fonts used for text should be serif fonts because they are easily readable by the viewer. These fonts should be different enough to be easily distinguishable from one another, but also able to create a unified design when used in the correct way.

For more formal and serious events, a combination of serif and sans serif fonts can be used to create visual diversity and not be too casual. Poster Mockup

2. Balanced poster design

Creating balance within your poster is essential to creating a unified, cohesive look. When design elements are not in balance, the viewer may feel uncomfortable looking at your design. In general, there are two different ways to create balance: symmetric and asymmetric.

Symmetric layout

In a symmetrically balanced layout, similar design elements are aligned in an equal way on either side of the vertical axis. Often, this results in a mirror-image effect. This layout is perfect for a formal or static look. This could include posters dedicated to formal events, art gallery viewings, and informative gatherings.

Asymmetric Layout

In an asymmetric layout, balance is achieved with an unequal arrangement of elements. Often, with the asymmetric layout, there could be a large object on one side balanced by a small object on the opposite side.

In general, these designs are more difficult and complex because the visual weight of each element and its arrangement need to be carefully considered. Asymmetric designs appear more casual than symmetric layouts and create excellent posters for rock concerts, museums and personal services.

3. Color in poster design

No matter who your audience is, color is a language that is universally appreciated and can communicate a variety of things. It doesn't matter whether you're using color to demonstrate a specific meaning or just to create a unifying background. Color can have several different meanings and implications based on the specific culture that you are in.

The following list under the color wheel defines common associations between colors and their psychological implications in Western culture:

Black: Elegant, mysterious, ominous, sober, sophisticated

Blue: Calming, honesty, cool, reliable, sad

Brown: Earthy, organic, rich, flavorful

Green: Natural, growth, financial wealth

Orange: Hot, active, tangy, childlike, gregarious

Purple: Regal, majestic, creative, futuristic

Red: Stimulating, exciting, dangerous, aggressive, sexy

White: Pure, innocent, clean

Yellow: Sunlight, citrus, imaginative, cheerful, cowardly

4. Contrast in poster design

One of the most important elements of design is contrast. Contrast occurs when you place two elements in opposing ways. This helps draw the eye and create a focal point within your design. There are many creative ways to integrate contrast within your design.

The elements you can use to create contrast include shapes, colors, lines, size and negative space. In the image below, you can see how the juxtaposition of distinct colors makes certain elements stand out.

5. Poster design hierarchy

In addition to contrast, incorporating hierarchy in your design also creates a focal point. Visual hierarchy is the arrangement or presentation of elements in a way that implies importance. Thus, it provides a direction for your eyes to move (from most important to least important).

Here are some ways to include hierarchy in your design:

·        Alignment

·        Color & contrast

·        Leading lines

·        Negative space

·        Perspective

·        Proximity

·        Repetition

·        Rule of odds

·        Rule of thirds

·        Size & scale

·        Spacing

·        Typographic hierarchy

Hierarchy is effective as a design principle because the human brain has an innate organizing tendency to place individual elements, shapes or forms into a coherent whole. When an element disconnects from the perceived whole, it stands out to the viewer. The elements that stand out the most are disconnected more severely.

6. Shapes in poster design

Shapes help create a path for the eye to follow as it scans the poster. Shapes can also give emphasis to the most important information in the poster. You can put a large rectangle behind the title or use the triangle of a mountain to point the eye upwards toward the headline.

Shapes can also alter the mood of a design. Softer shapes with curves, circles and organic lines can create a more fluid and relaxed mood. Triangles, squares and other geometric shapes with strong, sharp edges can create an entirely different mood.

Grids & proximity

One essential part in creating a cohesive design is placing a grid. Grids are tools for organizing space, text, images and other elements placed in a design. They add structure and provide graphic designers with three tools to be successful: order, efficiency and consistency.

Order

Using a grid helps viewers to more easily find information. Grids are a natural extension of this simple order and organization. They help your audience predict where elements and information will be, making it all easier to find and navigate.

Efficiency

If you're not using a grid, it can be hard to ensure that all items in your poster are aligned and exactly where you want them to be. Using a grid helps to eliminate this pain. The wide variety of vertical and horizontal grids give designers room for endless creativity.

Consistency

Grids provide the user with a successful path to structural harmony in the design. Grids also offer a guide to the proper placement of information and visual hierarchy.

Creativity partnered with these guidelines can lead to amazing ideas that will power your next project. For easy tools, helpful tips and creative ideas, take a look at Lucidpress's poster templates.

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Importance Of Digital Business Card

We live in the Internet age where a majority of our personal and business activities depend on computers and electronic devices. This digital life is what lead to the creating of the electronic calling card. The eBusiness card started as a novelty to become a necessary business networking tool.

What is a Digital Business Card?

These modern contact cards can now be sent and received electronically via wirelessly using tools, e-mail, internet, SMS, or by Bluetooth instead of using paper as a medium. Mockup

What are the Types of Digital Business Cards?

There are four main types of business cards; Phone contact cards, e-mail based business cards, social networking sites as business cards, and tools and applications such as Pokens or the iPhone used to exchange business card data.

The Phone calling card and the e-mail based digital contact card are quite interchangeable as you can send e-mail through phone now and you can also e-mail using your phone.

The main difference is that phone-based digital calling cards operates from your phone and makes use of SMS or Bluetooth functions while E-mail based digital calling cards, operates from your e-mail account. Business Card Mockup

Examples of Phone-based digital contact cards are Contxts, TxtID and DUB. Contxts lets you send and receive calling cards via SMS, while TxtID is a service that works by having the other party text your username to a six digit number and where they will receive your contact info via SMS.

To use DUB contact cards, an account must first be created on their website, thereafter you can then have it sent to other users by email or SMS, simply by sending a text message to the DUB site. These services start with free program options, but usually offer paid services that allow you to access more function or send and receive more digital calling cards.

For E-mail based visiting cards, companies such as Drop Card and Weavemet offer such services. Both of the companies offers services that works similar to Contxts and TxtID where you create a profile on their site, text the e-mail address to a dropcard number and your contact will receive your contact card in their e-mail.

The third type is using your social networking profiles such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Google profiles as contact cards. There is also a service that aggregates all your social network profiles like MyNameIsE which is a site that collects all of your social profiles into a virtual calling card that can be accessed via mobile web.

The last category of digital visiting card are devices such as iPhone apps or Pokens that you use with other people with the same devices where the device trades the contact information. Some of these apps specialize on contact data entry. Examples of these iPhone apps are vCard and BeamME.

What is the Advantage of a Digital Business Card?

Digital business cards offer a lot of advantages, here are some of them:

1.      It's easier to create. Since digital business cards do not really require any aesthetic styling, you do not have to worry about designing one. The person you give it to will not lose it since digital calling cards cannot get lost or left behind because your contact will always have it in their email-account, phone, or other web based contact sharing account.

2.      It's eco-friendly. Digital contact cards do not require paper so you will be helping the environment if when you use electronic business cards.

3.      It's efficient. When handed a paper calling card, most people scan it or enter the data on their phones or computers, but if your calling card is already given digitally, the recipient will not need to go through the hassle of encoding it anymore.

4.      As mentioned earlier, digital calling cards are often asked for, especially since most people use internet phones and iPhones where providing digital contact cards are more handy for these tech savvy people. It is really useful to get yourself a digital calling card in order to stay connected whether for personal use or for business purposes.

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