The Future of Graphic Design: Emerging Trends and Creative Possibilities

 

When you think of graphic design, do you think of artistic advertisements? Eye-grabbing graphics on websites? Stunningly arranged spreads in magazines? While these examples certainly fit under the graphic design definition, the term encompasses a lot: posters, infographics, book covers, product labels, logos, business cards, signs, website layouts, mobile apps, software interfaces—the list goes on.

So what is graphic design, exactly? Listing these graphic designs as an example is a good start, but it doesn’t paint the full picture. While covering the details and intricacies of the entire graphic design field might not be possible in one article, this high-level overview will help you better understand this creative career field.

If you’re at all interested in becoming a professional graphic designer, keep reading to learn the basics of the field.

Graphic design?

Graphic design is defined as “the art and practice of planning and projecting ideas and experiences with visual and textual content.” In other terms, the graphic design communicates certain ideas or messages in a visual way. These visuals can be as simple as a business logo, or as complex as page layouts on a website.

“Graphic design takes graphical and textual elements and implements them into multiple types of media,” when asked to elaborate on the graphic design definition. “It helps the producer connect with the consumer. It conveys the message of the project, event, campaign or product.”Graphic design can be used by companies to promote and sell products through advertising, by websites to convey complicated information in a the digestible way through infographics, or by businesses to develop an identity through branding, among other things.

“Every day, we take many of the subtly artistic things around us for granted. But hidden in every magazine corner, the exit sign or textbook lies a set of design ideas that influence our perceptions,”

It’s also important to remember that although many graphic design projects have commercial purposes like advertisements and logos, it is also used in other contexts, and graphic design work is often created purely as a means for artistic expression.

Graphic design basics

To better understand the meaning of graphic design, it is important to be aware of the elements and principles that make up the design. Elements are used in conjunction or opposition with each other to create visually striking and impactful designs.

These graphic design elements include:

Color | Form | Line | Shape | Size | Space | Texture

Graphic designers also adhere to the principles of design, which are essentially a set of guidelines that help a design achieve effective composition. These basic principles aid in creating balance and stability for the piece of work.

These graphic design principles include:

Balance | Contrast | Emphasis | Movement | Proportion | Rhythm

You’ve heard the old saying that “rules are meant to be broken,” which can certainly ring true in this case. But a good graphic designer must first understand these principles before making the conscious decision to break them.

Types of Graphic Design

When we hear the term graphic design – each of us has different associations. Some first thought is of web design and mobile applications, some think about business cards and brochures, and some think about packaging design and brand identity. Because graphic design as a communication skill focuses on the visual interpretation of the message. It can be psychic, digital, or anywhere in between. In today’s competitive world, graphic designing has become an integral part of every business.  It plays an important role, by combining technology, aesthetics, and creative thinking, you can communicate your message, which will remain etched in the minds of your audiences. If you look around, you will find design everywhere—from a morning cereal box to the process of booking an apartment for holidays. 

But there is one crucial thing to point out. Each type of graphic design requires a specific set of skills and design techniques. Many designers specialize in a single type; others focus on a set of related, similar types. Although often overlapping, designers usually focus on a specific design area and build their skills for years. So don’t expect the web designer to do the top job of video editing as someone who has been doing this for years. This was just an example, but you get the point.

Below we highlighted 8 types of graphic design to understand each design area better and to help you choose the designer with the right skills for your job. So let’s start.

1. Visual Identity

Every business, whether it’s small, medium, or large has a different story to tell. In order for their audience to hear their story, there is brand identity. So, visual identity graphic design is precisely that: the visual elements of brand identity that act as the face of a brand to communicate those intangible qualities through images, shapes, and colors. Designers who specialize in visual identity graphic design create assets like logos, typography, color palettes, and image libraries that represent a brand’s personality. In addition to the standard business cards and memorandum, designers often develop a set of visual brand guidelines that describe best practices and provide examples of visual branding applied across various media. These guidelines help to ensure brand consistency throughout future applications.

 Visual identity graphic designers must possess a general knowledge of all types of graphic design to create design elements that are suitable across all visual media. They also need excellent communication, conceptual and creative skills, and a passion for researching industries, organizations, trends, and competitors. Visual identity graphic designers usually have their skills upgraded in the field of marketing and advertising graphic design. Because, when creating the visual identity he should always consider how it will fit on later in marketing and advertising.

2. Marketing & Advertising

Advertisements are all around us. They bomb us on TV screens, scream at store shelves, and paint every possible free space in public areas. The result of any successful advertising is, of course, the sale of the product or service the advertiser propagates. But have you ever wondered how much time it takes to create a successful campaign and a compelling advertisement that perfectly transmits the story? Here we are not talking about hours, we are talking about days or even months of developing ideas, researching consumer habits, and visual creation. So, marketing designers need excellent communication, problem-solving, and time management skills. They need to be familiar with the products and services brand, as well as with the habits of their target groups. Designers who create advertise are not only talented in creative design but also know how to sell a product and capture consumers' minds. This means they work with company owners, directors, managers, or marketing professionals to create assets for marketing strategies. They might work alone or as part of an in-house or creative team, of course, it depends on the budget that invests in the advertising itself.

As we have already mentioned, marketing & advertising design can be divided into the printed advertisements that we see in the form of posters, billboards, flyers, catalogs, packaging, cardboard stands, and all printed materials that pass through the printing machine. And it can be divided into digital advertisements which we see on TV ads and phones in the form of banners, video ads, promotional posts on social networks, and radio commercials.

3. Web Design 

You have probably already heard of the term UI and UX, but do you know what that means exactly? A user interface (UI) is how a user interacts with a device or application. UI design is the process of designing interfaces to make them easy to use and provide a user-friendly experience. A UI includes all of the things a user interacts with—the screen, keyboard, and mouse—but in the context of graphic design, UI design focuses on the user’s visual experience and the design of on-screen graphic elements like buttons, menus, micro-interactions, and more. It’s a UI designer’s job to balance aesthetic appeal with technical functionality. UI designers specialize in desktop apps, mobile apps, web apps, and games. They work closely with UX (user experience) designers who determine how the app works and UI developers who write code to make it work.

 The mobile industry is growing very fast. Companies have started delivering their content and services through apps. With great mobile app design, you are not only responsible for making a product look beautiful but also for building a relationship between the app and the user. Professional App designers are aware of the latest trends. They know how to design an app with an elegant interface, perfect icons, and excellent art.

4. Publication

In the olden days, print was the main medium for providing news and information. The printing industry was in full swing, releasing large quantities of prints such as books, newspapers, magazines, catalogs, and many others. But time is changing and technology is progressing. Today digital media is on the very top. The average user spends 5 hours per day on their mobile devices. So it’s not surprising that people are less and less reading newspapers and reading the news on the web sites. They have replaced books with ebooks, fashion trends on social networks, and shopping online.

Graphic designers who specialize in publications work with editors and publishers to create layouts with carefully selected typography and accompanying the artwork, which includes photography, graphics, and illustrations. Publication designers may work as freelancers, as creative agency members, or in-house as part of a publishing company. Publication designers must possess excellent communication, layout, and organizational skills. In addition to graphic design expertise, they need to understand color management, printing, and digital publishing.

5. Packaging

The packaging has a dual role, to protect the product while storing, distributing, and selling and also to communicate directly to consumers, which makes it an extremely valuable marketing tool. Packaging designers create concepts, develop mockups, and create print-ready files for a product. This requires expert knowledge of print processes and a keen understanding of industrial design and manufacturing. They have to keep track of trends and competition. Imagine that a product is found in a retail store next to its competition in the same color and shape, it doesn’t stand out at all, and the consumer will find it harder to spot it or not notice it at all. Packaging must be innovative, must stand out, and must “call” consumers to choose this product.

6. Motion

Motion graphic design has become a real trend, there is a growing demand among companies to display their products and services with short animations. Except for marketing purposes, animations are used in video games, applications, banners, animated texts, and subtitles, and much more. The huge popularity nowadays has a gif that is eminently spread among young people. “Motion graphics designer” is a somewhat new specialty for designers, and can be found across all digital platforms, which has created all sorts of new areas and opportunities.

 Also here we will mention the 3D graphic design because is gaining a lot of importance these days. It has become the most popular effect used in almost all industries. 3D-artist possess strong computer and technical skills. Apart from photography and various computer-aided software’s they are trained in lighting, effects, and animation techniques.

7. Environmental Graphics

Whether you are talking about office branding, public transportation navigation, or retail store interiors, environmental graphic design visually connects people to places to improve their overall experience by making spaces more memorable, interesting, informative, or easier to navigate. We are not even aware of how environmental graphic design actually affects our everyday life. Environmental graphic design is a multidisciplinary practice that merges graphic, architectural, interior, landscape, and industrial design. Designers collaborate with people in any number of these fields to plan and implement their designs. Because of that, designers typically have education and experience in both graphic design and architecture. They must be familiar with industrial design concepts and able to read and sketch architectural plans.

8. Illustration

There is a difference between a graphic designer and a graphic artist. Graphic designers create compositions to communicate and solve problems and graphic artists create original artwork. Graphic artists use any combination of media and techniques to create their work as they collaborate with writers, editors, managers, marketers, and art directors across all graphic design types. They’ll often have a foundation in fine arts, animation, or architecture. Overlapping skills and apps make it possible to find graphic designers who also work as graphic artists and illustrators.