“Good design’s not about what medium you’re working in. It’s about thinking hard about what you want to do and what you have to work with before you start.” – Susan Kare
Sometimes we don’t know how to get started as a Graphic Designer, or we keep finding until we are satisfied.
So, we thought, why not cover this topic as a step-by-step guide and solve all your queries reading Graphic Designing.
Sounds good, let’s go!
First and foremost, what is Graphic Design?
Second, Graphic Design Courses, Or does it matter if it’s online or offline?
Third, What are Graphic Design Tools or Graphic Design Software and App?
Fourth, What are Graphic Designer Jobs and Salary?
Fifth, Last but not least, How to Make a Graphic Design Portfolio or Graphic Designer Qualifications
And lastly, what is nfts? And how it can be beneficial for Graphic Designers?
So, without further ado, let’s get started on this in-depth discussion.
Graphic Design Fundamentals
Q1. What is Graphic Design?
Do you think of creative advertising when you think about graphic design art?
Sites with eye-catching graphics? Amazingly well-organized magazine spreads?
While these models undoubtedly fall within the graphic design criteria, graphic design, in general, expresses specific concepts or messages in a visual manner.
These graphics may be as simple as a corporate logo or as complex as page layouts on a website.
Banners, infographics, book covers, product names, logos, business cards, billboards, website designs, portable apps, software interfaces—the list goes on.
a. Basics of Graphic Design Elements
To better grasp the meaning of graphic design, it is necessary to understand the aspects and concepts that comprise design. Elements are employed in harmony or in opposition to one another to produce aesthetically appealing and powerful designs.
The components of the design are best understood as the foundation of any endeavor. Even the most sophisticated graphic design portfolio may be disassembled into basic elements such as lines, curves, and typefaces.
(i). The Seven Fundamental Graphic Design components are
- Line
- Shape
- Color
- Texture
- Type
- Space
- Image
Everyone has their own set of pros and cons. Master these fundamentals, and you’ll be able to take your graphic design portfolio to the next level.
Graphic designers must also follow design principles, which are essentially a set of criteria that assist a design to achieve successful composition. These fundamental principles help in the creation of a sense of balance for the body of artwork.
(ii). These Graphic Design Principles include:
- Balance
- Contrast
- Emphasis
- Hierarchies
- Proportion
- Rhythm
Meanwhile, this is not a rule that must be followed; it is entirely up to the designer but as a skilled designer, you must understand the foundations or principles in order to create a masterpiece.
b. Types Of Graphic Design
There is no singular graphic design meaning, as there are several new forms of graphic designs.
Graphic design encompasses a wide range of disciplines and specialties, from print and online design to animation and motion graphics.
Graphic design provides chances and alternatives for people with nearly any passion.
Technological developments have resulted in some of the most prominent modern-day graphic design examples.
Here are some examples of various styles of graphic design:
1. User Interface Design
The user interface (UI) is the means through which a user interacts with a device or program.
UI design is the process of creating interfaces that are simple to use and give a pleasant user experience.
Desktop apps, mobile apps, online apps, and games are all specialties of UI designers.
A UI encompasses everything a user interacts with—the screen, keyboard, and mouse—but in the area of graphic design, UI design concentrates on the user’s viewing experience and the design of the graphic components such as buttons, menus, micro-interactions, and more.
A UI designer’s duty is to strike a balance between aesthetic appeal and technological usefulness. Icon design is an essential component of interface design.
2. User Experience Design
The research, analysis, and development of products that deliver meaningful and relevant experiences to consumers is known as user experience design (UX).
This includes developing the complete process of purchasing and integrating the product, including branding, design, usability, and function.
They collaborate closely with UI (user interface) developers (who write code to make it work) and UX (user experience) designers (who define how the program functions)
3. Motion Graphics Design
Through special effects, TV programs, video games, and movies, animation brings visual components to life.
Animation, music, typography, graphics, video, and other effects used in internet media, television, and cinema are examples of this.
As technology advanced and video material became king, the medium’s appeal surged in recent years.
Now, motion graphics is one of the most recent styles of design and can be found on all digital platforms, opening up a plethora of new areas and potential.
4. Environmental Graphic Design
The application of communication abilities to the built environment is known as experiential graphic design.
This branch of graphic design necessitates practitioners’ understanding of physical installations that must be built and survive the same climatic conditions as structures. As such, it is a multidisciplinary collaborative process that includes designers, fabricators, city planners, architects, manufacturers, and construction teams.
Environmental graphic design connects individuals to places visually in order to improve their entire experience by making locations more memorable, engaging, instructive, or simpler to navigate.
Environmental design encompasses a wide range of disciplines;
Experiential graphic designers attempt to tackle difficulties that people experience while engaging with buildings and spaces (also called environmental graphic design).
Wayfinding, placemaking, branded environments, exhibits and museum displays, public installations, and digital environments are some work areas for environmental graphic designers.
5. Art and Illustration for Graphic Design
Graphic art and illustration are sometimes confused with graphic design, but they are extremely distinct.
Graphic artists and illustrators create creative artwork, whereas designers construct compositions to convey and solve issues.
Fine art, decorating, and storytelling illustrations are all examples of their work.
Despite the fact that graphic art and illustration are not strictly kinds of graphic design, there is so much generated for a commercial purpose within the context of graphic design that you can’t talk about one without the other.
Here are a few examples:
- T-shirt design
- Graphic patterns for textiles
- Motion graphics
- Stock images
- Graphic novels
- Video games
- Websites
- Comic books
- Album art
- Book covers
- Picture books
- Infographics
- Technical illustration
- Concept art
Q2. Where to Learn Graphic Design Courses for Free?
Graphic design may be difficult at times, especially when trying to figure out how to “shatter into one of” the fields.
So are you ready to begin your graphic design career, or are you simply hoping to enhance your present skills? In any case, there are no longer any obstacles to learning from the top colleges or professionals.
There are two ways to begin your journey: online and offline, it’s all up to you.
Firstly, see offline Graphic Designing Eligibility Criteria,
1. Diploma Courses: After class 10, you can apply for these courses. Some diploma programs, however, require you to finish 10+2.
2. UG Courses: To pursue a degree in graphic design, you must pass the 10+2 examination with a minimum of 60%.
On the other hand, there are no criteria or requirements for graphic design schools online: you can simply register and begin right away. Let’s look at what they’ve got to offer.
There are several courses offered by Universities, online course hubs, graphic design specialists, and other organizations all provide a variety of graphic design classes online.
So, we’ve hand-picked the top graphic design online courses websites that will help you improve your graphic design portfolio, and yes, these online graphic design courses with certificates are also available, and some of them provide free graphic design courses also.
Here are a few examples:
- Coursera
- Udemy
- Skillshare
- Domestika
- Canva
- Shaw academy
- Creative live
- Graphic design school
- YouTube free courses
There are so many free Graphic Design Tutorials for beginners are available all over the internet like Photo Editing Tutorial in Photoshop for Beginners. If you can’t pay you should check that out they are also good, I also started from there.
Q3. What Software Do Graphic Designers Use?
There are so many well-known Graphic Design software and apps are available in the market like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Sketch, CorelDRAW, and many more. Ther are a full range of Adobe software list for graphic designing, video editing, illustration, animation, web desiging and more from Adobe Creative Cloud.
A graphic designer has an almost limitless number of software options at his or her disposal. As a result, it is entirely their decision.
Q4. Where to Find Graphic Design Jobs?
Graphic designers can work for organizations that specialize in the sector, such as design consultancies or branding agencies, or they can work for companies that specialize in publishing, marketing, or other forms of communication.
Many remote graphic designers work as in-house designers in non-design-focused businesses, especially with the arrival of personal computers. Graphic designers can also work as freelancers, setting their own terms, pricing, and ideas, or you can start your own Freelance Graphic Design agency.
Typically, a graphic designer reports to the
- User experience (UX) designer
- Web designer
- Art director
- Creative director
- Senior media creative
As you can see, there are several graphic design career opportunities available if you have the necessary skills and expertise, but there is always a misconception about the salary, people usually think that a graphic designer’s salary is always high, but that’s not true it all depends on graphic designer skills or graphic designer qualifications.
Q5. Build your Graphic Design Portfolio
Being a graphic artist, it is necessary to build a good graphic design portfolio for your future graphic designing job or for your own company. Just saying graphic design is my passion is not going to work at all. Starting with a graphic design resume or demo reel, you can also try some online portfolio, which is necessary in this digital world. There are many online portfolio sites or graphic design websites where you can make your design portfolio for free, here I am going to mention some of the best online graphic design portfolio websites which you can try, and they all provide free accounts.
Q6. How NFTs will be the Future of Graphic Design?
The big question! How nfts which stands for non-fungible tokes will change the market?
In recent years, nfts is like a game-changer for all graphic art designers out there who are struggling for their hard work and get nothing in payback. Harsh truth!
But history was made when The Digital Artist or Graphic Artist Mike Winkelmann alias Beeple sold a non-fungible token (NFTs) piece for $69 million, Ethereum tokens at the Christie’s Auction, on 11th March 2021. It’s called “The First 5000 Days,” Instead of a painting, poster, or sculpture, a GIF was sold through a digital transaction in which the buyer received an NFT digital token, sometimes known as “bitcoin for art.”
So now you can see how the game has changed for graphic designers or for all art lovers who want some collectible art. If you want to know more, like, what is nfts? How to invest in nft tokens? Just click on it.
The Bottom Line
It was a really courageous thing to choose to go online to acquire new talents, try new ways, or even upgrade your skills. I recognize that time, money, and a variety of other obstacles might prevent you from choosing one course over another.
Choose the one that best fits your expertise and ambitions, and get started right away, because the competition in the field of graphic design will only grow tougher as the digital world develops at a rapid rate.
If you are considering a career change and want to learn some fundamental skills without pursuing a graphic design degree through formal education, you may begin with the courses available for free.
So do you find this series useful, or I have forgotten something?
Do let me know in the comments!
I am waiting!
Bye!
