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Graphic design is problem solving. Businesses hire graphic designers to solve marketing problems, including corporate identity, brand development, and overall image. This leads many to believe that graphic design is simply cosmetic, but on the contrary, it is solving real communication problems through visual products.
Problem: "I need a logo to communicate our spa business is relaxing, calm, and high-end."
The designer then solves for that problem, making sure each decision made solves the objectives of showing the business as "relaxing, calm, and high-end."
There can be several different acceptable solutions to a problem. It is up to the designer and client to agree on what solution does it the BEST. Two things are at play here: taste and values. (continued below)
1. Taste becomes important when the mood or look and feel connects or disconnects with a business owner's own sensibilities. This is tricky, as sometimes (always?) business owners think along the lines of what they LIKE, and not what will be better for their image in the marketplace.
2. Values is also a tricky area. Maybe one design satisfies two business objectives really well, but another design satisfies two other objectives well. What the business owner deems as more important comes down to his or her values.
For example, Logo 1 makes the spa business calm and relaxing. Logo 2 touts the sense of exclusivity and luxury that the spa brings its customers. The business owner needs to decide which is valued more.
Thinking about graphic design as problem-solving as opposed to mere likability and taste will allow businesses to select more successful designs, and reduce the amount of subjectivity in determining whether a design is good or not. If you asked 10 different people what they thought of a design, you could get 10 different answers. But if you asked the same 10 people if the design satisfied x and y, then your answers become much more focused. (continued below)
Graphic designers use a variety of tools, from classic pencil and paper to computers, to iPads. Software that is important to know for beginners is Photoshop, Illustrator, and learning HTML and CSS if you'll be creating websites. Everyone has a different creative process, but it usually starts out with a designer accepting a problem to solve from a client, sketching out some possibilities, and developing some of those solutions digitially. Design is an iterative process. It takes time for design solutions to come to a point where they are ready for public consumption. That point is decided by the designer and the client together.
Most people incorrectly interchange the terms "graphic design" and "web design." Web design is a subset of graphic design - meaning, it's also problem solving, but strictly on the web.
A graphic designer can be well versed in several disciplines, such as corproate identity, branding, print collateral, brochures, letterpress, and more. A web designer is limited to web-based marketing solutions, such as building a web site. A web designer may not necessarily be able to develop a strong logo.
Graphic design is not merely a cosmetic practice. It solves problems a business has communicating its product or service in the marketplace. Graphic design helps businesses differentiate against competitors and gives consumers a value proposition on which to make a buying decision. Graphic design for non-profits or social causes does the same: it solves a problem, usually visually, and communicates something to an audience in an engaging way. Graphic design helps inspire people to action through its communication.
Questions, comments or suggestions? Email TheFGD@freelancegraphicdesigner.info.