Best Guide to Graphic Design Definition
Hello there.
Welcome to this one-stop destination where you can get to know all about designing starting from Graphic design definition, graphic design examples, what is graphic design used for, graphic designing courses, and graphic design software.
Let’s start with the graphic definition after which we will see some graphic design examples and what is graphic design used for.
Table of Contents
What is the Graphic design definition?
In a word, graphic design definition can be explained as a process of visual communication in which the artist conveys their views through art.
According to the definition in Wikipedia, Graphic design is the process of visual communication and problem-solving using typography, photography, iconography, and illustration.
Graphic Design takes various kinds of elements such as graphical and textual, and then converts and implements them into media.
But, to get a complete grasp of graphic design definition, you must have a thorough understanding of graphic design elements and principles.
Now that we are familiar with the term Graphic design, let’s see some graphic design examples.
Graphic Design Examples:
If you are a beginner or a designer in a cold block in need of some inspiration, here I have listed some graphic design examples from the greatest designers to help you get some inspiration.
1. Otl Aicher – Lufthansa Branding, 1972 Munich Olympics
2. Michael Beirut – Redesign of the Atlantic, graphics of the New York Times Building, Micheal Beirut monograph – How To
3. Neville Brody – The face Magazine, Arena Magazine
4. David Carson – Ray Gun Magazine
5. Alan Fletcher – Founding partner of Pentagram, The Art of Looking Sideways
You might be wondering that now you know about graphic design definition and have seen some of its examples, but What is graphic design used for? Well, I was thinking the same thing. So, let’s explain this in the next step.
What is graphic design used for?
Let’s answer your question, What is graphic design used for? Graphic design can be used for everything that we can see.
Everything that we want to communicate visually can be made to do so using graphic design.
From office flyers to business cards, and from billboards to road signs it all implements the graphic design.
Graphic designs aid the selling of products and in creating a brand identity for the brand, branding as well as in rebranding it.
Do you know what is graphic design used in the entertainment industry?
Yes, you guessed it right. It is used in decoration, scenery, and visual storytelling.
It is also used in novel covers, music album covers, comic books, DVDs, etc.
You might be wondering, apart from the entertainment industry what is graphic designing used for in other industries?
Graphic design is implemented in generating scientific journals, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and news reporting. In this case, graphic design is termed as Information design.
Congratulations. You have successfully learned the graphic design definition and what is graphic design used for along with graphic design examples.
I hope that you are now curious enough to know about where can you get graphic designing courses and graphic design software.
So, now I will be sharing with you some graphic designing courses available online and some graphic design software.
Online Graphic designing courses
Whether you are a professional working in a company or as a freelancer, or whether you are a beginner stepping into the world of graphic designing, these graphic designing courses listed here will be helpful to you.
For your better experience, I have divided the graphic designing courses module into two parts:
Online Graphic designing courses – Paid
The websites listed below offer online graphic designing courses, out of which some courses listed on the websites are paid and some free.
1. Udemy
Udemy is an online learning platform that offers various courses provided by independent instructors.
The prices depend upon the length of the video, field, and the teacher.
Some online graphic designing courses on Udemy are free while some are paid.
They all have related certifications that might be helpful to you in the future.
Also, once you are enrolled in a course, you get lifetime access to it, i.e. you can access it at any time in the future and learn it at your own pace.
2. SkilledUp
This website provides quality materials to its subscribers at reasonable prices.
At the average rate of $20, the learners are provided with a diversified range of courses.
The website also includes some graphic designing courses that are free.
If you are a beginner, the course Visual & Graphic Design will a great starter pack for you.
Online Graphic designing courses – Free
1. MIT OpenCourseWare
MIT offers OpenCourseWare which is an open database containing video lecture series on various courses provided the MIT lecturers.
It is well organized and allows easy traversal.
The best thing about it is that the trainers and lecturers are certified professionals and so the course is a trusted source of information.
Since the platform is not-for-profit, so you don’t have to deal with ads or sales pitches.
2. Alison Online
Alison has created a world where the learning is free along with the certifications.
However, it is not a non-profit organization, so some features are accessible only after payment of a certain amount of fee.
The learning on Alison is free, however, for a certificate, you will have to pay a fee ranging in-between $20-$100.
The courses are presented as a slideshow so there is no need for scrolling. This helps in dividing the course into shorter blocks to provide an easy learning experience.
3. Canva Design School
One way or the other there is a chance that you might have used Canva for designing projects, blog banners, Instagram stories, presentations, etc.
But did you know, Canva also offers various graphic designing courses that you can easily learn and implement it in your next projects.
These courses contain in-depth information along with examples and links to their sources.
We have finally reached the final step of our destination. Here, I will be sharing with you some graphic designing software.
Graphic Design Software
After covering our topics, graphic design definition, graphic design examples, what is graphic design used for, graphic design courses, let’s begin the last module of our journey, Graphic Design software.
I have divided this step into two parts as well:
Graphic Design Software – Paid
1. Adobe Creative Suite
Adobe Creative Suite is a one-stop destination that can fulfill all your designing needs. It includes everything from Dreamweaver to Photoshop to Illustrator.
You are provided a subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud that helps you to access your designs, anytime, anywhere.
You can easily sync up your photos, files, settings, etc. automatically.
2. Sketch
The Sketch is a graphic design platform only available to Mac users.
You can use it for designing your websites, apps, etc. However, unlike Photoshop it can’t be used for photo editing.
It provides you with a platform where you can collaborate with other designers.
You can easily edit your designs with its smart layout feature and hundreds of plugins that help you to do vector graphics and other designing work up to the precision of pixels.
Graphic Design Software – Free
1. GIMP – GNU IMAGE MANIPULATION PROGRAM
It is a free graphic design that can run on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Since it is an open-source program, you can make changes to the source code as well as distribute it.
It provides support to various 3rd party plugins that you can use to improve productivity and create better designs.
2. Vectr
It is free graphic software that can be used to create vector graphics that won’t lose their quality on scaling.
Instead of using pixels for creating graphics, Vectr uses mathematical equations.
It is available, both online and on a desktop to provide you with an easy to use platform, to create 2D graphics such as logos, business cards, etc.
3. Canva
Canva is very easy to use and an extremely beginner-friendly platform.
It includes tons on graphics, fonts, images, templates out of which many are free to use.
It provides you with a drag and drops to work on your designs without any requirement of prior knowledge about the software.
It can be used online as well in the form of apps on iOS and android.
4. FotoJet
FotoJet is a free online graphic design and photo editing tool that can be used to create a wide variety of graphics, including social media graphics, posters, flyers, banners, cards, and collages. It also offers a wide range of photo editing features, such as cropping, resizing, rotating, adjusting brightness and contrast, and adding filters and effects.
FotoJet is very easy to use, even for beginners. It offers a variety of templates and resources to get you started, and its drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to create and edit your designs.
Final Word
No knowledge comes easy, and the same is the case with graphic design.
With this article, I have taken a step towards helping you by trying to explain graphic design definition along with graphic design examples, what is graphic design used for, graphic design courses, and graphic design software.
Adios!
