When most people think of graphic design, they think of designs created for marketing and advertising.
Companies depend on successful marketing efforts to tap into their target audience’s decision-making process. Great marketing engages people based on the wants, needs, awareness and satisfaction they have about a product, service or brand. Since people will always find visual content more engaging, graphic design helps organizations promote and communicate more effectively.
Graphic designers 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. Designers can specialize in a specific type of media (vehicle wraps or magazine ads, for example) or create a broad assortment of collateral for print, digital, and beyond. While traditionally print-centered, this type of design has grown to include more digital assets, especially for use in content marketing and digital advertising.
Graphic design is the profession and academic discipline whose activity consists in projecting visual communications
intended to transmit specfic messages to social groups, with specific objectives.
By applying visual hierarchy and page layout techniques, 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.
Though they often overlap, each type of graphic design requires specific set of skills and design techniques. Many designers specialize in a single type; others focus on a set of related, similar types. But because the industry is constantly changing, designers must be adaptable and lifelong learners so they can change or add specializations throughout their careers.
Emerald XTRA has over 40 years of experience in all categories of graphic design:
Visual Identity Graphic Design
Relationship between business, organization and audience
Personality, tone and essence
Visual elements of brand identity
Communicates intangible qualities through images, shapes and color
Advertising, Marketing Graphic Design
Postcards and flyers
Magazine and newspaper ads
Posters, banners and billboards
Infographics
Brochures (print and digital)
Vehicle wraps
Signage and trade show displays
Email marketing templates
PowerPoint presentations
Menus
Social media ads, banners and graphics
Banner and retargeting ads
Images for websites and blogs
“UI” User Interface Graphic Design
Focuses on the user’s visual experience
User interacts with a device or application
Buttons, menus, micro-interactions
Desktop apps, mobile apps, web apps
Work closely with UX (user experience) designers
Publication Graphic Design
Communicate directly to consumers
Tells the story of a brand
Create concepts
Develop mockups
Create the print-ready files for a product
Intigrate photography, illustrations and visual identity
Packaging Graphic Design
Color management, printing and digital publishing knowledge
