Everyone one has an opinion idea of what a graphic designer does…
• Logo and branding design?
• Working on imagery in Photoshop?
• Advertisement design?
• Brochure design?
• Packaging?
• Illustration?
• Catalogue Design?
…the list goes on and on.
During my first week at college a lecturer asked our course “what is graphic design”? Numerous answers were given “information design“, “visual communication“, “art with a purpose“. His answer was “problem solving“. Ever since my early teens I have had a passion for graphic design. After leaving art college in the early 90’s I’ve worked in the field of graphic design and I’ve come to understand it to be all of the above and much, much more.
Graphic design is all around us
Do you have a product or service you want people to recognise or notice? Trying to communicate an idea in a visual way? Chances are you will use graphic design to convey your message. From opening your pack of tea bags in a morning, to checking a train timetable, to deciding which bottle of wine to open, you’ll be looking at the work of a graphic designer.
Good graphic design communicates to the viewer
A vital part of a graphic designers trade is not only making a page look great or packaging eye-catching. The first part and one of the most important parts of the graphic design process starts before pen even touches paper. It’s the listening to the client and understanding their needs and what they want to achieve. What “problem” do they want to solve? This is second nature to an experienced, good, graphic designer. Quickly ascertaining the best way to positively, visually communicate the positive message to the target audience and portrait the clients product or service in a positive way. It’s about getting a healthy balance between “form and function”.
Graphic design is visually solving problems
An experienced, good graphic designer uses typography, photography, colours and illustrations to create designs either in print or on the web for any number of customers and clients. We (graphic designers_ are basically visual communication experts and problems solvers. We work in a wide variety of areas: branding and logo design, advertising, website and new media design, user instructions, packaging design, info graphics, catalogue design, posters, magazines, reports etc etc. All of these need to grab the interest of the potential customer, convey the clients message quickly and effectively.
Andrew Burdett Design is a full service graphic design agency with decades of experience in the field. Check out our graphic design portfolio – there’s examples of a huge variety of graphic design work.
