Graphic design is a discipline that impacts businesses, the media, entertainment, culture, & even politics. The problem with graphic design is that people who aren’t in the know don’t necessarily understand just how important it is. A branding message can be the difference between a superstar product & a product that never gets the attention it deserves.
Why is graphic design so important? Because it is an essential tool that enhances how you communicate with other people. It serves to convey ideas in a way that is not only aesthetically pleasing but highly impactful. When used correctly, branding influences peoples, choices & opinions on a subconscious level.
Don’t think it’s that deep? Look around you- there’s a reason why banking websites tend to use blue in their branding & that health stores try to persuade you to buy from them by using typography & palettes reminiscent of nature or farmers markets. For everyone convinced that graphic design is just about making pretty pictures, I’m going to outline eleven reasons that will help them see differently.
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1 | Graphic Design Is Important Because Society Is Built on Visual Communication.
With graphic design, influence can take many forms. The mainstream media uses graphic design to sway people’s opinions all the time. You can create a news article to optimize the number of people who like to skim or design a navigation system that guides people. From books to logos to flags to advertisements to websites—propaganda & cultural identity is reaffirmed using graphic design everywhere. Graphic design has also been influenced by cultures worldwide.
2 | Impactful Branding Is Necessary to Be Visible in Today’s Market.
For business owners, impeccably designed branding essential. In the global market, brands are competing endlessly. Good design makes your business look more reputable & desirable. Great graphic design allows you to make a positive first impression & creates a feeling of resonance between the company & the consumer. Creating a great first impression in a competitive global market is vital as we form initial opinions in a matter of seconds.
Aesthetically pleasing graphics designed by professionals will create a positive reputation for products, services or brands. In this age where setting up a digital business is easier now more than ever, the consumer is presented with an abundance of choices, meaning it’s getting more & more tricky to stand out. It’s important to know that the graphic design that you choose to represent your brand sets businesses apart from your competition – whether negatively or positively.
The look & feel of a brand creates a subconscious ideal in the consumer’s mind. By nature, people like to associate things that look good with feeling good. By investing in quality graphic design as a business owner, you are significantly increasing your brand’s ability to stand out in the minds of key decision-makers.
3 | Effective Branding Conveys a Message of Credibility & Professionalism for Businesses.
As mentioned earlier, graphic design plays a significant role in the decision-making process. Companies that invest in quality branding are perceived to be more trustworthy. Presentation & perception can make or break any business. People are looking for signs of professionalism to determine the level of trustworthiness of a company.
Since most consumers shop with their eyes, a product sitting on a store display or shelf can only be considered as good as the label or packaging that encases it. The appeal of that label or package is made possible solely through a team of graphic designers’ expertise. Any product that your company plans on launching should be uniquely designed with your target audience’s aesthetic, taste, wants & needs in mind so you could quickly grab their attention.
It’s essential to leave a lasting impression through your packaging, & it should be developed by experts that understand branding & visual hierarchy. For your business to compete for on-shelf, it needs to memorably convince consumers that they are missing out if they don’t purchase your product.
4 | Visual Communication Resonates Much Faster.
Over the years, the average person’s attention span is currently eight seconds. According to a study by Microsoft, this is a sharp decrease from the average attention span of 12 seconds in the year 2000. Businesses need to create impactful imagery that captures & audience in the least amount of time possible.
With the constant bombardment of advertisements, people are no longer willing to read a document trying to convince them to purchase your product. They will, however, be ready to look at an image that serves the same purpose. All representations of your brand should align to build trust & ensure that your brand is recognizable. Great branding guidelines gives you this much-needed consistency.
5 | Graphic Design Influences Our Psychology & Everyday Decisions.
Before you influence as a brand, you have to grab people’s attention, meaning that graphic design has become a valuable marketing tool. Graphic design accomplishes this by using colour, typeface, shape & structure to communicate a subconscious message to a specific audience. Different colours, shapes, typefaces – all create an interaction of association that is individual. Therefore, skilled designers apply each of these elements efficiently by playing into the viewers’ psychology & inferring particular characteristics of a brand.
For example, we associate different shapes with certain emotions & characteristics. If you look at circles, ovals, & ellipses will likely be reminded of positive emotional messages attached to the community, friendship, love, relationships, unity, & femininity. Similarly, horizontal Lines make us think of community, tranquillity & calm. Triangles & squares represent ability & balance, strength, professionalism, efficiency, power, & masculinity; while vertical lines represent masculinity, strength, & aggression.
6 | Graphic Design Impacts Our Emotional Wellbeing.
Working with psychology & careful composition designs can better resonate with specific audiences. Visual content affects our brains before our rational & cognitive processes can weigh in. Elements like size, grouping, & colour all affect those emotional responses. These responses trigger snap judgments (“I like this” or “I don’t like this”).
For example, psychologists have researched Colour theory for years & has shown to impact human emotions significantly. A colour’s meaning can be subjective based on factors like culture or personal preference. Yet, some colours share a universal meaning. For example, colour wheels classify red, orange & yellow as warm tones, while blue, purple & green are cool tones.
7 | Graphic Design Affects Multiple Sectors & Areas Within Businesses.
When people think of graphic design, they’ll likely limit its scope to branding, but this discipline affects so much more than that- especially in a business context. Graphic designers are involved throughout almost every company element, from corporate branding to product mockups, signage & wayfinding schemes, social media campaigns, & even user interfaces used within the operations software. Pretty much every human-made object that exists in the physical world has had a designers’ input.
8 | Graphic Design Enhances User Experience.
Have you ever bounced from a website because it looks like it was designed in 1995 or abandoned a cart because you couldn’t immediately work out how to navigate it? Customized graphic elements help enhance navigation & boosting usability. Graphics help in easy navigation through the website or app, making a massive impact on conversions & retaining the viewers.
Additionally, the users also derive aesthetic pleasure from viewing stylish visual elements & harmonic composition. Better user experience results in higher conversions. Higher visibility, effective communication, enhanced credibility benefits sales numbers & revenue for businesses.
9 | Graphic Design Skills Can’t Be Replaced by a Machine.
Artificial intelligence & machine learning is incredible. Maturing at a fast rate, it’s no wonder some industries are concerned whether new technologies will make their positions obsolete. Despite welcoming the advances in technology, I believe that creative & artistic jobs are not under a similar threat. Why?
Have you heard a piece of music or seen a painting made solely by artificial consciousness? Sounds/looks strange right? Despite applying all the correct mathematical principles, machines don’t understand what truly looks & sounds good to the human eye & ear because we’re subjective creatures. We are the tastemakers.
Graphic design requires human-led intelligence & ideas to respond to trends, tastes, that we dictate. While I think it’s vital to employ & train up in the latest technology to assist designers in doing our jobs, I believe our eye for design is a gift that can not be replicated.
10 | Graphic Design Creates a Means for Entrepreneurs & Self-employed People.
Technology is cheaper & more accessible. The Internet offers a wealth of inspiration and ongoing learning. There has never been a better time to become self-employed, freelance or start your own studio/ agency. If you want to travel the world, you can still be a successful freelance graphic designer. With the shifts in how people are working & how we make money, graphic design appears to be adapting well to the world’s changes.
Once you become a graphic designer, you’ll find that your new-found skills will translate to many other parts of your life. Graphic design gives you skills that are in demand & can be applied to many different career paths. Over the years, I’ve become more resourceful, detail orientated, quick-thinking & mindful of my decisions. My desire to create things has to lead to me setting up this website among various over successful endeavours. I believe the sky is the limit & so should you.
Wrapping it All Up.
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