even though they have some similarities.
10 Ways Graphic Design is Different from Web Design
This post shows how graphic design is different from web design and clears the air on some of the misconceptions people usually have about the two highly valuable digital skills.
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In this 21st century, what ensures the thriving of professional skills is digitalization.
All around the globe, the workspace is now dominated by digitalized tasks and jobs.
In this contemporary age, it is what ropes in exponential profit.
Graphic design and web design are professional and digital skills that are highly demanded, and they are among the highest paying skills on various online freelancing platforms.
In as much as graphic design and web design have some similarities, they possess many distinguishing features, and we shall be looking at these differences one after the other.
Top 10 Ways Graphic Design Is Different from Web Design
- Artistry versus Function
Graphic design as a professional skill, borders on the creation of visual images and constructions which carry aesthetic value.
One of the sole aims of a graphic designer is to assemble images, texts, and other graphic elements in an artistic fashion to communicate a message.
On the other hand, web design seeks to design a website beautifully and give it functionality.
A web designer is interested in how he/she can artistically create a website in such a way that it meets the needs and positively heightens the experience of those that visit it.
- The Medium
One of the prominent differences between graphic design and web design is the medium.
Individuals in the graphic design field have freedom and are not restricted by resolution, speed, or, programming.
Besides, graphic designers tend to create images that are static, such as social media graphics and print advertisements.
Also, without relying on motion, they get their point across.
On the other hand, web designers have to balance good design with efficiency and speed for the web.
They work with a dynamic medium.
The elements present in a website such as the call-to-action buttons, the navigation bar etc. can be enhanced by interactivity.
This can make for a better overall website and improve the user’s experience.
- How Information Is Disseminated
Graphic design deals in buildings, cloth, paper, as well as the different effects that materials can carry.
Moreover, the amount of information is usually determined by the size of the material and the information cannot be updated.
However, when it comes to web design, the material media is the screen, there is no limit to the amount of information and errors or updates can easily be made.
- Skills
Without venturing into coding, graphic designers execute their creative vision.
They must however possess other skills such as being highly competent in design programs like Illustrator and Photoshop.
Whereas, web designers could work along web developers or code websites themselves, for web designers to understand the coding of languages, they must have an intermediate understanding of JavaScript or cascading style sheets.
Asides that, they must also be experts in content management systems like HubSpot and WordPress.
- Application
All the projects that come to the stables of a graphic designer always come with specifications.
Whatever they are designing must have a specific size for a specific medium.
For instance, they may be asked to create an Instagram advertisement, sized 1,200 pixels by 630 pixels. They don’t work outside these confines.
Web designers on the other hand must design for various devices, including smartphones, tablets, and computers.
Their designs must be able to adapt to any screen size.
- How the Information Spreads
Information in graphic design spreads through posting and delivery, printing, sales and other forms of marketing communications.
Subsequently, the spread of information via web design is based on traffic to the site (the visitors who will engage with the updated information).
Thus, information tends to spread faster when people visit the site consistently.
- A Web Designer’s Job Is Never Done
Yes, a website could be referred to as a living organism that needs to be cared for continually.
On a website, there may be a need for more content to be added, for a change in a brand’s identity, and navigations to be upgraded.
This typically means a web designer, from time to time, is always busy.
However, a graphic designer’s job ends when a design project has been completed.
- Audience Relationship
The audience relationship that a web designer and a graphic designer possess differs.
For a web designer, his/her audience is those that visit his/her website, and given the nature of a website and how frequently it undergoes changes, there must always be regular responses on how good or bad a website is.
On the contrary, the graphic designer’s audience is those that view his/her designs on platforms such as posters, magazine covers, and the likes.
In this case, the responses from his/her viewers are mostly once, given the static nature of graphic design work on display.
- Graphic Designers Can Work Alone
Yes, graphic designers can work alone, and they can also be the sole artist behind their work.
Still, web designers need to work with a web developer or a development team that will help translate the design into functional codes.
- Viewing versus Using
A graphic designer creates aesthetical texts, images, and other graphical elements for viewing, while a web designer builds a website for it to be used by various individuals.
Final Thoughts
Graphic design and web design are two very different skills, and one shouldn’t be mistaken for another.