Let’s start with the fundamentals before exploring the 8 types of graphic design: Explain graphic design. To solve issues and convey ideas using font, images, color, and shape, graphic designers create visual compositions. Since there isn’t just one method, there are several forms of graphic design, each with a distinct specialty.

Many individuals ignore graphic design’s breadth and versatility and view it as a single subject. And every one of us has a different perspective on this matter. Five people could each have a distinct graphic design concept, depending on what you ask them. Some may associate it with websites, others with making brochures, and yet others with digital design creation. You’ll also find it intriguing that all of these references are accurate.

Understanding the 8 types of graphic design can help you find the right talents for the task, whether you’re an aspiring designer or looking for design services for your company.

8 Basic Types of Graphic Design

There are many facets of creating in many various sectors, and graphic design is a broad idea that encompasses them all. Visual compositions and representations convey a concept or piece of information to the intended audience. Nowadays, practically all business types want the highest caliber of Graphic Design Services to reach the greatest number of people. The real question is whether all graphic designers produce the same outcomes.

No, graphic artists focus on one of these eight areas or a collection of related ones to best serve their designs. To pick a service provider wisely, you must also be familiar with these general categories of graphic design.

1 – Visual Identity Graphic Design

An association between a company or group and its target market is known as a brand. The organization’s personality, tone, essence, memories, emotions, and experiences are all communicated through the brand identity. The visual components of brand identification that serve as a brand’s face and convey those intangible traits through pictures, forms, and color are precisely what visual identity graphic design is: they are the visual components of brand identity.

To develop assets like logos, typography, color schemes, and image libraries that convey a brand’s personality, designers with expertise in visual identity graphic design work in partnership with brand stakeholders.

Designers frequently create a collection of visual brand standards (style guides), which outline best practices and offer examples of visual branding used across many media, in addition to the conventional business cards and corporate stationery. These rules aid in maintaining brand consistency across all upcoming apps.

One of the most popular forms of design is visual identity design. To produce design components that work well in every visual media, visual identity graphic designers need to have a broad understanding of all forms of graphic design. They also require excellent communication, imaginative and creative thinking, and an enthusiasm for studying various markets, businesses, trends, and rivals.

2 – Advertising & Marketing Graphic Design

Most people envision graphics made for marketing and advertising when they think about graphic design.

Businesses rely on effective marketing campaigns to influence the purchasing decisions of their target audience. Good marketing appeals to people’s desires, needs, awareness, and satisfaction with a good, service, or brand. Graphic design helps firms advertise and communicate more successfully since people will always find visual material more interesting.

To generate assets for marketing plans, marketing designers collaborate with business owners, directors, managers, or other marketing specialists. They could operate independently or as an internal or creative team member. Designers might focus on a single kind of media (such as car wraps or magazine advertising) or provide a wide range of collateral for print, the internet, and other platforms. Although traditionally focused on print, this design form has expanded to include more digital assets, notably for content marketing and digital advertising.

Marketing Design Examples:

• Flyers
• Banners
• Newspaper Ads
• Email Marketing Template
• Vehicle wraps, and many others.

Excellent communication, problem-solving, and time management abilities are required of marketing designers. They must be skilled in various graphic design, layout, and presentation programs and have a working knowledge of print and web production. For new designers, entry-level roles in this field are a terrific method to learn procedures and get useful knowledge and expertise.

3 – UI Graphic Design

Users interact with a tool or program called the user interface (UI). Interface design (UI design) creates interfaces that are simple to use and offer a pleasant user experience.

The screen, keyboard, and mouse are all components of a user interface (UI). Still, in the context of graphic design, the UI concentrates on the user’s visual experience and the design of on-screen graphic elements, including buttons, menus, micro-interactions, and more. A UI designer must strike a balance between technological usefulness and visual appeal.

Games, desktop apps, mobile apps, and web apps are their areas of expertise. They collaborate closely with UI developers and UX (user experience) designers, who establish how the program functions (who write code to make it work).

Examples of UI Design

• Website design
• Theme Design
• Game Design

UI designers must be collaborative individuals with strong visual design chops and a solid grasp of UI/UX concepts, responsive design, and web development. They require familiarity with computer languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, in addition to graphic applications.

4 – Publication Graphic Design

Publications are one of the types of graphic design and are lengthy works that engage readers by being made widely available. As a print medium, they have historically been. Consider books, newspapers, periodicals, and catalogs when considering publications as a primary design form. The popularity of digital publications has, however, significantly increased recently.

Graphic designers focusing on publishing collaborate with editors and publishers to develop layouts with carefully chosen typography and supplementary artwork, which may include photography, graphics, and illustrations. Publication designers might operate as independent contractors, staff members of creative agencies, or inside employees of publishing companies.

Publication Graphic Design Examples

• Books
• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Catalogs etc

Publication designers must have outstanding organizational, communication, and layout abilities. They must be skilled in graphic design, color management, printing, and digital publication.

5 – Packaging Graphic Design

To protect and prepare items for storage, delivery, and sale, the majority need some type of packaging. But packaging design may also speak to customers directly, which makes it a very effective marketing tool. Every box, bottle, bag, can, container, or canister is an opportunity to share the brand’s narrative.

Mockups, print-ready files, and ideas are all created by packaging designers for products. This calls for in-depth familiarity with print technologies and manufacturing and industrial design expertise. It is usual for designers to find themselves producing additional assets for a product, such as photography, drawings, and visual identity because package design crosses so many disciplines.

Packaging designers can be generalists specializing in various packaging (such as labels or beverage cans) or particular industries (such as toys for kids or food). Their job necessitates exceptional creative and problem-solving abilities and solid practical expertise in print and industrial design. They must be adaptable to satisfy the needs of customers, marketers, and manufacturers and be knowledgeable about current trends.

6 – Motion Graphic Design

Motion graphics are simply visuals that are in motion. Animation, music, typography, graphics, video, and other effects used in internet media, television, and cinema can be categorized under this. As technology advanced and video material became the norm, the medium’s appeal has soared recently.

Designers now have a relatively new specialty called “motion graphics designer.” Technology advancements have lowered the time and cost of creation for the art form, formerly only used in TV and cinema. One of the newest design styles today, motion graphics are present on all digital platforms, opening up various new markets and career options.

• Ads
• Trailers
• Tutorials
• Videos etc

Storyboards are created in the beginning by motion graphics designers, who then use animation, video, and conventional art to bring their thoughts to life. A solid working understanding of marketing, coding, and 3D modeling might be advantageous, depending on the sector.

7 – Art & Illustration Graphic Design

Graphic design and illustrations are sometimes mistaken for one another, although they are incredibly distinct. Designers produce compositions to convey ideas and address issues, whereas illustrators and graphic designers produce unique works of art. Their artwork may be seen in various media, including fine art, décor, and narrative drawings.

Although technically not kinds of graphic design, graphic art and illustration are produced in such quantities for commercial purposes that it is impossible to discuss one without the other.

Examples of Illustrations

• Motion graphics
• Stock images
• Graphic novels
• Video games
• Websites
• Comic books
• Album art

When working with authors, editors, managers, marketers, and art directors on any form of a graphic design project, graphic designers can employ any mix of media and techniques to produce their work. Frequently, they’ll have a background in visual arts, animation, or architecture. Finding graphic designers that simultaneously work as graphic artists and illustrators is easy because of overlapping abilities and applications (and vice versa).

Environmental Graphic Design

Visually connecting individuals to places through environmental graphic design enhances their entire experience by making areas more memorable, fascinating, educational, or simple to navigate. Here are a few examples of environmental design, which is a large category of design:

• Museum Exhibitions
• Signages
• Office Branding etc

Environmental graphic design that focuses on wayfinding uses landmarks, signs, and other visual clues to assist people to locate where they are and where they need to go so they can get there without getting lost.

An interdisciplinary practice, the environmental graphic design combines graphic, architectural, interior, landscape, and industrial design. To plan and carry out their concepts, designers work with specialists in a variety of various domains. As a result, designers frequently hold degrees in both graphic design and architecture. They need to understand the principles of industrial design and be able to interpret and sketch architectural designs.

Environmental graphic design has typically resulted in static print materials, but interactive digital displays are becoming more common to offer more engaging experiences.