Kathy Parker A lot of people are still confused regarding the difference between web design and graphic design. Although these two are entirely distinct, people get them mixed up quite often.
Before we jump into the key elements that separate one from the other, let us first definite the two.
Graphic Designers
A graphic designer is a visual communicator, someone who generates visual concepts by using computer software or by hand. They communicate ideas to inform, inspire, or captivate customers.
They also help to make a brand or a company recognizable by utilizing a variety of mediums to convey a particular identity or idea to be used in promotions and advertising. They make use of shapes, fonts, images, colours, print design, animation, photography, logos, and even billboards. They also collaborate with various multimedia animators, artists, and other creative people.
Web Designers
A web designer is someone who is both technically inclined and creative and uses both these qualities to create or redesign websites. They have the ability to recognize what is needed to make a website user-friendly and fully functional, all while making it aesthetically appealing to the users. The usability of the website is their priority. After all, it is necessary to build a webpage that the target market can relate to.
To better understand their respective roles and skills, here are 4 ways which differentiate web design from graphic design.
- The Visuals
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Normally, during the design process, the selection of text and font is done easily in graphic design. You just need to choose the ones that are readable and visually appealing.
However, with web design, you only get to have a few options so as to avoid the pressure on the server. Because of the qualities of HTML, you can only use the default fonts on the user’s operating system. Then again, with the advancement of today’s technology, this gap is slowly changing. The current API based on HTML5 could now accomplish the use of customized fonts. This greatly improves the user experience without the danger of increasing the back-end pressure.
- The Hues
The colour method used by web design and graphic design is entirely different.
Web designers use RGB as indicated by its special imaging mode, and it focuses more on teasing out the connection between the information structure. Too much vibrant colours on the website can easily cause visual fatigue for the site users and visitors. Graphic designers use both RGB and CMYK colour mode, depending on their projects and their client’s preferences.
- The Graphics
When it comes to the use of graphics, graphic designers have a bigger number of exhibitions than web designers, particularly for the product websites. Moreover, in terms of the size of the units used in the design, graphic designers usually make use of the concept of physical sizes, such as centimetres, inches, millimetres, and many more, while web designers usually focus on the pixels size.
Additional Information
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Web Designers:
- Catch the web design trend predictions
- Uses engineering approach to their designs
- Sees the art as a way to leverage technology
- More technical (i.e., coding and programming)
- Can enhance and develop their work over time
- Have a shared communication with their audience
- Must predict how their design can affect the web users
Required skills: Jquery, JavaScript, web application development, PHP, UI design.
Graphic Designers:
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- Put the art first
- Highlights visual theory in their designs
- More artistic (sketch with paper and pen)
- Have a one-way relationship with their audience
- Must centre on how the design conveys a message to its audience
Required Skills: typesetting, Adobe Creative Suite, marketing material, concept development.
Lastly, Web Design London emphasizes that web designers are in control of the whole website, so they must understand how to generate the suitable image while assuring the website is still user-friendly. These are only some of the factors that differentiate web designers from graphic designers.
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