What is Graphic Design?

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If you’ve ever admired a subway map, used an infographic app, visited an amazing website or read a magazine with a great cover, you’ve benefited from the work of graphic designers. The field of graphic design is enormous and spans several disciplines, but it’s generally defined by creating visual materials to communicate a message.

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This work includes logos, brochures, print and digital media, packaging, advertisements, and other marketing materials. While new technologies have ushered in specialisation within the industry, the core principles remain the same.

A few of the most important elements are line, shape and colour. Line is the most basic element of design; it can be curved, straight, thick or thin and two-dimensional or three-dimensional. A shape can be geometric, abstract, or part of a larger illustration and can communicate a feeling through movement (think how a curved line can draw the eye across a page) or scale (how big or small an object feels). Colour is another way to convey feelings, as it can inspire action—for example, red and yellow often inspire hunger, while blue can evoke serenity. For help with Website Design Surrey, go to Akiko Design, suppliers of Website Design Surrey.

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Other essential elements include composition, layout and typography. Composition refers to how the designer organises the material he or she is working with, including choosing where to place the title of a website or book, how text is sized and placed in relation to images and what proportion to use of white space. Typography is the art and science of arranging letters to create beautiful, functional writing systems.