Graphic Design encompasses an assortment of visual arts including advertisements, magazine spreads, infographics, book covers, product labels, logos, business cards, website layouts, user interfaces, and much more. Graphic design is a set of concepts, a practice in itself, and the title for a job designing visual artwork.
Designers of all kinds apply graphic design concepts to every single one of their projects. They work with color, lines, shapes, space, and texture to form visually pleasing products. Designers can be broken down into hundreds of different specialties from certain products they create, technologies they work with, or mediums they prefer to use.
The most common design jobs are Graphic Designer, Visual Designer, and Digital Designer. The first two types of designers can work with non-digital mediums but do primarily digitize their work, even if they started it on paper. Digital Designers work exclusively to design digital products.
UI Designers are in a niche of their own. They apply graphic design principles to the user interfaces of applications and websites. They create the visual elements that users interact with including buttons, menus, and layouts.
Design Directors oversee all types of directors on larger projects like designing products, establishing large brands, or creating the aesthetic for a movie. They also have specific niches, but these specialties are based on the years of past work experience that qualified them for a director position.
Learning graphic design principles is a great start to a visually creative career in the digital age, but you will also need to learn the tools of the trade in order to land a job. Adobe software like Illustrator and Photoshop are essential for this career path. If you’re branching into tech with UI Design, you should also learn Sketch.