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.
Graphic Design Career Options
Here are a few career paths for which you’ll likely need Graphic Design skills in order to succeed. We also include additional info about their average salaries, their day-to-day responsibilities, and a link to learn more about each career.
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Graphic Designer
Graphic designers work with both digital and physical media to create art that communicates and inspires. Using graphics, text, colors, and animations, graphics designers develop media assets for branding, advertising, and messaging. Graphics designers can work for agencies or themselves. They create a wide variety of design elements, such as brochures, infographics, marketing material layouts, and design elements for print, video, or web use.
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Designer
Designers work in a wide variety of industries and specialize in just as many mediums. Most designers create digital assets, but some designers work with hand-drawn sketches and illustrations. They start with an understanding of the best design principles and functional aesthetics. Common fields for designers include web, apps, print, fashion, animation, advertising, and UX design.
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UI Designer
User interface (UI) designers are responsible for how an application or web page looks and feels. Using colors, fonts, patterns, textures, icons, and buttons, user interface designers work with user experience designers to improve websites. Some user interface designers may also touch on user experience design (UX) issues and use prototyping and user testing to analyze the effectiveness of messaging and ease of use.
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Visual Designer
Visual designers focus on what users see on their screens—banners, menus, graphics, navigation, and more. They use their knowledge of best practices to design digital elements such as page designs, banner ads, icons, and overlays. Working for platforms such as websites, apps, movies, games, and wearables, visual designers strive to provide beautiful user interface. Visual designers often work with software such as Sketch, Adobe XD, Figma, Photoshop, and more.
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Digital Designer
Digital Designers make graphics, animations, and other visual effects. Depending on their preference, a Digital Designer might choose to niche down to work exclusively on pre-print, web, or digital marketing. These niches that the Digital Designer is designing websites, applications, advertisements, or publications.
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Design Director
A Design Director leads a team of creative professionals who curate the look and feel of a product or project through the production of visual strategies. They work on projects like magazines, movies, advertisements, video games, or websites. Design Directors can work in industries such as interior design, retail, marketing, architecture, and entertainment.
Learn about becoming a Design Director