Visual design is a set of strategic best practices used to improve a design or product's aesthetic appeal and usability through the selection of appropriate images, typography, use of space, hierarchy, color, and layout. It can be found in apps, movies, advertisements, logos, books, technology, gear, everywhere you look.
Visual design is an important place to start for anyone who wants to be a visual creative, but it won’t get you a job on it’s own. You’ll also need to learn the software that these careers use, which is primarily Adobe’s Photoshop, Illustrator, and XD. You should also brush up on industry best practices and choose a niche you’d like to work in.
Visual design principles are used by a Design Director to set the overall aesthetic of a project. A Designer, Visual Designer, Digital Designer, or Graphic Designer will then execute that design. If it’s a software or application that the designers are working on, a UI Designer or Web Designer will use those design comprehensives created by the other designers to create user interfaces and websites within the criteria.
Visual design is the framework for everything a designer does. They can use it to create projects from scratch or to evaluate and improve an existing one. Knowing visual design principles makes learning design software and embarking on a visual creative career path easier.
