While in the world of us graphic designers, the phrase “make it look pretty” is a bit of a meme for the perceived undervaluing of our vital service to humanity, I would argue that, for the average person on the street, it’s a fairly relatable phrase to sum up what graphic designers do.
Not everyone is familiar with our process or understands what we do, but if you feel like you might need a graphic designer, it may be because you’ve ‘done the thing’ and now you want it to look good. It could be you’ve conceptualised a brochure about your service, written a document, or sketched a map for example. And to be fair, your graphic designer may ask for final, proof-checked text content and well-chosen high-resolution images, to which it seems, they then just add a final bit of fairly expensive buff to your build, so to speak. So let me shed a little light on the role of the graphic designer.
Graphic designers basically move type and images around on a page
Ah – yep, that’s another gently mocking statement that is also somewhat true, we spend a lot of time in front of computers, and most graphic design involves position, scale and colour of typography, imagery and other visual elements.
However, this is not done in a preferential or intuitive way as with a piece of art.
Graphic designers seek to solve a problem for the client, we employ a methodical process with consideration to the communication objective or brief for the project in combination with aesthetic design principles, audience empathy, creative problem solving, accessibility considerations, and any technical or logistic constraints, to achieve clear, concise communication for the client.
Because the design process is not well understood, it can be that the client themselves is not aware of the problem to be solved. A graphic designer will gather as much information as possible from you about your project’s purpose, intended audience and desired outcomes, about your brand and how this project relates, about competing communications in the market, project timeline, platform, format, budget, and other constraints. They may also share strategy insights based on their marketing experience.
Designers will research the market and the target audience to find out preferences, characteristics, trends, drivers, and visual language suited to your project.
At project commencement your designer will gather assets and ask for content, for example your logo in vector format and images in high resolution, your content in clean editable text or tables, and a licence to use your preferred fonts. These things you might have on hand already, or else might need to be sourced or created. Designers may advise about copyright, best practice and specifications for different items and platforms, and liaise with your signage, print or web contractors.
During the project, designers will devise a collaborative process for sharing visual concepts and receiving feedback via filetypes or platforms that may involve some education of the client. The project may involve multiple rounds of amendments and multiple stakeholders or unplanned changes in timelines, deadlines, scope or formats.
Within the technical aspects of a graphic design project, the designer considers colour management, the limitations and requirements of print and other production process, digital file size and optimisation, minimum sizes for fonts and line thicknesses, and suitability to various platforms or real life applications.
It’s also worth noting that graphic designers generally maintain up to date skills on industry level software across 5-10 different expensive subscription programs alongside familiarity with more common office software, and their hardware is probably quite new and high end to deal with the demands of graphic software, as well as maintaining backup storage and large file transfer options.
My little niece could have designed that
I, personally, am all for encouraging emerging designers, in fact any students interested in a collab, please reach out! So-called simple design solutions can look deceptively effortless once they are solved, that’s what makes them so elegant and appealing, and a naïve style may be just what’s needed to fit the brief. Talk to your niece, is there a rationale behind their design decisions? Can they show you a mock up or some market research to support their concept direction? Have they addressed the details in the brief? Can they show how it supports your brand? Can they supply the project to the required technical specifications? If your niece can do all these things, then she’s probably a graphic designer.
So, do graphic designers just make things look pretty – or not?
While visual appeal is a core aspiration for graphic designers, prioritising functionality to meet the brief requirements and communication objectives takes precedence. These days the surge in social media marketing has intensified the need for captivating, branded content and emphasised the need for eye-catching design to sustain audience engagement amidst a deluge of compelling material.
Ultimately, graphic design is not just artistic expression, it is a professional service which entails comprehensive business acumen, including customer care, financial viability, and operational sustainability to ensure we’re still around when you need us.
If you have a thing that you want to look pretty, get in touch and let's have a chat about how we can make it happen.
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