Many things can be said about design and its different areas of work, but everyone should tell the difference between a visual designer vs graphic designer. This article will work on the differences between them so it is recommendable a read to clarify some doubts. While graphic designers and visual designers may seem like similar roles, there are some key differences between these two positions. If you are considering a career in design, you must understand these differences so that you can choose the job that best suits your interests.
Description of a Visual Designer
First of all, we should define what each of these roles is all about. To do so, here is a separate description of them. Unlike graphic designers, visual designers focus entirely on digital media. They are responsible for designing the look and feel of the organization’s online presence. Visual designers are also known as the problem solvers of the design world as they build the organization’s design strategy and determine what goes into the brand’s voice. While graphic designers aim to convey a specific message in each project, visual designers have the goal of conveying a specific brand voice across digital platforms. The deliverables that visual designers are normally expected to produce include icons, logos, and presentations.
Description of a Graphic Designer
In this part, we will proceed to go deeper into the graphic design area and its main characteristics. The goal of a graphic designer is to communicate an idea to customers through the use of text and images. This job has been around since before the latest digital innovations. Graphic designers have traditionally focused on producing content for print media. Examples include magazines, brochures, and catalogs. They are also used for producing advertisements. When doing their work, graphic designers are in charge of selecting the fonts, colors, pictures, and words that they use when delivering their message to readers.
Given that web design has become a widespread form of communication, graphic designers have expanded into new service offerings such as web design. Many graphic designers are now capable of designing a website. Today, knowledge of web design is just as important to graphic designers as their traditional areas of knowledge.
Visual Designer vs Graphic Designer: Similarities
In this section, we will put focus on stating the things that both roles have in common, especially the skills that both positions require and that you should have if you are considering following a career in one of these design areas. Because both of these professions focus on aesthetics, they are often confused with one another. The lines between the two professions are becoming blurred in recent times due to the popularity of communicating over the internet. With graphic designers moving towards web design, a lot of the work they do overlaps with the functions that visual designers perform on digital platforms.
While the specific goals and job duties of graphic designers and visual designers differ, there is significant overlap in the skills needed for both positions. Here is a list of skills that visual designers and graphic designers meaning for success.
1. Passion for Design and Art
Clients will benefit far more from the graphics and artistic themes created by a designer who has a deep passion and respect for art. Visual designers and graphic designers work in and highly creative industry. They aim towards creating exciting, beautiful, vivid, moving, or emotion-evoking imagery every day. Their passion for designing and creating art is crucial to their job satisfaction and success in their careers.
2. Time Management
Strong time management refers to a person's ability to schedule and plan their time so that they are efficient and productive. Both visual designers and graphic designers work to meet strict deadlines from their artistic directors or client companies. Their jobs may include multiple tasks, and people in these roles should be able to prioritize, schedule and think strategically about how to create convincing imagery and visual schemes on time or early.
3. Creative Problem-solving
For both visual and graphic design positions, creativity is an integral element of the job. People who are looking for employment in these types of roles are accountable for developing design solutions that meet the needs of their team leaders, project managers, and the clients they serve. Companies hire both of these kinds of professionals to solve problems and originate innovative and appealing artwork and graphics.
4. Visual-spatial Intelligence
Visual-spatial intelligence refers to a person's talents and abilities in perceiving and comprehending the visual world around them. It quantifies a person's creative and analytical skills regarding size, shape, depth, visual balance, and overall aesthetic intrigue. Visual-spatial intelligence is important for people in design roles, as the creative and artistic components of graphics and other imagery are significant parts of the overall success of a design project or piece.
5. Effective Communication
The creative needs or stylistic approach of a design project may change as time goes on. For a graphic arts company to maintain strong client relations, people on the design team may need to describe or communicate their artistic vision. They may also need to have conversations with clients and client representatives to assess and meet those changing needs. For success in these types of circumstances, a person needs to show respect and use active listening skills, both of which are part of a person's ability to communicate effectively.
6. Marketing Expertise
Marketing is a set of promotional activities or processes that corporations use to promote brand awareness and generate revenue. The overarching creative vision and the individual graphic images that designers produce for their employers or their client companies are crucial to marketing campaigns. Each campaign has a unique set of goals, and the emotional impact of the imagery and graphics used in marketing and advertising material contributes to those objectives being met.
Final Thoughts
Here is all the information that you need about a visual designer vs a graphic designer. Now that you do, it is time for you to think about which one you prefer in terms of your skills, wishes, and ways of working.