What is Graphic Design?

Did anyone ever asked you what is graphic design and you didn't know what to answer? Or on the other side, have they told you many things about and ended with a messy definition of graphic design? Keep reading so you will know a defined concept about this topic and have it clearer.

My Way to Design

Since I was a child I have always liked to draw. It has been one of the hobbies that has survived (although not very well) into adulthood.

Wanting to be a better cartoonist - or a professional one - led me to study graphic design, like many colleagues I know and have met both on the Internet and in real life. Although in this case, I studied a technical career.

I learned about shapes, I learned about software, marketing, even a bit of accounting things, but pretty little about drawing. And as I progressed, I realized that, while it's a useful skill, it wasn't actually vital to graphic design.

Fundamentals of Design

A few years ago, I was presented with a new opportunity to go back to studying the degree also in a technical way (since I never graduated from the previous one and also wanted to update my knowledge). In that period, several events occurred that changed my perception of design:

• To begin with, I discovered the book Fundamentals of Design by Wucius Wong. Just with the first few pages, I discovered what the general concept of design was about: solving problems whose product is something useful.
• Then, I discovered a YouTube channel called Marco Creativo owned by Marco García. It's mainly focused on the training and design processes of branding, which inspired me to continue on the same path.
• From my teacher at that time, I learned that graphic products should be made to "sell", since, theoretically, we do not design for our clients but for our clients' clients.

Redefine Graphic Design

At the end of 2019 (I guess), I discovered another YouTube channel called FOROALFA in which Luciano Cassisi talks about more technical topics of graphic design, branding and graphic communication. From there I got several premises that completely changed the concepts I had previously.

• One of them is that the graphic designer's job is not really to sell, it's to design: to create something useful. If you want to sell a product or an idea, it's better to go with a publicist or a marketer, since that is his job.
• Another of the premises I obtained is not to give your work for free, much less make it cheap. Doing so would not only devalue your work and prestige, but also those of your professional colleagues.

What's Graphic Design About?

To conclude, answering the question that gives the tittle to this writing and is the reason why this website exists, what is graphic design?

"We can define that graphic design is a professional discipline based on graphic communication, whose function is to solve a need by developing a product that provides a utility."

As a final note, although our work is to solve problems, it's worth knowing something about Marketing. It can be a good added value to your service, but most of all to be able to sell your service. Having a job and providing a service is pointless if you don't have clients.

It's also useful to know a bit about administration and accounting, especially if you are going to be a freelancer and do not have the budget to hire someone to provide these services.

“Graphic design is not what you see, but what you have to make other people see.”

                                                                                                   -Edgar Degas, painter