Graphic design is the creation of visual compositions to solve problems and communicate ideas through typography, imagery, color, and form.
Though they often overlap, each type of graphic design requires specific sets of skills and design techniques. Many designers specialize in a single type; others focus on a set of related, similar types.
The 8 fundamental types of graphic design are:
- Visual identity
- Marketing & advertising
- User interface
- Publication
- Packaging
- Motion
- Environmental
- Art and illustration
1. Visual identity graphic design
A brand is a relationship between a business or organization and its audience. A brand identity is how the organization communicates its personality, tone, and essence, as well as memories, emotions, and experiences. Visual identity graphic design is exactly that: the visual elements of brand identity that act as the face of a brand to communicate those intangible qualities through images, shapes, and color.
Visual identity design is one of the most common types of design. Visual identity graphic designers must possess a general knowledge of all types of graphic design to create design elements that are suitable across all visual media. They also need excellent communication, conceptual and creative skills, and a passion for researching industries, organizations, trends, and competitors.
2. Marketing & advertising graphic design
When most people think of graphic design, they think of designs created for marketing and advertising.
Companies depend on successful marketing efforts to tap into their target audience’s decision-making process. Great marketing engages people based on the wants, needs, awareness, and satisfaction they have about a product, service or brand. Since people will always find visual content more engaging, graphic design helps organizations promote and communicate more effectively.
Examples of marketing graphic design
- Postcards and flyers
- Magazine and newspaper ads
- Posters, banners, and billboards
- Infographics
- Brochures (print and digital)
- Vehicle wraps
- Signage and trade show displays
- Email marketing templates
- PowerPoint presentations
- Menus
- Social media ads, banners, and graphics
- Banner and retargeting ads
- Images for websites and blogs
3. User interface graphic design
A user interface (UI) is how a user interacts with a device or application. UI design is the process of designing interfaces to make them easy to use and provide a user-friendly experience.
A UI includes all of the things a user interacts with—the screen, keyboard and mouse—but in the context of graphic design, UI design focuses on the user’s visual experience and the design of on-screen graphic elements like buttons, menus, micro-interactions, and more. It’s a UI designer’s job to balance aesthetic appeal with technical functionality.
Examples of user interface graphic design
- Web page design
- Theme design (WordPress, Shopify, etc.)
- Game interfaces
- App design
4. Publication of graphic design
Publications are long-form pieces that communicate with an audience through public distribution. They have traditionally been a print medium. Publication design is a classic type of design—think books, newspapers, magazines, and catalogs. However, there’s recently been a significant rise in digital publishing.
Examples of publication graphic design
- Books
- Newspapers
- Newsletters
- Directories
- Annual reports
- Magazines
- Catalogs
5. Packaging graphic design
Most products require some form of packaging to protect and prepare them for storage, distribution, and sale. But packaging design can also communicate directly to consumers, which makes it an extremely valuable marketing tool. Every box, bottle, and bag, every can, container, or canister is a chance to tell the story of a brand.
Packaging designers create concepts, develop mockups, and create print-ready files for a product. This requires expert knowledge of print processes and a keen understanding of industrial design and manufacturing. Because packaging design touches so many disciplines, it’s not uncommon for designers to find themselves creating other assets for a product such as photography, illustrations, and visual identity.
6. Motion graphic design.
“Motion graphics designer” is a somewhat new specialty for designers. Formally reserved for TV and film, technological advances have reduced production time and costs, making the art form more accessible and affordable. Now, motion graphics is one of the newest types of design and can be found across all digital platforms, which has created all sorts of new areas and opportunities.
Examples of motion graphic design
- Title sequences and end credits
- Advertisements
- Animated logos
- Trailers
- Presentations
- Promotional videos
- Tutorial videos
- Websites
- Apps
- Video games
- Banners
- GIFs
7. Environmental graphic design
The Environmental graphic design visually connects people to places to improve their overall experience by making spaces more memorable, interesting, informative, or easier to navigate. Environmental design is a broad type of design, here are some examples:
Examples of environmental graphic design
- Signage
- Murals
- Museum exhibitions
- Office branding
- Public transportation navigation
- Retail store interiors
- Stadium branding
- Event and conference spaces
Wayfinding is a specific type of environmental graphic design that consists of strategic signage, landmarks, and visual cues that help people identify where they are and where they need to go so they can get there without confusion.
Types of graphic design example: stage design
Adobe Summit 2018 via Angela Fisher and Steve Gustavson types of graphic design example: building design Via Artur Busz.
8. Art and illustration for graphic design
Graphic art and illustration are often seen as being the same as graphics, however, they’re each very different. Designers create compositions to communicate and solve problems, and graphic artists and illustrators create original artwork. Their art takes several forms, from fine art to decoration to storytelling illustrations.
Even though graphic art and illustration are not technically types of graphic design, so much are created for commercial use within the context of design that you can’t talk about one without the others.
types of graphic design example: illustration design By subzero
Examples of art and illustration for graphic design
- T-shirt design
- Graphic patterns for textiles
- Motion graphics
- Stock images
- Graphic novels
- Video games
- Websites
- Comic books
- Album art
- Book covers
- Picture books
- Infographics
- Technical illustration
- Concept art
Applications
It can have many applications, from road signs to technical schematics and reference manuals. It is often used in branding products and elements of company identity such as logos, colors, packaging, labeling, and text.
Skills
A graphic design project may involve the creative presentation of existing text, ornament, and images.
The “process school” is concerned with communication; it highlights the channels and media through which messages are transmitted and by which senders and receivers encode and decode these messages. The semiotic school treats a message as a construction of signs which through interaction with receivers, produces meaning; communication as an agent.[citation needed
Tools
In the mid-1980s desktop publishing and graphic art software applications introduced computer image manipulation and creation capabilities that had previously been manually executed. Computers enabled designers to instantly see the effects of layout or typographic changes and to simulate the effects of traditional media. Traditional tools such as pencils can be useful even when computers are used for finalization; a designer or art director may sketch numerous concepts as part of the creative process. Styluses can be used with tablet computers to capture hand drawings digitally.
Related design fields
User interface design
Since the advent of personal computers, many designers have become involved in interface design, in an environment commonly referred to as a Graphical user interface (GUI). This has included web design and software design when end-user interaction is a design consideration of the layout or interface. Combining visual communication skills with an understanding of user interaction and online branding, graphic designers often work with software developers and web developers to create the look and feel of a website or software application. An important aspect of interface design is icon design.
User experience design
User experience design (UX) is the study, analysis, and development of creating products that provide meaningful and relevant experiences to users. This involves the creation of the entire process of acquiring and integrating the product, including aspects of branding, design, usability, and function. UX design involves creating the interface and interactions for a website or application and is considered both an act and an art. This profession requires a combination of skills, including visual design, social psychology, development, project management, and most importantly, empathy towards the end-users.
Experiential graphic design
Experiential is the application of communication skills to the built environment. This area requires practitioners to understand physical installations that have to be manufactured and withstand the same environmental conditions as buildings. As such, it is a cross-disciplinary collaborative process involving designers, fabricators, city planners, architects, manufacturers and construction teams.
Experiential graphic designers try to solve problems that people encounter while interacting with buildings and space. Examples of practice areas for environmental graphic designers are wayfinding, placemaking, branded environments, exhibitions and museum displays, public installations, and digital environments.
Occupations
Graphic symbols are often functionalist and anonymous, as these pictographs from the US National Park Service illustrate.
Career paths cover all parts of the creative spectrum and often overlap. Workers perform specialized tasks, such as design services, publishing, advertising, and public relations. As of 2023, median pay was $50,710 per year. The main job titles within the industry are often country-specific. They can include graphic designers, art directors, creative directors, animators,s and entry-level production artists.
A graphic designer typically reports to the art director, creative director, or senior media creative. As a designer become more senior, they spend less time designing and more time leading and directing other designers on broader creative activities, such as brand development and corporate identity development. They are often expected to interact more directly with clients, for example, taking and interpreting briefs.
