The Basics of Graphic Design

It’s no secret that graphic design has a large part to play in the success of an online business (or even a brick and mortar business with an online presence). Graphic design affects the way that users and potential clients interact with your website and, ultimately, the way that they interact with your business.

For this reason, the importance of graphic design cannot be overstated. These days, it is simple enough to outsource your graphic design needs to either individual freelancers or to dedicated graphic design and marketing companies. However, it is beneficial to have an understanding of the basic elements and goals of graphic design in the context of e-commerce, marketing, and in the success of your website.

Graphic Design Basics

The basic elements of graphic design are thankfully not difficult to grasp. Every product of graphic design, whether a print advertisement or the layout of a website, considers similar elements. These include aspects such as line, color, space, and balance. Lines can improve or detract from your goal by dividing spaces and drawing the eye to a particular part of the landing page.

Color helps to create a particular mood for your site, and can actually tell a story when used with other elements. Space on a page is most commonly filled up with other elements of graphic design, yet can be used creatively in introducing negative space for a simplified and clean look. Utilizing negative space effectively can help to create a much better user experience, and even better conversion. Finally, balance is an important factor for websites in particular, and requires a balance of asymmetry (for an eye catching landing page) and symmetry (for easier navigation).

Ensuring that a website is in alignment with these basic elements of graphic design is crucial for the success of your web presence. Similarly, ensure that any graphic designer has an understanding of what you are looking for in these elements for a better overall experience.

Graphic Design and Business

Just as with any aspect of business, it is important to have specific goals for your design projects. Whether it’s the creation of a new logo or the renovation of your existing website, nearly all graphic design projects have similar goals: it should simplify, organize, and capture. First of all, great e-commerce businesses use graphic design to make interacting with their websites as simple as possible. Visual cues are just as important as text in this case, and can go a long way in making your website quick and easy.

Second, there ought to be a very clear map for interacting with your website – your visitors should know where to look next, without even realizing it. For an example of great visual organization, look at the front page of a newspaper. Finally, great design captures a user’s attention. Users tend to skim, so make sure to include only the most important information on each page, sticking to the main concept rather than getting bogged down in detailed copy. Achieving these three goals is tantamount to success.