GRAPHIC DESIGN VS WEB DESIGN: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

Often the terms Graphic Design Services and web design spell a lot of confusion in the design industry as both are associated with art, design, graphics and creativity. So much so that, a lot of people use the terms interchangeably. However what many of us don’t know is that both these roles are entirely different. While tools used for both are almost the same, they both indicate an entirely different profession.  This blog attempts to clear the confusion between graphic designing and web designing and explains differences between the two.

What is Web Design?

Web Design as the term suggests involves skills associated with designing websites.  It involves designing graphics, interface design, designing UI, UX etc.  This also requires some knowledge of coding for websites. A web designer need to pay attention to the file size, resolution etc as the websites need to load faster for a good user experience. Therefore the job of a web designer involves more than just designing and graphics.

Also check: 10 Trusted Graphic Designers in Canada

 What is Graphic Designing?

Graphic Designing basically refers to images, typography, layouts etc that is then used in brochures, flyers, digital ad copies, manuals and all forms of branding materials. These can then be used in published, print and also on websites.

Also check: Web Design Trends for 2020

Difference between Graphic Designing and Web Design

Now that we know what web and graphic design means, let’s take a look at some of the main areas of difference between web and graphic design.

1: Visual Elements – Visual elements like colours, fonts and graphics is where the major difference between web and graphic design lies. To begin with, the colour code of graphic designers and web designers are completely different. Graphic Designs follow the CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key or black colour obtained from mixing the other three colours) colour code as they are meant mostly for printing purposes. Web Designs on the other hand follow the RGB (Red, Green and Blue) colour coding.

Similarly when it comes to the choice of fonts, Graphic design has a wide choice and can take up any font as they don’t have to worry about file size etc. Web design on the other hand has much more limited scope when it comes to choosing the fonts as they have to keep the HTML characteristics in mind and also take care not to put too much pressure on the server. All the fonts in web design are therefore based on the default font of the user’s operating system.

2: Unit Size – Graphic design uses the concept of physical sizes such as centimetres, millimetres etc while web design uses pixels.

3: Presentation – Graphic Design is static as it has its origins in print. It is an assembly of images, texts, fonts etc to tell a story or communicate a message. Web Design on the other hand is more dynamic. Like Graphic design, it does involve creative assembly of texts, images, layouts etc in such a way that users can interact with or participate in.

4: Concerned with load times and file sizes – More than anything, web designers are haunted by massive file sizes including graphics, animations, and videos etc which in turn take hours to load thereby hampering the user experience. Graphic designers have none of these worries to bother about. They are simply concerned about creating good visuals which captivate the audience.

5: Specifications – Graphic designers work with concrete specification like dimensions etc. Web designers, on the other hand have no set specifications to work with and need to consider scale. Web designers need to ensure that all elements like visual elements, typography, images etc get scaled up and down to fit the screen size so that it is clearly readable without appearing crammed. They are not defined by canvas size but have to consider all ways a site will be displayed.

6: Role – Graphic designers role ends once the creative is delivered for final usage. They are not really concerned with the application of it. The role of a web designer on the other hand never really ends. Its continual. Web design is all about optimization, upgrades, content editing etc. For instance with time, CTA may be added, certain texts, images may be added to enhance user experience and increase conversions. It keeps on changing from time to time depending on how users interact with the site. Thus the role of web designer never really ends.

Therefore it is clear that both graphic and web design are entirely different disciplines with different areas of expertise although their boundaries overlap. It is essential to understand the importance of each area as both serve different purposes and are useful in their own right.

Also check: Back To The Future: 5 Cool Old-School Web Design Trends in 2019

Author’s Bio:

Anupam Rajey

Anupam Rajey is a seasoned marketer and a sales expert. He is the CEO of Acelerar Tech, a leading KPO that offers Image Editing Services and eCommerce Virtual Assistant and more.