Web design and graphic design tend to be confused for each other. They both have design in the name, right? They both involve creativity, they both require an understanding of design fundamentals, they both work on the computer. Aren’t they the same thing? Why would one choose web design versus graphic design?

The truth is that while web design and graphic design both fall under the general category of visual design, they’re actually quite different and have different purposes.

What Is Web Design?

Web design is the process of creating a website and designing how it looks. Web designers are responsible for finding the balance between appearance and function in a website. No one is going to stay on an ugly or confusing website, but they won’t stay on one that doesn’t have any content either.

Web designers organize content to be both visually appealing and optimized for search engines. They make sites look good, but they also make sure that they work on mobile devices as well as computers. Websites rely on code for creation and to run right, so web designers need to know coding so that the design they have for a website will actually come out right. Essentially, web design is as it sounds: designing a website.

What Is Graphic Design?

Graphic design is the creation of graphics. Graphic designers are the ones responsible for taking an idea or message and finding a way to convey it through graphics. Hence the name: graphic design. If you want an ad that sticks with someone, you’re going to need a good graphic designer.

Graphic designers present ideas through design with the use of typography, art, color, and more for a variety of items. These include: logos, prints, posters, layouts, catalogs, business cards, letterheads, brochures, and more. They’re also behind branding. Graphic designers need to have an understanding of visual art and layout and other design fundamentals, and use creative software like Photoshop to make their graphics.

How Are They Similar?

Because web design and graphic design are both subsets of visual design, they do have similarities. Both web and graphic designers learn the same design fundamentals: typography, color theory, layout, etc. They both require creativity, as design in and of itself is a creative process. As time goes on, design standards and expectations evolve, which means that something that looked good eight years ago can look terribly out of date now. As such, web and graphic designers need to stay on top of the latest trends.

What’s The Difference With Web Design Versus Graphic Design?

While web design and graphic design have similar roots, they’re by no means the same. They do different things and have different freedoms and restrictions. Because web design is online, it’s more interactive and on-going than graphic design tends to be. You can update a site, but you can’t change something already printed – only print a different version.

Web design is more technical and restricted in how typography is used, while graphic design is more artistic and has more freedom in how it uses fonts. Web design takes a lot of information and can spread it throughout a website. Graphic design can’t do that, because it adapts information to pamphlets and the like, meaning that there’s less there. They require different skill-sets and the nature of the jobs and their end products is not the same.

How Do They Work Together?

If you’re reading this and thinking that there must be a competition with web design versus graphic design, that isn’t so! Web design and graphic design can be confused for each other because the fields can work collaboratively. For companies with a foot in both traditional and digital media, they’ll want to hire both a web designer and a graphic designer. 

A web designer will provide an aesthetically pleasing and functional website, and a graphic designer will provide distinctive branding and eye-catching graphics for products and marketing materials. Together, a web designer and a graphic designer can create a good-looking, professional image for a company.

Do You Need Help With Web And Graphic Design?

Here at Performance Driven Marketing, we offer both web design and graphic design, and can help you build a beautiful website and eye-catching branding. We also offer a number of other services, such as content writing, internet marketing, and more. If you have any questions, contact us at Performance Driven Marketing today!