Graphic Design Skills That Attract Clients

Essential Graphic Design Skills

Graphic design is a combination of art and technology, so graphic designers must have a deep understanding of design concepts as well as be skilled with design tools. But beyond that, they must also be equipped with both technical and soft skills since they will frequently collaborate with clients and colleagues on a variety of projects.

1. Technical Skills

• Mastery of Design Principles

A Graphic Designer must have a solid grasp of design principles. In every project they have to do, their tactful understanding of how to use various elements should be conveyed in the graphics.  To create aesthetically compelling and well-structured designs, graphic designers must understand how to incorporate colors, shape, line, typography, space, texture, etc.

• Ideation

Ideation is the creative process of developing, generating, and conveying fresh concepts.  Ideation entails several steps, including data analysis, development, assessment, and implementation.

• Branding

Graphic designers frequently create or manage the brand image for their clients or employers. When collaborating with a company, they must have a thorough understanding of what separates that brand from others. They must then carry that concept to life with colors, logos, illustrations, typography, and other graphic elements. Graphic designers must be able to produce graphics that are coherent across channels and relates to the appropriate audience.

• Typography

Typography is a crucial component of graphic design. Correct typography can convey meaning and evoke emotions, whereas inappropriate typography can be confusing or dissuading to customers. Graphic designers must be proficient in font selection, typesetting, spacing, monitoring, and leading.

• Designing for print

While graphic design is becoming more popular, designing for print is still a valuable skill to have. Graphic designers should be intimately acquainted with slugs, bleeds, fold, and crop marks, including ink limitations, dot gains, and clarity. They must also have a comprehensive understanding of various color systems, file types, paper measurements, stocks, and weights.

• UX and UI design

Graphic Designers with UX and UI skills can enhance their work and improve their competitive advantage.  Graphic designers with this type of graphic design skills can develop innovative designs that are not only functional but also visually compelling. Having UX and UI graphic design skills can help in communication with the audience.

• Technology

Graphic designers use a range of instruments on a daily basis, so they must master specific graphic design software. Graphic Designers should be well-versed with the following technology: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, and Sketch. More so, it would help if they know how to code and are familiar with programming languages like CSS and HTML, as well as WordPress. Knowing the aforementioned can be good when designing web pages.

2. Soft Skills for Graphic Designers

• Creativity

Graphic designers are constantly challenged to come up with new and original ideas. Their designs must capture people's attention while also conveying the intended message, which necessitates a lot of creative thinking.

• Communication

Because graphic design is a medium of visual communication, communication skills are essential to the work of a Graphic Designer. Graphic Designers must not only convey messages through their designs, but they must also connect with clients and colleagues. Designers may also need to describe a creative choice or rationale to people who do not have a basic design experience at times. 

• Strategy

Graphic designers must think strategically about how different design elements function together and how to best impart their significance while ensuring compliance to design standards. Conducting a survey, coming up with ideas, thumbnailing, and analyzing designs are all part of the process.

• Problem-solving

All across the design stage, graphic designers apply problem-solving skills. This could include trying to solve design problems or revamping designs to meet the needs of the client.

• Time Management

Graphic designers frequently work across multiple projects simultaneously and may face due dates from various clients. So a critical graphic design skill that Graphic designers must have is the ability to strategically plan projects in terms of priority and urgency and balance work schedules.

Visual Designer Vs. Graphic Designer

What is a Visual Designer?

As conceptual artists, visual designers develop comprehensive branding, story graphics, and artistic concepts for creative projects. Visual designers collaborate with clients to evaluate their market strategies, advertising initiatives, and branding goals. They develop detailed design schemes for visual design elements which are used across various media and platforms.

What is a Graphic Designer?

A graphic designer is a professional in the digital arts industry. They design visual graphics for businesses and organizations, and their work is mostly used in content creation, brand management, digital media, and other forms of advertising. Graphic designers create digital graphics, motion graphics, and visual elements to visually attract viewers and capture their attention.

What is the Difference between Visual Designers and Graphic Designers?

The main difference between visual designers and graphic designers is that visual designers generate artistic messages and visions for multiple components and initiatives across a wide variety of platforms and types of media, whereas graphic designers work to create individual illustrations within that vision.

A visual designer's goal is to evaluate customer needs, preferences, and intended outcomes in order to facilitate a creative connection and better customer experience. Client discussions are interpreted by visual designers, who then use that information to create a coherent and consistent artistic scheme for the illustrations and visual elements across a brand.

Meanwhile, creating comprehensive brand content and graphic images are the main tasks of graphic designers. Their goal, nonetheless, is to support established brand content through the styling of individual graphics.

How to Improve your Graphic Design Skills

1. Study Design Theory

Graphic design skills entail far more than merely arranging elements and seeing what looks good. Nonetheless, it is always beneficial to return to theory – and there is always something new to learn. While there are many opportunities to enter the industry without a college education, having a deep understanding of the fundamental concepts is the key to improving graphic design skills. Knowing in-depth about color theory, grid theory, and typography, among others, is a good foundation for graphic design.

2. Learn from Feedback

Learning to accept feedback is important for a graphic designer. It may be simple to set aside feedback from clients with the thought that they aren’t that well-versed with design, however, dealing with them can actually improve design skills. It allows evaluation of the design by closely looking into the project and being sensitive to the preferences of the client.

3. Recreate Designs for Practice

By trying to recreate different works of various artists, there is a gain of improving appreciation and learning new techniques. Although it is not encouraged to copy work and claim it as an original work, recreating it for practice can significantly help in enhancing graphic design skills.

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