Graphic designer vs. web designer, which one do you need?

Graphic Design and Web Design may seem like they are basically the same. While both require a good understanding of typography, graphics, and design principle, web and graphic design are different pursuits with different areas of expertise.

What Does a Graphic Designer Do?

Graphic design is the process of visual communication and problem-solving using one or more typography, photography, and illustration. Therefore, graphic designers create and combine symbols, images, and text to form visual representations of ideas and messages. They use typography, visual arts, and page layout techniques to create visual compositions. In most cases, graphic designers do not code websites.

Graphic designers are experts at all things visual. They use tools like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to craft images for the web or print.

They can also create the design for a website or app but may require the skills of a web designer or another kind of developer to make it come to life.

What Does a Web Designer Do?

Web designers are the architects who work behind the scenes to design and make websites function. They often code websites in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

In addition to this, they also are masters of usability, able to make a website just as legible and load just as quickly for a smartphone visitor as someone on their desktop computer.

While some web designers can also design graphics, and most can create a layout or a wireframe for a website. Generally, they rely on graphic designers to create the visuals.

What kind of designer do I need?

What kind of designer you need depends on your project? In some cases, you can get the job done entirely with just a graphic designer or a web designer. While in other cases, you will need both types of designers to bring their skills together to make your project come to life.

In summary, graphic designers do all things visual, while web designers are more about making things function on the web.

Hopefully, this quick guide helped you learn whether you need a graphic designer or web designer.