17 Essential Graphic Design Skills Every Designer Should Know

Published: September 28, 2023

Graphic designing is a hot-take industry in today’s time. It is a very potential and lucrative option to start earning big today. However, more than just becoming a graphic designer is required.

Having the right set of graphic designing skills will help you become aware of visual styles.

Graphic design is one of those industries that is here to stay and the experts at BrandVillage have some of the best graphic designers in Melbourne.

Who are Graphic Designers?

Graphic designers are creative professionals skilled in visual communication. They employ both artistic and technical abilities to produce compelling designs that effectively convey messages to their intended audience. These professionals create various materials, including logos, brochures, websites, and advertisements.

The role of a graphic designer entails-

• A deep understanding of client and organisational needs
• Conducting thorough research
• Brainstorming innovative ideas
• Developing preliminary sketches and mockups

They use advanced graphic design software to refine these ideas into finished projects.

Graphic designers need-

• A keen eye for aesthetics
• A solid grasp of design principles
• The ability to manage time effectively, often working within tight deadlines and budget constraints

They are employed across diverse industries such as advertising, marketing, publishing, and web design, operating either within dedicated in-house teams or as freelancers handling multiple projects concurrently.

Essential Skills for Graphic Design

Establishing yourself as a graphic designer in the market requires you to have the right set of skills. This will be essential in understanding how to design a logo.

Our professional graphic designers are trained in tools and soft skills that have helped them create a mark in the industry. Below are some of the important skills you need to acquire as a graphic designer to excel in the industry:

1. Creativity

You know the drill.

Creativity is one of the most important skills that you need to have to become a graphic designer. If you’re not creative, you’re not winning.

As a graphic designer, your prime role will be developing new ideas and innovative business designs to capture audience’s attention. A graphic designer is one of the most important and creative assets in any company. You must tap into the creative resource properly to be able to deliver. You should know what medium you will be working on and how.

2. Communication

Graphic designers need to be very thorough with their communication skills.

Not only do you have to sharpen your skills as a speaker, but also as a listener. Communication is the key to understanding what exactly your clients require.

You need to listen well to your clients to process the feedback. When you communicate with your clients properly, you can explain the design elements properly. Effective communication ensures that designers can translate technical jargon into concepts easily understandable by clients, avoiding miscommunications and ensuring that client visions are accurately realised.

3. Typography

Not only writing but making the fonts visually appealing is also critical. Professional designers would agree on how much of an impact typography can have on the design.

Fonts have become highly accessible in today’s time. Properly trained graphic designers can easily understand the difference in typography. Depending on that, they will be able to use the complimentary logo colours.

Trained and skilled graphic designers are aware of different fonts. As a result, depending on the different business requirements, they can include the fonts with colours accordingly.

To build strong designs for clients, graphic designers should possess basic branding and typography skills. It’s crucial for them to conduct company research and understand elements of a client’s brand, such as colours, fonts, graphics, and logos, to convey the preferred messaging and reach the target audience effectively.

Typography skills are vital for choosing and creating well-crafted fonts using essential techniques like line-height, tracking, spacing, and layout.

4. Colour Theory

Colour theory explores the interaction of colours and their impact on emotions and messages. Graphic designers must understand colour theory to produce effective designs. Mastery of colour selection and combination is key to crafting visually appealing designs that successfully communicate the intended message.

5. Composition and Layout

Composition and layout form the backbone of graphic design, focusing on the strategic arrangement of visual elements such as text and images. A solid understanding of design principles like the rule of thirds, balance, and negative space is essential. These concepts ensure that the designs are not only aesthetically pleasing but also effective in conveying the intended message harmoniously.

6. Interactive Media

Interactive media has become one of the most important aspects of graphic design. As an aspiring designer, you need to acquire this skill and hone it with time.

Interactive media is an umbrella term comprising all media the user can engage with. It can range from moving images, texts, animations and more.

When training to become a graphic designer, you must expose yourself to as many interactive media as possible. This will help you understand different media types and eventually include them in the design for your clients accordingly.

7. Branding

Branding is one of the most important skills for graphic designers.

As a graphic designer, when you’re familiar with branding, you can understand the client’s needs. You need to understand your client brands to cater to their needs.

Branding is a key part of graphic design, with entire agencies dedicated to this discipline. It encapsulates a company or product’s values, strategy, and identity in the consumer’s mind.

Graphic designers must be familiar with the five key parts of a brand’s anatomy: the brief, the brand strategy, the brand values, the brand ideas, and the brand identity. This comprehensive understanding helps them to not only grasp but also enhance the business’s unique qualities through various design elements like logos, colours, typography, illustration, and photography.

Additionally, social media branding and graphic design are intrinsically linked. Efficient branding choices are crucial as they impact how well a brand’s message is communicated across different platforms. A critical aspect of branding is the Tone of Voice, which involves ‘designing with words’ to shape the brand’s identity and ensure consistency across all communications. This skill is vital for engaging the intended demographic effectively and ensuring the brand’s values and messages are conveyed consistently.

8. Coding

Being proficient in coding has become a basic requirement for most graphic design jobs. When working on different tools, you must be familiar with coding to work on colour grades.

Although you don’t have to be excellent at coding, basic HTML knowledge does not harm anyone.

Being familiar with coding can help you understand how a website is created. Eventually, you can learn the fundamentals of C++ and Java to make a mark in the industry.

Since many graphic designers may build and update web pages, possessing basic coding skills is invaluable. A fundamental understanding of Java and HTML languages is a great start for entry-level graphic designers. Those who know more advanced coding languages can design well-made, functional websites that will impress clients.

9. Creative Apps

There are a lot of creative apps that graphic designers need to be familiar with.

As a graphic designer, you must start learning free graphic design apps. Once you establish yourself, consider moving to expensive and advanced creative apps by Adobe and other leading companies.

Graphic Designers work with a variety of tools, including essential software like Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, and Sketch. Those designing for the web would also benefit from learning to code and understanding programming languages such as HTML and CSS, as well as content management systems like WordPress.

10. Designing for Print

Designing for print remains essential despite the surge in digital media. Graphic designers must be adept at preparing designs for printing, understanding different printing methods such as offset and digital.

They need to be familiar with printing terms like bleed, crop marks, and ink limits. Designers should also know about file formats and colour systems such as CMYK and PMS, and be knowledgeable about paper types, sizes set by ISO standards, and special finishes like hot foiling. Mastery of these elements ensures high-quality print outputs, which are crucial for both client satisfaction and designer reputation.

11. Strategy

Graphic Designers are adept strategic thinkers, tasked with integrating design elements to convey messages effectively while adhering to design standards. Their process includes market research, brainstorming, thumbnailing, idea development, and design evaluation.

12. Problem Solving

Design briefs are often viewed as problems needing solutions, where the right design addresses a client’s communication needs. Graphic Designers employ problem-solving skills throughout the design process, often revising and troubleshooting to meet client expectations.

13. Time Management

With the challenge of juggling multiple projects simultaneously, Graphic Designers must excel in time management. They handle competing deadlines and prioritise projects efficiently, ensuring they meet all client timelines.

14. Digital (UI, UX, Sketch)

Digital design, once considered niche, has emerged as a crucial and dynamic component of the graphic design industry, focusing on User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX). UI concentrates on the visual aspects of digital products, while UX emphasises functionality and user interaction.

Modern digital designers must master both fields to create compelling designs. Key tools like Sketch facilitate UI and UX design, web and app development, and team collaboration, highlighting the indispensable role of digital skills in a graphic designer’s toolkit.

15. Design Principles

Alignment, repetition, contrast, hierarchy, and balance are fundamental design principles every graphic designer should master. Here’s a breakdown:

• Alignment enhances the unity and sharpness of a design.
• Repetition strengthens a design by linking separate elements and fostering associations.
• Contrast effectively emphasises and impacts a design.
• Hierarchy organises content.
• Balance offers stability through symmetry or elements’ dynamic tension.

These principles are critical for creating designs that are not only visually appealing but also well-structured, ensuring legibility and viewer comfort. They should be employed collectively for the best results.

16. Stay Updated

The graphic design sector is dynamic, constantly evolving with new trends and technologies. Staying current is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge in the industry.

17. Critique and Feedback

Building resilience to critiques and feedback is vital for professional growth. Constructive criticism is key to refining your skills and enhancing your work.

Conclusion

Becoming a graphic designer is no child’s play. Not only do you have to dedicate years of effort, but you also need to be diligent and gain experience. Thus, professional graphic designers with extensive experience in the industry charge so much.

Every brand needs a graphic designer who will help to elevate their efforts. If you’re a brand in a growing stage, you need designs that will not only win the trust of your audience but also let you build a new strong customer base.