5 things to keep in mind when moving from graphic design to web design
Who is a graphic designer?
Graphic designers combine text and images to create layouts and layouts. It is your responsibility to create interesting designs that attract the attention of your viewers and effectively communicate your message. The message can be intended for both online and offline audiences. Simply put, graphic designers are concerned with the appearance of objects. It’s about making static designs as appealing to the eye as possible. There are many branches of graphic design and many designers specialize in creating a category of work, such as movie poster designer Raj Khatri, while others prefer to do a little of everything.
Who is a web designer?
Web designers are broadly divided into UI and UX designers. User interface designers are responsible for the way the design of an application or a website, that is, the interface looks to the audience. While user experience designers are more concerned with what happens when one interacts with the interface. Together, they both work to achieve how the product feels. Their goal is to maximize the simplicity of the product. They refine and iterate to create the best possible experience for users.
As you can see, graphic designers are different from UI / UX designers in terms of both their process and the end result. There is no doubt that UI / UX designers are currently in the highest demand in India. They bridge the gap between how things look and how they work; and they are at the forefront of creating great products for people in the technological age. On the other hand, the market for graphic designers has stagnated a bit and the job market is shrinking for them compared to the more technologically relevant designers.
In fact, many graphic designers are making the switch to become web designers. Are you too eager to make the change? Here are five tips to keep in mind when moving from graphic design to web design;
1. Don’t be the expert
The best web designers are the ones who don’t have all the answers. Eh what? The key is to understand that all customers are different and one solution will not work for everyone. You need to understand exactly what designs they need and create them for them. Often giving them an answer will not be enough. You will have to do your research and give clients the reasons why their answer is correct. Be prepared to be stumped every day and have to work hard for every change you make, because you will need to adapt to customer needs in your designs.
Good web designers always start with the basics, always planning ahead while working, and creating wire schemes for their designs. Rough is the keyword here, as many designers often put too much effort into making their wireframes look pretty and lose focus on their purpose. This is a very important point for graphic designers, as aesthetics take a back seat when it comes to creating wireframes. This does not mean that you should waste your creativity, but you must learn to focus and use it in the right places.
2. It is a science as well as an art
Being a web designer, you must embrace the product thinking. Being a web designer means understanding that designs overlap with product management, as no one can design an intuitive user interface for a product that they have no idea about.
Research and user testing are an important part of web design. Your intuition, as well as all kinds of biases, should never get in the way of the design process. This means that you will have to conduct interviews, studies, consultations and tests to validate your design and make sure it is intuitive for your users.
It is a scientific approach and you must understand that in web design the definition of beautifull it is what makes users feel good while navigating their interfaces and not what is pleasing to the eye. To achieve that, you must not only be good at art, you must also understand the science behind it all.
3. Design for information
One of the most important aspects of good web design has to do not so much with pixels, colors or typography, as with the content that is within your designs. People use websites and apps not because of their beautiful designs, but because they want easy access to content. When making the switch from graphic design to web design, one should keep this aspect in mind and make sure that the designs are as simplistic as possible. It is very important to make it as easy as possible for users to find the content they need. The entire interface should be logical in its arrangement and easily accessible to the end user.
4. Follow the guidelines, don’t make up your own
“Wait, you want the convention to go on!” Although this sounds like cyanide to graphic designers, it makes perfect sense when it comes to web design. Like programming, UI / UX design has guidelines, such as Google’s Material Design for Android or Apple’s iOS Human Interface Guidelines. And following them is essential to ensure that their design does not cause confusion in the minds of users.
If you completely break out of established patterns, you may experience a steeper learning curve for new users. Many of them won’t bother to figure out their design patterns and will move on to another website or app that conforms to what they already know.
However, this doesn’t mean you don’t have room for customization and unconventional design solutions. It does this to some extent, but unless you work at Apple or Google, reinventing entire design patterns that your users have already gotten used to is not recommended. It is not creativity but usability that is important in this field.
5. Play
While it is obvious that you will need to do as much research and read as possible about the world of web design, one thing that you often miss is that as a web designer you need to visit as many websites as possible. Many graphic designers feel that using a reference undermines their intrinsic creativity and therefore avoid using references for what they create.
Write down what you like about them and what you don’t. What differentiates them from their competitors? What makes it easier for you to access the content? Do you like that extra menu bar? How many clicks or actions does it take to get from one section of the website to another? All of this will help you a lot when you are designing your own websites, as you will be able to learn from what others have done and avoid the mistakes they made.
Conclution
If you are thinking of switching to web design, be aware that there will be radical changes in your work process and mindset. The hardest part of this transition could be changing your perception of the design and your goal.
So before outlining your first interface, try to put yourself in the user’s shoes to understand what you are looking for in the product and what your goals are. Then think of design as a way to help them achieve them. From now on, that’s your goal!
