If you find yourself asking about the difference between web design and graphic design – or whether there is a difference at all – I understand why. There seems to be a significant overlap in what graphic designers do versus web designers. However, there are some nuances in these roles, and understanding the difference between web design and graphic design can help you better understand whom you’ll need to hire to achieve your goals. Additionally, a clear understanding of web design versus graphic design can help you set more realistic expectations about what to expect from each.
What is Web Design?
At its core, web design refers to the process of thinking, planning, and in some cases, creating the visual elements of a website. There is also a User Experience aspect to web design, where web designers take on the responsibility of ensuring that the site not only looks great but functions smoothly as well. In my experience, a web designer should have an understanding of User Experience. If they don’t, you run the risk of having a website that looks beautiful but is completely non-functional. And that’s a problem.
When we talk about web design, we’re typically not referring to the software development aspect, but rather, the work that designers do to make the site look beautiful and functional for visitors. Web designers do crucial work because without them, your site won’t attract visitors. Furthermore, web designers are trained in what makes a User Interface (UI) appealing and user-friendly, so they know how to craft a site that feels comfortable for users to navigate.
Ultimately, web design involves making significant decisions that affect the overall feel and function of the site, along with smaller decisions, such as the design of the navigation menu. Because the success of web designers can impact the overall success of your site, hiring a team you trust to deliver outstanding work is absolutely essential. (By the way: if you’re wondering how web designers use artificial intelligence, I’m here to help you.)
What is Graphic Design?
Graphic designers convey concepts through a mix of text and visual elements. Ultimately, the purpose of this is to tell a story. And that’s what graphic design does: it tells a story.
Graphic designers can create content for the digital world, like a website, but it’s not a requirement. For example, a graphic designer could be tasked with developing visual imagery for an article in a print magazine. This is not to say that graphic designers only create for print – we have graphic designers here at HubSpot who create digital content all the time.
As a graphic designer, your job is to convey the story you want to tell for your whole company – all while making it visually appealing. Because of that, being a graphic designer requires a strong understanding of typography, color theory, visual hierarchy, and beyond.
Are There Similarities Between Web Design and Graphic Design?
Hopefully, those definitions provide additional insight into what web design versus graphic design entails individually. If you’re still unclear whether there are any similarities between web and graphic design, that’s okay! I’m here to help you understand this better.
There is only one true similarity between web design and graphic design, which is that web designers and graphic designers are both creative roles focused on delivering visually appealing and easily digestible assets to the viewer. However, that’s really where the similarities end and the differences begin.
What
What is the difference between web design and graphic design?
There is not just one difference between web design and graphic design – there are many differences. As you will see, there are more differences than similarities. Really, the way I describe the difference between web design and graphic design is that web design is concerned with how things work, while graphic design is concerned with how things look. Here’s what I mean by that.
Graphic design is not interactive like web design. Graphic design is static or non-interactive. Because of this, success in graphic design requires a different skill set than web design. The reason for this is that web designers have to build something that users need to interact with. Graphic designers do not need to do that – they need to create visual assets that can be understood and appreciated, but interactivity does not matter. In short, graphic designers do not care about user interface or user experience, but web designers do.
Graphic design requires different tools than web design. Therefore, graphic designers and web designers do not use the same tools. Some commonly used tools by graphic designers include Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign. Conversely, this software is almost useless to web designers, who usually have a strong understanding of HTML and CSS, and in some cases, JavaScript. Web designers might use Figma or Adobe Dreamweaver or other tools that enable them to accomplish the task.
Graphic designers do not typically work with a web development team. Unlike web designers, who work closely with the web development team, graphic designers may not have any interaction with developers, even if they are working on the same project. While web designers need to collaborate with developers to understand the details of the site they are designing, graphic designers, in many cases, have less need to collaborate with this team.
And this is not to say that graphic designers work in isolation, as that is not necessarily true. They may need to work with the advertising department in their company to develop advertisements, or collaborate with other marketers to discuss a rebranding and the implications that has on visual assets developed.
The web designer’s job does not end when the site is published, whereas that typically ends when the graphic designer’s visual assets are completed. Web design is very dynamic – meaning that as a web designer, you may need to revisit the project later. (Think about it: when you receive feedback from testing that a feature is not as intuitive as you thought, or if your company decides to redesign the site in the coming years.) Conversely, graphic designers do not have the ability to revisit their work in the same way, as the images they create are generally static.
Graphic designer vs. web designer: Who should you hire?
As you can see, when comparing graphic designer vs. web designer, there is not really any overlap in these roles except that individuals in these positions are creative people tasked with developing visual assets. As a result, there is not really a question of whether you should hire a graphic designer vs. a web designer – likely, if you are just starting to build your business, you will need the services of both. Below are some examples of when you should work with a graphic designer vs. a web designer.
Work
Work with a web designer if you are building a new website or application.
Work with a web designer if your company is redesigning itself and updating the website.
Work with a web designer if you want insight on how to make your website more navigable for users.
Work with a web designer if you want to rework your navigation menu to make it more intuitive.
Work with a web designer if you want to ensure your website design is easy to comprehend.
Work with a web designer if you have a website, but feel it doesn’t meet expectations in terms of design.
Work with a web designer if you are unsure whether your current site aligns with your creative brand vision.
On the other hand, here are some cases where you will be better off collaborating with a graphic designer.
Work with a graphic designer to build an advertising image on Instagram for a new product you are launching.
Work with a graphic designer to create a new logo for your brand.
Work with a graphic designer to create printed mail that you will send to your clients.
Work with a graphic designer to create a graphic for a blog article.
Work with a graphic designer to create a featured image for your website’s landing page.
Remember how I mentioned earlier that graphic design is concerned with how things look and web design is concerned with how things work? These examples give you a better understanding of what I mean.
Web Design vs. Graphic Design: More Differences than Similarities
As you now know, when comparing web design vs graphic design, there are more differences than similarities. Graphic designers and web designers play crucial roles, but this role is more different than it is similar.
Source: Madison Zoey Vettorino, December 12, 2023
Source: https://blog.hubspot.com/website/web-design-vs-graphic-design
Leave a Reply