I was going to write my first post on what exactly graphic design entails since I come across so many people who really have no clue what it is I do as a graphic designer. Instead, I am going to write about graphic design and how it compares to web design. I have become quite opinionated on this subject within the last year or two as I was job searching for a full-time graphic design position in my hometown of Bloomsburg, PA.
Bloomsburg, PA is a small town with not a whole lot of good opportunities for snagging a dream graphic designer position. Mix that with a troubling economy and job searching becomes the worst full-time job you have ever had! As I was job searching I kept finding companies that were hiring "Graphic/Web Designers". After a while I caught on to the fact that companies are downsizing and combining the workload of the web designer and the graphic designer into one position. Or they created this position from scratch with the idea that this combo "do-it-all" kind of position would save them tons of money. They would be right about saving money. However, for job searchers this can be extremely frustrating. First, web design and graphic design are traditionally two seperate majors in college and although they have many similarities, I vividly remember that when the web design majors at my college had to do a print project, they would use 72 dpi RGB images in their print pieces and wonder why they came out so blurry! No really, they did. It's not their fault though...they are web designers. I will argue that these two careers should not be combined and I will tell you why.
"What is graphic design?" People ask me this all the time. Usually I just reply something simple like "advertising" because I assume they do not really want to hear my go on about it is "all around you and on everything you buy". But really it is. Graphic designers are professionally trained in creative software programs such as Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop. They then use those programs to create logos, advertisements, business cards, billboards, invitations, packaging, and the list goes on. They are primarily trained in created print work, but may have some training in website design.
Web design seems the same on the surface but it is very different. Web designers design web pages utilizing HTML code, CSS, Flash, etc. Have you ever seen HTML and CSS? It is like a learning a whole other language! Web designers are very skilled at what they do and they are especially skilled at code. While they are typically very good at designing websites, they tend to have difficulty designing for print.Why? Because these are two different aesthetics that require different skill sets. What looks good on a screen, will not translate the same way onto paper.
In my opinion, companies should not be combining these two highly specialized positions into one because it is very hard to find someone who is just as good at graphic design as they are at web design. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but most graphic and web designers I have worked with would agree that we work best beside one another, helping eachother out, working as a team to build a quality branding and marketing strategy.
So if you or your company is thinking of hiring one of these "do-it-all" graphic/web designer positions, I would urge you to rethink that. I hate to see companies sacrifice the quality of their web designs because a graphic designer is more skilled at print work and vice versa. Even if someone does do both, you may see in their portfolio that one is stronger than the other. There are probably a few exceptions to this, but like I said learning html, css, and other similar programs takes a certain kind mind and skill set.
At Mallory Lynn Designs we are focused on print design. It is my love. I love websites too, and I can design them in Photoshop or Illustrator, but I prefer to help come up with design concepts and then work with a web designer to make it fully functional. I am inspired by web designers and I think they are often inspired by graphic designers. We are a team. We are like butter and toast, peanut butter and chocolate. We work well together. Why try to force us to be anything other than we are? Quality wins over saving money in the business world. In the end, your company will be more successful.
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