Web design and graphic design - two peas in a pod, right? Well, yes - somehow - but not really. While both fields have developed dramatically in the last couple of years - for example, web design requiring less and less coding experience - they are just as different as when the terms were first coined.
What Is Web Design?
As the best web designers in Tampa and Fort Lauderdale in 2024, we've decided to outline the distinction between web design and graphic design. If you’re an aspiring web/graphic designer or a client who needs these services, this article can help you understand each field, and respectively, what exactly you need for your business!
In short, knowing more about web design and graphic design, even if your professional connection with them is limited, can help you develop personally and career-wise.
Web design refers to everything that is created (designed) to be used on a website - from early stages, such as ideation and production, up to regular updates and maintenance. In short, web design produces designs and layouts used solely in an online environment - on a website. Everything you see on our website that makes it readable, functional, and accessible is done by a web designer.
As such, web design can sometimes get a bit too technical for people who are generally passionate about design. This happens because, besides visuals and aesthetics, a web designer must take into account user experience as well, usually being tasked with testing the platform’s usability and functionality. In some cases, web designers may also be tasked with certain SEO and front-end development aspects as well, although these two are generally in a separate category when it comes to job positions.
By definition, web design incorporates UI design, UX design, authoring (both proprietary software and standardized code), SEO elements, and a big chunk of web graphic design . However, while the role can be seen as broad, it usually implies collaborating with multiple other specialists to guarantee that both the technical and visual aspects work seamlessly together.
How Did Web Design Develop?
Web design started at CERN - yes, the CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. In fact, if not for CERN, you wouldn’t be able to read this very text. Why? Because one of CERN's employees created the World Wide Web.
We’re talking, of course, about Tim Berners-Lee, an English computer scientist. The origins of web design can be traced back to his work when he developed a global hypertext project that would later become the WWW . At the time, the web was only text. Later on, the Mosaic browser appeared, having been created by Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina. It introduced web design elements in the form of images and sounds, more or less as we know them today.
Technically, web design stemmed from the constant improvement sought after regarding web browsers. People wanted to do more with them than just display text. The results are known by any web designer around - JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and other programming languages, which make the web design job overall more permissive and easier.
What Is Graphic Design?
Graphic design can be seen as more complex than web design, but it actually encompasses elements of the latter, more or less.
Specifically, graphic design is a field responsible for visual content - in the form of images, layouts, shapes, typography, and such - that has the purpose of sharing certain messages or ideas with a target audience effectively and clearly to make people actually stop and read that ad instead of scrolling down or swiping next. Graphic design is a combination of design and art.
Unlike web design, graphic design is mainly used for print - posters, product packaging, magazines, etc. - and has little to no technical aspects like the ones we can see in web design. However, graphic design concepts may be used in web design, as it has a rather interdisciplinary nature. In short, it’s used in a myriad of fields and domains - it can be seen as pure visuals that help any technical concept convey a message in a perfected manner.
For example, one could look at the early days of the World Wide Web as pure web design - numbers, tables, lines, and nothing more. It lacked the sophistication of graphic design, a sophistication that later gave birth to UX and UI design.
You see - everything is interconnected, as both web designers and graphic designers usually have some UX and UI knowledge, even though these are just related areas of work, and these roles are usually filled by other employees within larger projects.
How Did Graphic Design Develop?
Graphic design in its simplest form is often thought to have originated from the earliest cave paintings discovered by humanity. Some link these with graphic design due to its definition - it’s used to convey messages and communicate. It is believed that primitive people shared things through their paintings.
On the other hand, the start of modern graphic design probably occurred at the end of the 19th century, with a printing method that’s appreciated to this day - lithography. However, you may come across graphic design enthusiasts claiming xylography is the start of graphic design. All points are solid, as the distinction between fine arts, art in general, and graphic design has become quite blurred in recent decades.
The truth is that graphic design as we know it today was shaped by the development of mass communication methods and, obviously, by the Industrial Revolution itself. It was in the late 19th century that graphic design became an official profession.
Nowadays, graphic design concepts are used in the creation of websites as well. Every visual element you see that is meant to communicate something - everywhere, offline or online - pertains to graphic design, as the field itself has expanded significantly thanks to the dynamic transformations of the digital age.
Now that we have gone over web and graphic design basics, as well as their origins and a bit of history, let’s see what exactly web and graphic designers do.
What Does a Web Designer Do?
A web designer creates websites, outlining their design, layout, and other features, including the font and brand colors. Web designers may also work on logos and images if needed, create design mockups, take care of UI and UX design, and improve speed and performance via optimizing web design elements. However, it’s essential to mention that the web designer role also implies coordinating with graphic designers.
For complex, more elaborate projects, the web designer may have little to do with the visual elements of a website. Instead, they’ll work more on refining the structure and layout. In this case, a graphic designer may be the one to create the visuals - banners, images, and so on. In the end, it all depends on the project and its scope.
Nowadays, the role of a web designer might feel overly simplified, thanks to the emergence of so many no-code platforms and website builders . However, an experienced web designer will almost always master JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, as these offer them the chance to further customize the end product without being limited by a simple, visual website builder.
Specifically, a web designer:
- Understands the client’s wishes and creates a plan for translating them into a website design;
- Transforms the initial design into a functional, stable, pleasant website that works properly on all types of devices (smartphone, desktop, tablet);
- Chooses or implements a color scheme that adheres to (web) design good practices;
- Designs - and maybe even codes - the navigation of a website (including buttons);
- Creates mock-ups of pages, features, or the entire website for the client;
- Solves usability and functionality issues that impact the website’s performance;
- Updates the website and runs regular maintenance on it.
- Works closely with back-end developers, graphic designers, and other field-related employees;
These are some of the key responsibilities of a web designer when the role is limited to web design only. In certain cases, as mentioned, web designers may undertake SEO or programming tasks.
What Skills Does a Web Designer Need?
Generally, a web designer needs to have a good grasp of visual design, UX and UI design, as well as knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Of course, they must also know their way around essential industry software, such as the Adobe Suite, for example.
What Does a Graphic Designer Do?
A graphic designer creates visual concepts that convey a message or share information with a target audience. Their role implies a broad range of visual media, such as digital, print, and many more.
It’s essential to note that a graphic designer can specialize in different artistic directions , being more flexible when it comes to the finished product. On the other hand, a web designer, while eventually coining a personal style, will adhere to a vast majority of web design practices that cannot be easily altered or changed due to usability and functionality constraints.
We mentioned that graphic design encompasses web design. Berkeley College (and not only), sees things from the same perspective, separating graphic design into multiple types - publication and typographic design, illustration, game design, packaging design, motion graphics and animation, advertising and marketing design, UI and interactive design, and naturally web design.
In other words, a graphic designer may choose to specialize in web design throughout their career; in this case, graphic design becomes the foundation of and the underlying basis for the practice and development of web design.
Specifically, a graphic designer:
- Understands the client's wishes and translates them into visually appealing ideas;
- Creates everything from posters to logos, images, typography, web graphics and more;
- Creates graphics and visual elements for both print and digital mediums;
- Works closely with marketing teams to ensure that the final visual elements are designed accordingly based on the target audience.
We’ve mentioned fewer key responsibilities for a graphic designer mainly because the role is, well, much broader. If the designer chooses a specialization that narrows their work to one niche, the responsibilities become more specific.
What Skills Does a Graphic Designer Need?
Generally, a graphic designer must have artistic skills and a clear understanding of advanced design principles, UX design, fonts, and typography design. Graphic designers also have knowledge of color theory and photo editing, as well as a multitude of digital skills, including but not limited to software (Adobe Suite) and programming (CSS, JavaScript, HTML).
Web Design vs. Graphic Design - What Are the Key Differences?
So, all in all, what are the key differences between web design and graphic design? We’ve mentioned them below, as we think they’ll make things much clearer in terms of what both web design and graphic design are responsible for.
For example, one major difference relates to typography, specifically in its limitations. Web designers are limited to using fonts and other typography-related features that will be displayed to all users; otherwise, the website won’t be displayed as needed. Graphic designers working for print, on the other hand, can fully unleash their creativity and create a unique font for every project they work on.
Here are some other major differences between web design and graphic design:
- Software - while both mediums make use of Adobe Suite, for example, web design implies using dedicated web building software, while graphic design can be completed from start to finish within Photoshop or Illustrator.
- Client relationship - both web and graphic design imply revisions to the initial design, but the results of graphic design, once printed, are final. On the other hand, the results of web design - a website - must be maintained and updated frequently to keep its functionality and usability intact, which implies a lot of communication with the client upon project submission.
- File requirement - print graphic design equals high quality, hence a bigger number of pixels. Usually, the constraints are flexible and determined by the client. Web design, on the other hand, has technical limitations that change the file size, type, and quality, as the result is functionality-driven.
- Interaction and design finality - to keep it short and simple, web design is interactive and changing frequently, as mentioned above, especially when the user interacts with it. Graphic design, on the other hand, is static - once printed or used, it stays the same.
In conclusion, web design and graphic design are the same… but different. From afar, they are quite similar, both implying creativity and a strong grasp of UX and visual design concepts. However, it’s essential to remember that web design is generally considered a graphic design specialization that implies studying and exploring technical matters related to a website, such as programming, among many others.
