Picture this: you’re planning to travel and need a place to stay. Confused, you go on to book your stay on Airbnb. When you enter the website, your entire experience is effortless. You easily navigate through the digital design.
Now, imagine you grab a Coca-Cola can on the way there – that bold red color probably crossed your mind just now. Its classic logo is an instantly recognizable design. Those eye-catching visuals have been around for decades. This was possible through graphic design.
What do both these brands and all other businesses have in common? They rely on design. But between Airbnb and Coca-Cola, it’s used in completely different ways.
One leans on digital design to deliver a smooth user experience. The other leans on graphic design to build a strong brand identity.
So, between digital design vs graphic design, what’s the best, and which should you choose? Read our blog to break the confusion down!
What is Digital Design?
Digital design is any design that you can interact with on a digital device. An easy example of this can be UI and user experience (UX) design.
In digital design, you can create:
- Mobile and desktop applications
- Websites and social media graphics
- Motion graphics and animations
- Interactive infographics
Creating user interfaces for apps, games, and websites is also a part of digital design. Digital designs specifically consider aspects like device responsiveness, user experience, and interaction.
What are the characteristics of digital design?
Digital design combines creativity with user experience (UX) design. They connect with users due to this quality.
Digital designs are of various types. So, they can have various qualities and characteristics. However, these are consistent across any kind of digital design:
- Interactivity: Being able to engage with content by clicking or scrolling is interactivity. In digital designs, interaction is the top characteristic because it lets users explore the design. Due to this, it focuses on usability and user experience.
- Device Responsiveness: You’ve probably felt frustration over a website you opened on your phone. Why? Because this website didn’t adjust to your mobile screen. However, digital designs deliver a good device-responsive experience adjusting to any screen.
- Motion & Animation: Digital designs are meant to look and feel alive. This is because they aim to deliver an engaging experience. Digital designers do this by adding animations and micro-interactions for users to enjoy.
- User-Centered: Good digital design prioritizes usability. When creating software, digital design follows UI/UX principles. They help ensure that layouts and elements are placed intuitively for better navigation and engagement.
- Adaptability: Digital designs can easily be tested and optimized by creating UX wireframes. By conducting A/B testing and using heatmaps, designers can improve the user experience (UX) design. This adaptability helps improve UX.
In digital design vs graphic design, digital design makes it fun for users to interact with visuals. For digital designers, it’s fun to create these visuals!
What is Graphic design?
Graphic design is a way of communicating ideas and messages through visuals. It’s a way to express your ideas digitally. Graphic designs are often found in print form.
With Graphic design, you can create:
- Logos and magazines
- Game designs
- Detailed illustrations
- Theater posters
Creating packaging styles for products is also a part of graphic design. In digital design vs graphic design, the latter excels in various industries. In 2021, the global graphic design market was valued at approximately 45.8 billion dollars.
What are the characteristics of graphic design?
Graphic designs have the ability to create memories with visuals. Think about Coca-Cola’s red, eye-catching logo design. It instantly comes to mind.
We see graphic designs in print form around us almost every day. Digitally, we come across graphic designs in games or websites. Here are some characteristics of graphic design:
- Balance and Alignment: Graphic designs are meant to convey messages and ideas to resonate with people. This is why they visually balance most aspects to appear appealing.
- Contrast: You’ll often find several colors and size differences in graphic design. It’s like a form of free-flowing expressive art. This contrast in text and size helps create emphasis and guide the viewer’s eye.
- Hierarchy: It’s an arrangement pattern that naturally directs the viewer’s eye to the important parts first. Graphic design uses hierarchy to create visually impacting designs that often stir emotions.
- Memorability: For brands, graphic design is distinctive yet easy to remember. This memorability makes it a perfect choice for logos and branding items. This ensures that users instantly associate the visuals with the brand.
- Movement: Have you ever looked at a design that felt almost alive? As if it had an aura of its own. This is often seen in graphic designs through positioning and contrast. It naturally leads the viewer’s eye across the visual.
In digital design vs graphic design, creating compelling graphic designs can be both fun and time-consuming. However, graphic design is a beautiful form of digital art that sparks innovation. Graphic designs convey deep messages and ideas capable of making an impact on audiences.
Digital design vs graphic design: What’s the difference? (with examples)
You have an idea about the characteristics, yet they sound similar. Both digital design vs graphic design are a part of our daily lives. They seem identical but serve different purposes.
Think of digital design as an interactive website. Now, imagine graphic design as an eye-catching printed magazine. Aren’t both visually appealing? Yet, they’re functioning entirely differently. Let’s break these differences down:
Interactive vs Static
A key difference between both is interactivity. Digital designs are generally interactive because they allow users to feel in control, impacting the user experience. Graphic designs aim to create movement within, without interactivity
Example
- Digital design: Imagine you visit a dynamic website. Here, you came to learn general knowledge facts. The website lets you click and interact with the objects. You can easily scroll and click the buttons, having complete control over the commands.
- Graphic design: Now, compare that to buying a new book. You visit the bookstore, and a stunning poster captures your attention. You can touch it, but you can’t interact with it. But the appealing visuals and colors create an impact within you.
Digital designs focus on interactive visuals. Graphic design focuses on static visuals.
Screen vs Print
Most businesses need to utilize both print and screen designs to publicize their brand. Digital designs exist entirely digitally. On the other hand, graphic designs aim to be present in the physical form. This is a major difference between digital design vs graphic design.
Example
- Digital design: So, you’re planning to start a business and want a website for it. That’s how you will establish your online presence. You’ll get a digital designer to create the site’s interactive design. Now, you have a digitally designed website for your business.
- Graphic design: After this, you need design to represent your brand’s identity. Hence, you get a graphic designer to create your business cards, logos, and brochures. All these are print elements.
Digital designs exist on the screen. Graphic designs are found in printed, physical forms.
User-friendly, visually appealing, and conversion-driven your perfect UI/UX starts here!
Responsive vs Fixed
Ever opened a website or app on both desktop and mobile phone? You probably noticed one of the two things: it adjusted to the screen sizes effortlessly, or it didn’t. The aspect of making adjustments possible is device-responsiveness. Automatic responsiveness isn’t achievable with graphic designs.
Example
- Digital design: Think about digital billboards. You can find them in different sizes and see their layout change based on the display size. This is because they were digitally designed. A large digital screen can show an advertisement with detailed visuals and text easily. It can even adjust to different screen sizes automatically.
- Graphic design: Similarly, think of the same ad on a billboard. The designer can only create it for the specific size given. This way, it will only be displayed in those exact dimensions. To create a different size of the ad, the graphic designers will have to redesign it.
Digital designs are adaptable and flexible. Graphic designs are fixed and precise.
No Motion vs. Motion
In both digital design vs graphic design, movement plays a key role. However, there’s a major difference in how both do it. Both engage audiences with the use of different elements. This could be motion or contrast.
Example
- Digital design: You’re hungry, so you go to the nearest restaurant. Here, the waiter gives you a digital menu where items pop up as you scroll down. In the middle, you’ll find a GIF that brings the brand to life. This is the power of digital design
- Graphic design: The restaurant could also have a beautifully designed, static menu. However, the use of deep hues and contrasting typography gives a sense of motion within. When it’s paired with visuals, the static design comes to life.
Digital designs use motion to create movement. Graphic designs create movement through cues like contrast and hues.
Both digital design vs graphic design take a different approach. Whenever you flip through a magazine or use an app, you witness the power of design in action.
When to Choose Digital Design?
When any of the following are your priority, you should aim for digital design.
Interactive, Dynamic Content
If your design requires user interaction and animations, digital design is the best choice. You can map out the user journey by creating UX wireframes and map flows. This will allow you to create digital design for interactive content.
Designing for Websites and Apps
This isn’t just limited to a website or app. It’s also about designing for social media or other platforms. Digital design is best when you want to create things like highly-performing presentations or visuals.
Regular Updates and Adjustments
If you plan to update and modify your design from time to time, digital design is the way to go! Its flexibility allows designers to stay updated with trends. This makes it ideal for changing and evolving content.
Continuous Multi-Platform Experience
Digital design is the optimal choice when you want your content to be easily accessible through different devices. In digital design vs graphic design, digital design ensures a smooth user experience across distinct screen sizes.
When to Choose Graphic Design?
When any of the following are your priority, you should aim for graphic design.
Print and Static Visuals
Graphic design is an amazing choice when you want high-quality physical visuals. With it, you can design posters, advertisements, and magazines that have the perfect layout. The typography and colors are amazing, too.
Branding and Identity
When you start a new business, establishing a strong brand presence should be your priority. This requires well-designed logos and business cards. Graphic design makes this possible and helps them convey a professional image.
High-Quality, Separate Visuals
Sometimes, you need detailed illustrations for projects. These could be illustrations and infographics that you could need for a presentation. Generally, you need high-quality images, and graphic design will make it possible.
Physical Marketing Materials
From packaging material to billboards and flyers, graphic design covers all. Graphic visuals can be printed in different materials, making them diverse. It guarantees that all physical marketing materials are striking and effective.
Create Impacting visuals with Linkitsoft
Making high-quality visuals both digitally and graphically can create a lot of difference. Hopefully, you’ve decided by now which one to choose.
However, you need an experienced designer to build these compelling graphics. At Linkitsoft, our professional designers create engaging digital and graphic designs. We can provide you with the expertise you need to make an impact.
Why us?
Linkitsoft prioritizes high quality and high performance when creating and developing designs. Our designers ensure that:
- The visuals are eye-catching and converting
- You’ll get high-quality graphics
- The designs will be responsive and adaptable
Get in touch with us. Let’s create digital vs graphic designs that can communicate your ideas. Create an image for your business with us.
