Long before computers were invented, graphic design by way of the hand has been around and thriving. Although graphic design as a discipline is fairly new, the word having only been invented around 1922, throughout humankind’s history, the process of cooperation between a client and a designer to form art that conveys a message is ever present. Such is the very nature of graphic design – to be informative and to open the audience’s eyes to a particular idea or expression. Examples, visual communication, include poster making, logos, seals and fonts. Designing these involves skills necessarily honed and improved over time.

One skill important to graphic designers is proficiency in the visual arts. The art they produce, whether traditional or computer-generated, is primarily visual, and so are the audiences – therefore they must be able to utilize their designs in a way that would be pleasing and memorable to the target audiences’ eyes. Another one is proficiency in typography, or the art of designing, modifying and arranging type glyphs. This deals with the font designs in the produced art too, which especially needs to be understood by the audience. Properly arranging the type characters ensure that the message is conveyed the best way possible.

Of equal note, or perhaps more so, is the page layouting. Page layout is a major concern in graphic design, be it hand copied books, print media, digital advertisements or magazine layouts. As said earlier, page layout may be the most important part in the design process – who would want to read something that induces a headache by its swirl of unintelligible colors, images and text? If the mission is to communicate a message, having below average layouts are a definite setback. Making sure that the page is easily understood and not in anyway cluttered and messy is a responsibility that is ever on the shoulders of a talented graphic designer.

Like the page layout, which is its counterpart in print, interface design is also an integral part in graphic design. The explosion of the Internet brought about a lot of changes in different disciplines, where they also have to focus in designing interactive websites and software. Logo designing also falls in this section. Another important skill would be chromatic, or the organization of color in print and screen. Coordinating color, especially in the case of computer monitors is essential to ensure the target audiences’ continued patronization.

Through the ages, designing has taken many different forms, transforming to meet the demands and the needs of the people, its targeted audience. Utilize the technologies available in our times today – traditional pen and paper methods are still important, of course, but computer mediated designing is becoming more widespread day by day. Practice skills that help hone the technical and artistic skills, but also remember to stimulate the mind, probably the most important tool for graphic design. Let imagination and inspiration take over. Observing other designs will also help a lot in improving the skills needed in graphic designs.