Graphic Design Companies: An Introduction
Whether you are a new or established business, employing the services of a graphic designer can successfully transform your corporate image. Graphic designers can help you choose the appropriate media and style for your company, which will assist the formation of your corporate identity, creating a visual brand or logo.
Graphic Design Company Basics
The term graphic designer can be used to describe a wide range of positions, and they can be referred to, amongst other things, as a professional graphic artist or a communication designer. When searching for a graphic design company you may find that the industries which they are involved in are termed graphic design or graphic arts. In the case of web graphic design, a designer, sometimes referred to as a ‘webmaster’, is used to create websites. Designers in this field will be required to have specialised and up-to-date knowledge of web design technologies and scripting languages. It may be useful to note that some web design companies ensure that they code to the latest standards, so that web content is accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities.
Artists or designers in these industries create graphic designs through the use of images, typography, animation, film media, sound, colour and ‘white space’. Although some may specialise in a certain field, such as product design or illustration, it is not unusual for a graphic designer to draw on a variety of media, including photography and computer-aided design (CAD). Furthermore, electronic media packages and design programmes are often used by graphic designers as most design work is now completed by a computer.
Hiring Graphic Designers
A company might approach a graphic design agency for a number of services. You may require a designer to aid you with a point of purchase (P.O.P) design, which refers to brochures, flyers, or newsletters and so on. Graphic design companies can create the design for printed materials, such as letterheads, business cards or envelopes. In addition their expertise are used for printed marketing collateral design, online advertising, product packaging design, typesetting, illustration, computer games, or exhibitions and displays. These types of graphic design do not have to be separated though; depending on the designer or design company any number of these can be used according to the needs of your project. This can be useful when aiming to integrate and unify your corporate image.
When approaching an individual designer or company, you will need to define your time scale and budget, and have prepared the brief for the design or project. It is important that you consider the following criterion: what is the message you are trying to convey, who is the target audience, and how will the message be received by that audience. The graphic design or logo is supposed to help you capture the identity of your business; therefore it is important to know what this is, and how its reception will impact upon your company. With any form of communication, textual or visual, there are social and cultural considerations that need to be accounted for.
Depending on your experience, you can choose to supply the images, copy or text, or just the concept for the design. Most business graphic designers offer bespoke designs, based upon your requirements and the brief given. A design brief will be created through research and information gathered, and the end design produced will be influenced by information received from marketing and finance departments.
Most work undertaken by a graphic design company is project based. This means that there is an organisational structure that the graphic designer belongs to, and it is usual for a graphic designer to work alongside other people, including copywriters, web developers or account executives, in order to supply artwork or ideas that will help accomplish the overall brief of the project. Also, graphic designers may consult with publishers and printers in terms of considerations for the paper, cover stocks or printing processes, where appropriate.
Working With a Graphic Design Company
Communication is integral to the success of your relationship with a graphic designer. It is important to discuss ideas honestly, and you should expect to meet more than once with a graphic designer to hone your concept and the designer’s interpretation and delivery. If you are unsure of the image you are trying to convey, a graphic designer can help give visual form to your idea or concept.
As with many marketing related industries in the UK, the majority of graphic design companies are based in London. However, this needn’t impact upon the success of the relationship, and you will find that many companies have an online portfolio of their previous projects. It is also useful to know that when searching for a graphic designer UK based designers may be employed by a graphic design company, or they may be self-employed or freelance. Depending on your requirements from the partnership, you may want to take this into consideration and decide whether a freelance, self employed or design company would be most suitable.
