What is graphic design?

I sat down this week to define what graphic design is. Most people kind of know, like posters and computers right? I thought I knew. I probably know less now than I did before. To be honest, I shouldn’t be telling people what it is.

​

To put it as simply as possible, graphic design is the practice of using images and text to communicate messages. If that still sounds confusing, I can empathise but cannot help you. Believe me, I’ve tried.

​

There’s more to it, and it isn’t just one thing. Think of industries like advertising, UI/UX, web design, illustration, branding - you name it. They all incorporate graphic design. They all have messages that need communicating. Maybe they want you to buy something, or find the home screen, or just let you know they’re there. Always there. If there’s an image and some text, and you can see it, it’s probably you-know-what.

​

You may look at a poster and consider it art. In many ways it is. There are colours, there are images and it looks pretty cool. Yet what makes it graphic design and not art, then? Graphic design works with a purpose in mind - the poster has told you something, whether you realise it or not. If not, it’s probably a badly-designed poster. Nothing you see is ‘natural’ in a sense, it’s very much human-made. Purpose-built. I won’t even try to define what ‘art’ is - something to do with human expression and stuff. That’s all I’m going to say on the matter, I’ve said enough nothingness for one week.

Graphic Design & AI

There’s been a lot talk surrounding the future of the industry and the presence of AI. From what I can gather, dedicating a year to graphic design would rank very, very low on a recommendations list at the moment. Very low.

​

That being said, AI will never replace imagination and human nature, with it’s fads and trends and desire to be different. Just because a program can now rip-off a beloved Japanese animation studio doesn’t allow it to dictate what’s cool. Especially if it’s coming from not-cool Elon Musk & co.

I’ll talk about this another day, but the bottom line is Mr A. Intelligence won’t stop me from pursuing my interests. Don’t let it stop you either. Unless you love working on a factory production line, in which case you should try get that managerial promotion ASAP.

​

​

Moving on / Enough BS

In the process of sitting down to write this blog, and trying create a video explaining what graphic design is (unsuccessfully), I learnt a valuable lesson. My intention here was to maintain authenticity. Everything I say needs to be genuine, and I lost that in trying to explain something I don’t know enough about. That’s where I found myself scrambling for something to say, something that would be passable and I could tick a box with. Sitting down to write a full blog post on what graphic design is, without knowing for certain yourself, isn’t very genuine, is it?

All this is a learn-in-progress and I won’t try to pretend otherwise. What I can talk about, at least, is my own experience a week in to this venture. The excitement of uploading for the first time, the positive feedback and sense of movement, was a rush. It was a lot of fun. Last Sunday flew by; I brushed my teeth twice with no time in-between. Yet reality sunk in as the days went by and the year ahead is taking shape.

​

For anyone who posts online often, you’ll understand this feeling. Up until now, posting on Instagram was a yearly occurrence. I’d pop up, share my carefully-crafted little photo collection, get some comments and likes, get my dopamine boost, and that was that. Didn’t have to worry about it for another year. Now however, I’m popping up every few days and expecting the same reaction. It doesn’t work like that, especially using a new account.

​

Sharing online is like telling a joke on a work video call. You can see the reaction of those with their camera on, your friends will giggle and you might even get an emoji thrown in. Hell yeah. Yet all the muted little black squares remain reaction-less, and you hone in on the micro-expressions of colleagues you’ve never met before. You start to wonder if the joke was even funny, or what made you say it in the first place. Am I even funny? That’s where you’ve got to really back yourself, tell yourself that it was a good joke. Tell yourself you ARE funny, even if no-one else thinks so. YOU ARE FUNNY. And then you get on with it, thinking of the next hilarious contribution.

​

Consistency is key - irrespective of how good I think the content is. Yet, as this week proved, there has to be a level of quality to the work, otherwise it’s just not good enough. The novelty of being honest about shortcomings will eventually wear off, and I’ll be left coming short. Taking this content stuff seriously is tough, largely due to the stress you put yourself under. Instagram, or Youtube, or TikTok, aren’t knocking on your door giving you deadlines, you are. And the way the human mind is inclined, it’s difficult to satisfy your own expectations, certainly multiple times a week. I’m only a week in and I can sense that, and I think of those who’ve done this for years, who survive on it. Man, it’s a skill to remain that content. I AM FUNNY.

​

You have to put ego aside and just get on with it. Trust the process. It’s the only way to learn and develop. It’s the game. It’s the military training you sign up for. Remember to go outside, and think of other things. I’m only a week in and I’m already pulling up the serotonin boosters.

Above all else, remember to just enjoy it. In the world of metrics, numbers and insights it’s important remember that the comments and support come from real people, and to imagine how much that would mean if someone told you that in person. Make sure to appreciate all those little things, otherwise what’s the point of it all. If you haven’t noticed, this is now an Ivan-to-Ivan pep-talk. I doubt anyone gets this far anyway.

​

I will say, however, that overcoming that hurdle of sharing online has been awesome. I used to be so conscious of it and now that worry seems so trivial. If you want to share online, then do it. Take the leap. Set your own definitions of ‘success’, own goals to work toward. Just getting off the starting line has meant a lot to me and I’m proud of myself for doing so, even if the first week was, let’s be honest, a little bit shit.

​

That’s a wrap on week two. Only (endless) more to go. Believe and achieve. Married to the game. No prenup.

​

Ivan

(30.03.25)