Graphic Design.
Businesses have seconds to grab their audience’s attention and encourage users to learn more about what they offer. The visual appeal of graphic design can help them to do just that. In order for graphic design to be successful, it must incorporate the following principles…
Usability.
Successful graphic design encourages interactions with the user. No matter how beautiful the design is, it needs to be designed with the user’s interactions in mind. It needs to be easily to use; as obvious as that may sound, oftentimes graphic design becomes so complex users are deterred from interacting with it or your business. In the beginning stages of graphic design, designers must ensure the designs work for users, then add complexity and features later on.
Utility.
Graphic design serves a need. Graphic design should solve a problem for the users, and be significant in their creations. Just like how all features of your design must be usable to your users, each must also be purposeful in its design and solve a problem. In other words, graphic design, like the overall product, must be useful to users. If not, they become superfluous to the product itself.
Desirability.
Desirability reflects a user’s motivation to interact with your product. With the implementation of mobile, the concept of desirability has grown. Users are able to interact and manipulate products in ways they weren’t able to before. Because of this, desirability is more than how the aesthetic makes a user feel about a product, which is how it was defined before. Now, desirability is determined when users are driven to take action through design. By driving users to take action through these elements, users are more inclined to use your product.
Below are examples of my recent graphic design work that incorporate these principles.
The Letter Project.
In 2016, I volunteered at The Letter Project as their social media and design intern. During this time, I helped curate the content for the website and designed the original logo, which you can see here.
To learn more about my experience as an intern with TLP, click the button below.
Business Postcard.
For my Capstone course, each of us had to design a “post card” that acted as an advanced version of a business card. Along with our name, title, and contact information, we also included our skills, strengths, interests, and whether we preferred to work with a client or specific technology. To learn more about the project I worked on for this course, click the button below.
Business Card.
I designed my own business card that reflects my personal brand as well as incorporates professional elements. This distinguishes me from others, while also appealing to my target audiences in the industry. While the design is unique, it’s clear and simple - allowing for readers to gain the information they need and intrigue them, but not overwhelm them.
