Graphic designers are in huge demand nowadays. With more and more businesses investing in digital marketing campaigns, social media and building out visually appealing websites and mobile applications, more graphic design projects are popping up online now than ever before.
Whether you are a graphic design veteran or you have just completed one of the many brilliant online graphic design courses on offer across the globe, it’s essential that you do everything that you can to keep up with the latest developments in the industry, including technological advancements.
The field of graphic design is evolving at an incredible rate with new tools and technologies being made available all of the time. Emerging industry technologies have allowed graphic designers to explore new ideas and concepts, bolstering their production potential and paving the way for the delivery of innovative designs that will go on to alter the way we use digital platforms like websites and mobile apps.
Using the right tools will help you work more efficiently, and provide a high quality of work for your clients moving forward. This is precisely why it’s crucial that modern graphic designers take time periodically to assess and identify tools that will perfectly complement their workflow and design specialties. After all, as is the case with most disciplines within the tech sector, there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to graphic design.
Here are some emerging industry technologies and trends that all graphic designers should keep an eye out for.
AI In Graphic Design
Artificial Intelligence, or AI, has had a huge impact on many aspects of our lives, completely redefining how we complete certain tasks. With this in mind, it was only a matter of time before AI technologies entered the world of graphic design.
The growing prevalence of AI in digital advertising and graphic design can arguably be attributed to the need to boost the speed at which time-sensitive digital campaigns can be rolled out. Whilst graphic designers could likely create highly effective digital ads and landing pages with time on their side, the fact of the matter is that virtually all digital campaigns are backed by immense financial investments and as such, clients simply cannot afford to invest man hours into these tasks.
AI graphic design tools effectively help cut the set-up of digital campaigns and other graphic design projects neatly in half (and then some!), by using industry-specific templates to deliver designs with a high potential for conversion almost instantly. Professional graphic designers can then make tweaks to these templates in order to ensure that all produced work is tailored to suit the client’s needs.
Alongside AI graphic design tools providing templates for design professionals, these tools have also been foundational in the development of platforms like Canva, that boasts a huge online repository of icons, colours, fonts, and other design elements that graphic designers can take advantage of. Canva’s Hippoc Neuro-AI combines all the platform’s convenience with the additional benefits of expert industry insights as provided by the specialised AI assistant.
New Software Options
While many more experienced graphic designers will remember a time when Adobe had the market for graphic design software sewn up, this is no longer the case. For many graphic designers tools like Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, and InDesign were the only tools available to designers.
Although the Adobe suite of tools is still a great option, there’s still no denying that there is a slew of emerging graphic design software options that many graphic design professionals may find easier to use. Services such as Pixlr, Vectr, Sketchapp and others are being favoured by many graphic designers as viable alternatives to the trusted offerings of the Adobe Creative Cloud. And of course, cloud-based tools like Canva are also a great option and even have a free plan that’s perfect for students and budding designers.
On-Demand Services
It is certainly true that the demand for graphic designers has risen significantly over the last number of years. However, the way in which graphic designers are hired has changed rather significantly. While in the past, many graphic designers would work as part of in-house teams, nowadays, there are more and more companies seeking out on-demand services.
Going through various online platforms, companies can hire graphic designers from anywhere in the world on an as-needed basis. In the modern era of fast turnarounds and tight deadlines, outsourcing graphic design projects or enlisting the services of freelancers or contracted designers is becoming increasingly popular amongst both graphic design professionals as well as their clients.
For graphic designers, you can join platforms like Fiverr to advertise your own services and get a slice of this action. Of course, there will still be positions available working in-house at design agencies but moving forward, the gig economy and these platforms will continue to increase in popularity within the field of graphic design. And this isn’t entirely a bad thing. In fact, the flexibility and professional independence of freelance designing has generally been appealing to many long-term graphic design professionals.
Keep Up With The Latest Trends And Tech Advancements In The Graphic Design Realm
Graphic design continues to play an important role in helping businesses with their branding and marketing strategies. And as we’ve outlined above, as a graphic designer, you need to ensure that you keep up with the latest tech developments in the industry so you can continue to produce your very best work.
From the expanding range of graphic design software options available today, and the development of numerous online platforms to help designers find new clients, there has never been a better time to hone your skill sets and take your graphic design career to the next level. To achieve all of this, technology is the key. Following the advice outlined above, you can ensure that you stay up to date with the latest advancements in graphic design technologies and effectively remain one step ahead of your competition moving forward.
