10 Examples of Graphic Design in Everyday Life
Graphic design is all around us in everyday life, even if we don’t always notice it! From the cereals we eat for breakfast to the signs we read on the street, graphic design plays a huge role.
But what exactly is graphic design? It’s all about combining text, images, and ideas to communicate a message in a visual way. Pretty cool, right?
Let me share 10 examples of graphic design in everyday life that you might not have thought about before. Get ready to start spotting design everywhere you look!
1. Food packaging
Let’s start with an obvious one – the boxes, bags, and containers that hold our favorite foods and drinks.
Companies work really hard with graphic designers to make their packaging eye-catching and recognizable on store shelves.
Think about the bright red color and stylized font of the Coca-Cola logo or the iconic green Giant on boxes of frozen veggies. Yum!
2. Billboards and signs
As you walk or drive around town, you’re surrounded by graphic design in everyday life in the form of billboards, street signs, building signs, and more.
These use bold fonts, bright colors, symbols and images to quickly communicate information like business names, addresses, advertisements, and directions.
Could you imagine how confusing it would be to get around without any signs or way-finding graphics?
3. Website design
These days, having an awesome website is super important for businesses, organizations, and public figures.
That’s where graphic design in everyday life comes into play big time! Web designers use layouts, typography, icons, images, color schemes and more to create user-friendly online experiences that look great too.
Just think about some of your favorite websites and how visually appealing they are.
4. App icons
We use apps for everything nowadays – games, social media, productivity, you name it. But first we have to pick which apps to download by browsing through thousands of little app icons.
Designers put a lot of thought into making these tiny icons simple yet eye-catching through colors, shapes, and symbols that represent each app’s purpose.
5. Brand logos
From the famous golden arches to the little blue bird, corporate logos are some of the most iconic examples of graphic design in everyday life.
Companies spend tons of money making sure their logos are attention-grabbing, memorable and give the right impression about their brand.
It’s a designer’s job to make logos that are visually appealing yet simple enough to look great printed large or small.
6. Magazine covers
While magazines and print media aren’t as popular as they once were, you’ve definitely noticed eye-catching magazine covers at checkout lines or newsstands.
Graphic designers pick cover photos, arrange text, add graphics and play with color schemes to not only look visually stunning but also entice potential buyers to pick up that issue. It’s like a little advertising billboard!
7. Book covers
You know that cliche about not judging a book by its cover? Well, book cover designs play a huge role in getting readers interested before they even crack it open!
Book covers give potential buyers a visual first impression through fonts, graphics, illustrations and imagery that hints at the tone and genre. Designers make covers that’ll jump off shelves and into your hands.
8. Movie posters
In the movie world, graphic design in everyday life is all over through snazzy movie posters!
Designers pick striking images or illustrated scenes that represent each film, then artfully overlay fonts, credits and taglines to create an exciting, attention-grabbing vibe that draws you in and makes you want to watch.
9. Infographics
While not something you’d spot just walking around, infographics are a very common example of graphic design that lots of people see online or in print.
Designers take complex data, facts and information then transform it into digestible visuals using icons, graphics, colors, charts and more.
Infographics make hard-to-understand info way more easy on the eyes and brain.
10. PowerPoint/presentation slides
We’ve all sat through a bunch of classroom lectures or workplace presentations using PowerPoint or Google Slides, right?
Creating visually-engaging yet clear presentation decks makes graphic designers pretty invaluable. They carefully lay out text, images, graphics, charts and more on each slide to keep the audience focused and reinforce key points.
Wrapping up
There you have it – 10 super common examples of graphic design in everyday life that you probably never even noticed before!
From the clothes you wear to the products you buy to the signs and websites you look at every day, good graphic design does its job of communicating visually important messages and ideas.
Next time you’re out and about, see how many examples of great graphic design you can spot.
The logos on storefronts, illustrations on product packaging, way-finding signs showing you where to go – design is absolutely everywhere working its magic! Isn’t it amazing how much thought and creativity goes into the visuals we take for granted every single day?
