Digital Art vs Graphic Design: Key Differences
Wondering what’s the difference between digital art vs graphic design? While they are certainly related, these contemporary art forms are used for different purposes.
In this elaborate comparison of graphic design and digital art, we will break down the key differences between the two to help you decide which discipline is most suitable for your skills.
We’ll also talk about how programs like Canva, Design Cuts, and Adobe Creative Cloud can help you hone your creativity.
What Is Graphic Design?
Graphic design has a broad definition, but it is best illustrated as a professional and academic discipline designed to communicate a message to a specific audience.
It involves planning and projecting ideas with visual and textual content into multiple types of media.
As you probably know already, graphic design is widely used in marketing. Visuals like logos, websites, and page layouts are all examples of graphic design applications.
Companies and brands use graphic design to promote and sell products through advertising.
They also use it to develop an identity through branding or convey complicated information in easy-to-digest digital designs like infographics.
Graphic design has been around for so much longer than digital art.
Graphic designers originally worked in print formats, such as newspapers, magazines, brochures, and other static designs.
However, the rise of internet technology forced graphic designers to adapt.
Web design became an important skill to know, and so many graphic artists began offering website design along with traditional print work.
What Is Digital Art?
Digital art, also called new media art, refers to art made using computers or other electronic devices.
It is defined as an artistic work or practice that utilizes digital technology in the presentation process.
Just like traditional fine art, digital art involves varying mediums and styles that artists can use to express themselves.
Examples of digital art are animations, photographs, illustrations, digital paintings, and videos.
That said, there has been much debate on whether or not digital art counts as real art.
If solely based on the definition of having an actual physical product, then you might agree that digital art is not real art.
However, if you base it on the fact that digital art requires more or less the same design skills and creative techniques used to make traditional art, then digital art is undoubtedly real art.
After all, its main purpose is to express an artist’s emotions.
Digital art forms were first seen in pop art, an exciting and colorful art movement that emerged in the UK and US in the 1950s.
Digital Art vs Graphic Design: Their Main Differences
Let’s take a look at the major differences between digital art and graphic design:
Purpose
Graphic design began with print work, such as brochures, books, magazines, and the like.
The purpose of graphic design is to catch people’s attention through eye-catching designs that deliver a message.
For example, when creating designs for a company or business, a graphic designer works to influence people’s perception of the brand.
They should be able to communicate what the brand represents and inform people about the products or services they provide.
Similar to graphic design, digital art has many applications but is mostly used in commercial settings.
These include producing visual graphic effects and animations in video games and films.
Elements
Graphic design requires a deep understanding of varying design elements to present an idea or message effectively.
These include balance, alignment, proportion, rhythm, movement, contrast, emphasis, hierarchy, and proximity.
On the other hand, digital art takes a fine route that prioritizes visual concepts to deliver information, emotion, or creative interest.
To succeed in this field, digital artists have to learn how elements like lighting, color, and shapes work together to influence the mood and set the tone.
Some of the elements of digital art include color, tone, blending, shape, proportion, light, shadow, reflection, perspective, and texture.
Applications
Both graphic design and digital art have wide applications in the modern world.
Graphic Design
Graphic design can be seen everywhere, from giant billboards to signages, printed materials, and packaging materials for various products.
Here are a few examples of the most common projects that graphic designers work on:
Logos, letterhead, and business card designs
Web designs
Infographics
Digital advertising materials
Product and packaging design
Aside from creating powerful visuals, graphic artists are often tasked with creative problem-solving, where they simplify complicated processes with their design skills.
A good example is in creating user interfaces for mobile and web applications.
For this type of project, a graphic designer simplifies things for the end-user and makes the interface easy to navigate.
Another example of problem-solving involved in graphic design is data visualization, where the artist converts raw data into a graphical form that’s easy to understand.
Digital Art
Digital art has countless applications in the modern world.
In addition, the ease of sharing, publishing, and selling digital art products has created many new jobs and careers for digital artists worldwide.
Currently, there are many different types of digital art. Some of the most popular are:
Fractal/Algorithmic Art - a form of digital art that uses mathematics
Data-Moshing - includes a process of manipulating medial files to produce the desired visual effects
Dynamic Painting - is considered the most advanced form of digital art and is often created through an autonomous system, such as a computer
2D and 3D Designs - are derived from traditional graphics like technical drawing, typography, and advertising
Pixel Art - mainly used for creating videos and images for movies and games
Digital Photography - is produced using digital cameras capable of capturing perfect shots that traditional cameras could not achieve
Digital Collage - involves putting together several images, textures, and ideas under one picture
With the rise of computer games, movies, and animated series, the digital art industry has rapidly grown over the past years.
It is also quickly finding its place in many new fields like architecture, VR, and AR.
Digital Tools
Graphic designers rely on digital tools to create, edit, and view graphic art.
There are many types of graphic design software available today, each with different features and functions.
Depending on the software, an artist can create illustrations, edit images, and format layouts.
As you would notice, graphic designers and digital artists often use similar software systems. However, they use them for different purposes.
For example, a graphic artist can use Photoshop to design a logo or banner, while a digital artist can use it to create concept art or make a storyboard.
Some of the most common software systems that graphic designers and digital artists use are:
Canva
Canva is an online platform packed with templates you can use for various projects.
It is an easy-to-use tool with a drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy for beginners and experienced graphic artists to create.
Design Cuts
Design Cuts boasts a collection of design tools and resources for digital artists and graphic designers.
It has templates, fonts, photo effects, and other design elements you can use for personal and commercial projects.
Adobe Creative Cloud
The Adobe Creative Cloud is a set of design tools that include Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe XD, Premiere Pro, and InDesign.
It has both beginner and advanced design tools you can take advantage of to create designs for voice interfaces, mobile apps, websites, and more.
Physical Tools
Aside from these, graphic designers also rely on physical tools like pen and paper, stylus and graphic tablets, sketch pens, geometry sets, cameras, and storage devices.
Digital artists also use several tools in their jobs.
One of the most important is a drawing tablet. Unlike a regular computer, this device gives the artist total control of his drawing as it feels as natural as drawing with a pencil.
Medium of Consumption
Another major difference in digital art vs graphic design is how they are utilized or consumed by their respective audiences.
The work of graphic designers can be used both in digital and print-based products, such as packaging or promotional materials.
On the other hand, digital artworks are, for the most part, consumed online. Think of movies, video games, and animations.
Approach in Design
Graphic designers are commissioned to create designs for marketing and advertising purposes, such as logos, posters, and web pages.
That said, they take a more commercialized approach to creating visuals.
For example, the artist needs to consider the brand colors, products or services, or company values when designing compelling visuals for a client.
Meanwhile, digital art takes a fine art approach where the artist can have more creative freedom in creating the visuals.
Artist’s Responsibilities
Both digital artists and graphic designers need to be creative and equipped with excellent artistic abilities.
In addition, they must be familiar with different design software and computer programs since they will create their work in digital formats.
In terms of responsibilities, graphic designers should produce artwork that reflects the ideas that their clients want.
Given that, they usually encounter project constraints and may need to produce the artwork within a specific guideline, style, or format.
They also often work on more than one project at a time. So, aside from technical skills, they also need to have good organizational and management skills.
On the other hand, digital artists typically work with directors or other artists, so they must have excellent communication skills.
They also have a deadline for each project, which means they must have excellent time management skills.
The job of a digital artist often includes creating storyboards, editing animations and designs, and researching information for projects.
Are They the Same or Nah?
Digital art and graphic design are two very related fields used for visual communications.
They also both follow the same principles of design and require an understanding of the latest software systems, including Canva, Design Cuts, and Adobe Creative Cloud.
The major difference is that graphic design involves creating static images for both digital and print applications.
In comparison, digital art is mainly used for digital motion projects like animations, movies, and games.
