WHAT I LIKE IN VISUAL DESISGN?
What is Visual Design? Visual Design is that branch of Industrial Design that deals with the design of graphic
and multimedia products. The purpose of visual design is communication through images, functional for
the dissemination of a message or information.
Originating in the field of graphic design applied to the printing of books, magazines and coordinated
images for companies and events, visual design is today a multifaceted discipline that has extended into
very broad fields. The fields of action of a visual designer include typography, illustration, editorial graphics,
printed graphics, videomapping, web design, interaction design, interface design.
The visual designer is a figure of growing importance in the world of work, particularly due to the
predominant role of visual communication today and the increasing spread of technology to all strata of
the population. Equally important has been and continues to be the development of the Internet and the
Web and the current awareness that has arisen towards usability and accessibility issues. This has
contributed to a democratic approach to this new global means of communication. This has necessitated
new studies on interfaces and user interactions.
In recent years, many new courses have sprung up to train professionals, confirming the growing interest in
this discipline that is still, despite everything, struggling to be recognised as autonomous and of equal value
to other areas of design.
Visual design is a very wide world and for this reason, it was difficult for me to choose what to talk about. In
the end, however, I chose to talk about the world of packaging, which I find extremely fascinating.
At one time, the term packaging was used to refer to a generic package with the purpose of protecting a
certain product. Nowadays, this term takes on a different meaning, especially when combined with the
word design.
Packaging design, in fact, defines those graphic and marketing activities aimed at the creation of packaging
material and/or packaging for promotional purposes, capable of getting straight to the customer's eye.
Generally, when we notice a product on the supermarket shelf, or displayed in the shop window, it is
impossible not to notice its appearance, which in a few seconds must be able to attract the customer's
attention, communicate what it is and what its target audience is, and finally differentiate itself from the
other products located near it. In the space of a few years, packaging graphics have led thousands and
thousands of companies to consider a spending budget to invest in packaging design and its use in the
marketplace.
Packaging design, as mentioned above, has a dual purpose, namely to protect the product from damage
and to make it aesthetically appealing in the eyes of the customer. Generally, the packaging is specifically
designed to contain a given product, guaranteeing its freshness, integrity, taste (if it is food), or
performance (if it is electronic devices).
We can therefore say that packaging design is literally the face of the product, its business card that in a
few moves must respect important criteria, mixing the needs and requirements of the customer.
In summary, a professional packaging design should possess these characteristics:
• Inform the consumer about the characteristics and how to use the product quickly and effectively;
• Capture the attention and remain in the consumer's mind thanks to an ad-hoc graphic realisation
and attention to detail;
• Reflect the characteristics of the company so that the product is associated with the brand through
its character, colours and images;
