Graphic Design 101: The Basics

Graphic design is the art and process of putting together text and graphics to be able to effectively communicate a message.  Companies usually hire a web solutions company which provides graphic design services.  These graphics firms are knowledgeable on the elements and principles of graphic design and can churn out professional-quality websites, logos, brochures, newsletters, posters, signs, and any other type of visual media.


There are quite a handful of graphic file formats that are available but internet browsers only support a few of them.  This article discusses the different graphic file formats that can be used when building a web site.

Presently, the most common graphic file formats that are supported by most popular web browsers are:  Graphic Interchange Format (GIF), Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), Portable Network Graphics (PNG) and vector graphics.

These kinds of graphic files have gained enormous usability because ofthe following properties:

Transparency – allows the image to be varying degrees of opaqueness from solid to completely transparent or see-through.
Compression – allows images to be stored in a much smaller file by using a mathematical algorithm to handle groups of pixels as a single item.
Interlacing – allows an image to be loaded by first drawing the odd rows and then going back and drawing the even rows. It allows the visitor to see the picture sooner.
Animation – gives the appearance of movement by using a series of successive still pictures. Animated gifs do not require a browser plug-in and can work on almost all devices.
Progressive loading – similar to interlacing in that it only loads a portion of the picture initially but is not based on alternating rows and allows the user to see the picture quicker.

GIF
Developed in the 1980s, GIF was adopted by web designers in the early 1990s as the preferred graphic format for web pages. GIF files use a compression algorithm that keeps file sizes small for fast loading. Because of its smaller size compared to a JPEG file, most web designers use the GIF format for backgrounds, boxed, frames and any other graphical element that look fine using 8-bit color. These files also support transparency and interlaced graphics but are limited to 256 colors (8 bits). GIF also received immense popularity because it can be used to create animation: by using a series of successive still pictures. Furthermore, All browsers can display GIF files.

JPEG
JPEG files are the preferred formats as far as good image quality is concerned.  These type of files are compressed and support “true color” (24 bit), allowing faster download speeds.

PNG
PNG is the newest in the game. It was introduced as an alternative to GIF files. Just like JPEG, PNG supports up to 24 bit color, transparency, interlacing plus it can hold a short text description of the image’s content for use by search engines. However, most browsers do not support PNG yet. Web design companies offering graphic design services believes that time will come when PNG gets fully supported by most web browsers.  By that time, PNG will probably replace GIF as the web designer’s choice for non-photographic page elements. But GIF will still be used for animation.

Vector Graphics
Vector graphics are created by using programs such as Adobe Illustrator and Macromedia Freehand. Vector drawings must be converted to either GIF, JPEG OR PNG format to be used on a web page.

Web solution companies like New Harvest Design offers cost-effective graphic design services that can help a company, big or small, get the graphics they want at a price they can afford.