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Graphic Design is the design and layout of images and information most often used for but not limited to commercial purposes. In a general sense graphic design is used when information needs to be presented in a visually clear, eye catching and meaningful way. It is usually the role of a Graphic Designer to organize and present this information effectively.

The most common example of graphic design in action is through corporate branding otherwise known as the logo. Famous logos such as those used by Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Apple Computers, IBM, Nike, Google and Yahoo are all examples of graphic design. These logos are usually used as the basis for designing a company's entire corporate image and influence the design of other corporate essentials such as business cards, letterheads, brochures, annual reports etc.

Graphic design as we know it today has its origins in the print industry. The invention of the printing press allowed information to be reproduced and distributed widely and cheaply. This created a need for the content to be presented in a visually interesting and easily understood manor for the intended audience. Books printed by William Morris (Kelmscott Press) in the late 1800's as part of the Arts and Craft movement paved the way for stylized design and layout on a mass-produced scale.

Whilst still rooted very firmly in the print industry graphic design has crossed into many other fields including (but not limited to) typography, advertising, product and packaging design, television, film, video, web design, illustration and even back into fine arts. Training as a graphic designer usually touches on most of these areas but in practice a qualified graphic designer will tend to specialize in one or two of these fields and occasionally work in others.

Today graphic design is applied to everything from business cards to billboards to movie opening titles, web site design and more. Much of this design is created using computer graphics software such as Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. However a graphic designer can be more versatile if they are also familiar with more traditional artistic techniques such as painting and drawing.

A career in Graphic Design provides a wide variety of opportunities because so many industries require graphic design services, particularly in our modern world where communicating information effectively is a visually competitive field. A Graphic Designer may be employed by a Graphic Design Service, working with many organizations or may be employed as a full time 'in-house' designer by a single organization. It is also very common to find work as a freelance designer.

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