Differences between digital and print design: what is important to know?

Digital and print designers have a lot in common, but their work is significantly different - file formats, tools, terminology are completely different. Let's briefly consider the main differences.

Reader review method

One of the main differences in print and web design is the way people look at them. Hold something physical in your hand (a piece of paper, a brochure or a book ) is not at all the same as looking at a screen, even if we are talking about a mobile device, which is lying at the same angle.

Engaging the user's senses

Both print and digital design should look attractive, produce good impression, no matter what the final product is. But to the visual component of printed products they add tactile emotions that arise on the basis of texture, shape or printing effects (embossing, relief varnish), and also involve the sense of smell (many like the smell of books). At the same time, digital pages can contain multimedia content.

Statics and interactivity

Once the product is printed, the designer cannot change anything (at least, without making a new edition - which takes time and money). It’s easier for a web designer: he can make changes at any time. Many sites update their content and design frequently. It is important for a web designer to take into account additional elements that are related to functionality - buttons, survey forms, videos - all interactive components must work correctly.

Convenience

Printed design is tied to the format and shape of the product. Navigation on the site is not limited in any way - therefore it is necessary to make a convenient search for the information that interests the reader. It is also very important to remember that the site design must be compatible with various devices on various platforms.

Creating a layout

Digital and print designers have a lot in common here: they use typography, illustrations, lines, colors. Although in this case the requirements differ. For example, in printing it is necessary to maintain contrast with the substrate and maintain margins.

Size

In the design of printed products, format is one of the determinants of design. The number of all elements and their location will depend on the size of the product. The industry has generally accepted sizes for standardized products such as files or business cards, but at the same time, die-cutting equipment allows you to create a product of any unusual shape - there is no limit to the imagination. The concept of size for web pages is quite abstract - the main thing is that they adapt to different screens.

Image quality

The printed image consists of many small dots. The size of a picture is calculated by the number of these dots per inch: DPI (dots per inch). The more there are, the clearer the images will be. As a rule, printing houses require illustrations to be at least 300 dpi. In web design, this indicator is less critical, and not only static images can be used, but also with variable images, for example, the GIF format.

Color

Accurate color reproduction is a rather problematic aspect in printing, especially when products are ordered by non-professional users. The thing is that printing equipment and the screen use different schemes to transmit color. In printing, any shade can be obtained from the CMYK basic tones (blue, magenta, yellow, black). And the color scheme of the display is based on the RGB (red, green, blue) scheme. To avoid misunderstandings, it is necessary to prepare the layout directly in CMYK. In cases where colors are especially important, you can ask the printing house for a test print or be present during printing.

So, both print and digital design have many nuances that should be taken into account when creating a particular product. Transforming a website design into a printed product can be problematic, so at the development stage it is worth considering a single style (colors, typefaces, images) that will be applied to all types of products. When designing printed materials, it is very important to take into account the requirements of the printing house, and when creating a website, it is necessary to focus on the perception of users, regardless of what devices they work with.