In many ways, graphic design is like a tattoo, once it's printed, you can't change it. But web design is like a chameleon, it has the power and flexibility to change and adapt. Every few years, a company might go through a complete redesign of their website. Design trends evolve and it’s important for the business to remain relevant.
I consider myself both a web and graphic designer as I have the skills and knowledge of two. The main difference between graphic designers and web designers are technical skills. Web designers need to be familiar with HTML, CSS, etc., and how to make a design work on the web. With traditional graphic design, you can fully customize your design without too many limitations. But with web design, you have to consider technical constraints like file size and load time. It's like trying to fit a king-size bed in a tiny apartment.
With web design, the user can interact with the design. You click a button, navigate through various webpages, there may even be motion graphics and videos on a webpage. Graphic design is less interactive. You can look at it, touch it, but it doesn’t change when you interact with it. It's like staring at a painting, you can admire it but you can't change it.
When it comes to dealing with creative problems, web designers solve creative problems through a well-designed website that converts users to customers. Graphic designers solve creative problems through a logo, branding, or printed materials to educate a potential customer. No matter what type of design you specialize in, it’s important to keep on top of design trends. Sometimes, you may want the design direction to have a retro feel or be reminiscent of another time period. But most of the time you want to keep things modern and reflective of today’s trends, especially for web design. This is yet another reason why brands and websites go through significant redesigns every few years. They want to remain relevant and keep business growing with the next generation, like keeping up with the Joneses.