Visual Design

Visual design is the discipline that communicates through what people see. By creating and combining symbols, images and words, it turns an idea or a message into something that can be read and remembered. Our visual designers work with typography, visual art and layout to meet the communication goal set for each project.

What does visual design cover?

When this page is the right starting point — and when it is not

Visual design is the service we are asked about most often, and the one whose scope is most often misread. It fits a communication piece with a defined job: one poster, one catalogue, one key visual for an event, the layout of one annual report. The goal is clear, the deliverable is concrete, and the work usually takes three to eight weeks.

In the situations below, visual design is not the right entry point. We would send you to another page straight away, so you save a round of back-and-forth:

You need a logo, a wordmark, or a full set of identity guidelines

That is corporate identity work. One good-looking artwork does not solve the problem that every department uses it differently. See corporate identity system (CIS).

The company is changing its name or direction and needs to be understood differently

That is rebranding: the diagnosis comes first, the visuals after. See rebranding.

You need a sustainability report or a CSR report

It has a prescribed structure, hundreds of pages and several departments supplying data, so it is not handled like ordinary layout work. See ESG report design.

You need signs inside a building or on a site

That is a wayfinding system: you work out the routes first, then the look. See wayfinding system design.

You need a product box

Packaging starts with structure and shipping; the visual side comes later. See packaging design.

If your project spans two of these, just send us the details. In the first conversation we work out together where it is cheapest to start.

What you receive

At the close of every visual design project you receive: print-ready artwork (bleed, colour mode, outlined type), the editable working files, web-ready exports, and a one-page “how to use it” sheet covering sizes, colours and finishing. If your own staff or suppliers will extend the design later, that sheet states which parts may be changed and which should be left alone.

Common deliverables: what you supply, how long it takes, what you get back

The table lists the six deliverables we produce most often. The schedule starts on the day all materials are in hand and includes two rounds of revision; printing and finishing time is counted separately.

Sustainability reports are not in this table: they follow a statutory structure and draw data from several departments. For the method and the schedule, see ESG report design.

The elements a visual design is built from

A finished piece is usually assembled from the elements below. The clearer each element is, the more orderly the result:

Of these, print finishing is the one most often overlooked, and it is often what decides how the piece feels — varnish, lamination, embossing, debossing, gold foil, silver foil, perforation, creasing, die-cutting and spot colours. The same artwork with different finishing produces a completely different object.

What design can do, and what it cannot

What it can do: turn difficult, complicated information into something people can see, so the things that matter actually get noticed. Before starting we define what “finished” looks like (DOD, Definition of Done), and we let facts and figures decide the layout rather than setting one person’s taste against another’s.

What it cannot do: no design, however good, changes the product or the service itself. So we ask first what this piece is meant to achieve, then decide whether to take it on and how. It is not decoration; it is finding the shortest route for a message to arrive.

What makes a visual design good?

Of these eight, the first four are the pass mark; the last four are where good design parts company with ordinary design. Anyone can make a message clear. Making it stay with the reader, and set off associations, is where the value of design lies.

The visual design process: seven stages

Our graphic design projects run through seven stages. Each stage has a defined output, and two rounds of revision are held in reserve:

1. Briefing

   Establish what this piece has to achieve — promote an event, build an image, or convey complicated information? The goal decides every judgement that follows.

2. Gathering material

   Collect the source material, any existing identity guidelines, reference work and competing pieces, and confirm where usable images and copy will come from.

3. Concept

   Find the core idea for this piece — one thought that runs through the whole thing, rather than a stack of separately attractive elements.

4. Sketches

   Try layouts quickly by hand or as rough diagrams. This step is the cheapest and the fastest; if the direction is wrong, this is where it costs least to change it.

5. First draft (black draft)

   No colour yet — only the structure of the page and the hierarchy of the information. A layout that holds up in black and white is the only one that looks good in colour. This stage includes one round of revision.

6. Refined draft (colour scheme)

   Bring in colour, imagery and detailing, and settle the typefaces and the finishing method. This stage includes one round of revision.

7. Approval and print-ready artwork

   Finish the prepress files: bleed, colour mode, outlined type and the position of every finishing effect, plus the additional applications that extend from the design.

Selected visual design projects

Our visual design work spans listed companies, state-owned enterprises and public agencies. A selection:

• Diamond One key visual, 三發建設 (Sanfa Jianshe)

  Key visual for a property development, plus its applications

• Hand-Heart 2025 Year of the Snake card

  2026 Red Dot Design Award, Germany

• New Taipei City Social Welfare Department, Year of the Dragon card

  Annual card for a public agency, with print finishing

• Taiwan Railways 2018 yearbook

  Annual report layout combined with illustration

• Bureau of Cultural Affairs, Kaohsiung — poster

  Key visual for a public-sector event

• Global Corporate Sustainability Forum (GCSF)

  Key visual and event leaflet

• Legislative Yuan New Year card

  Print finishing and the way the card opens

• Howard Hotel 2024 calendar

  Layout and binding for a corporate gift

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between visual design, graphic design and brand design?

Graphic design and visual design mean essentially the same thing: visual communication on a flat surface (posters, flyers, catalogues, annual reports). Brand design sits at a different level — it deals with the positioning and the identity system of a brand (logo, colours, type rules) and acts as the higher-order rule set for visual design. In practice the usual sequence is: the corporate identity system (CIS) comes first, then visual design produces the applications according to those rules. Further reading: corporate identity system (CIS) explained.

Why is the first draft done in black and white?

Because colour hides the problems in a layout. A page with a muddled information hierarchy can look quite good once attractive colours are added, yet readers still fail to find the point when they actually read it. Confirming the structure and the hierarchy in black and white first, then bringing in colour, is the more reliable order — and it is why we call the first draft the “black draft”.

What should you watch out for in a sustainability (CSR/ESG) report?

The challenge with a sustainability report is that it holds a great deal of data and still has to be readable. Three things matter. First, turn the figures into charts and information graphics instead of pages of running text. Second, build a clear chapter hierarchy and page rhythm so readers know where they are. Third, follow the content structure of the disclosure framework in use, such as GRI. We have designed reports for China Airlines, EVA Air, Taishin Financial Holding, Radiant Opto-Electronics, Innolux and Powertech Technology, among other listed companies. For the full method and schedule, see ESG report design.

How is the fee calculated?

Graphic design is normally priced by the piece or by the page. The main variables are: which items and how many, the page count, whether photography or illustration is needed, the number of revision rounds, and whether print supervision is included. A single poster and a hundred-page annual report are priced in completely different ways. The first conversation is free of charge; we confirm the scope before quoting.

What do I need to prepare?

Four kinds. First, the copy — final text is best, but a draft is fine to start with. Second, the images you can use, and their licence status. Third, any existing brand identity guidelines (logo, standard colours, typefaces). Fourth, the purpose and specification: size, quantity, print or digital, and the channel it goes out on. The more complete this is, the less time goes into checking back and forth.