Graphic communications is the whole of the graphics industry, encompassing many different segments: Greeting cards, magazines, books and thermography, just to name a few, are all a part of graphic communications. It's the processes and industries that compose, develop, produce and distribute products that convey information in a way that evokes certain feelings through the primary use of pictures and drawings, sometimes combined with words.
Graphic design is an aspect of graphic communications primarily concerned with the way something looks, including digital images as well as painted or drawn work. In addition, graphic designers assist in choosing typefaces found in books, ads, magazines and even menus. Graphic designers come in many categories with some specializing in book covers while others may focus on business logos.
The major graphic design software used by professionals is Adobe Photoshop. However, there are other alternatives for those who are trying to learn the ins and outs of the business. One free offering is GIMP. Though it operates differently in some respects than Photoshop and may take a little getting used to, it can, by and large, duplicate the vast majority of effects and functions that Photoshop can do.
There are other occupations within the graphic communications field besides graphic designer.
Prepress technicians prepare text and graphics for the printed page. They take images from graphic designers and implement them into the final product to be printed. Through a photographic process, they create offset printing plates, although many use a newer direct-to-plate method that uses electronic imaging to bypass the photographic technique.
Art directors formulate design concepts for graphic designers to follow.
Desktop publishers use their computers to put everything together for publication. This could be a magazine, novel, brochure, or newsletter. They design page layouts and format the font, spacing and size of words on a page.