10 Top Definitions of Graphic Design What is Graphic Design?

1. 10 Top Definitions of Graphic DesignWhat is Graphic Design?

2. Definition #1: Graphic Design is commercial art • Graphic design is the intersection between art and commerce • Before the term “graphic design” existed, we were called “commercial artists” • Commercial artist create work with a function (usually to persuade or inform)

3. Definition #2: Graphic Design is visual communication • “Design is thinking made visually” – Saul Bass • Graphic designers create products that visually communicate a message to a specific audience • A Cover Girl ad selling make-up to women. A hospital form nurses fill out to document important patient information. • A designer’s communication usually has a purpose • To sell a product, brand a company, promote a service, announce and event, or even tell directions.

4. Definition #2 cont… Graphic Design is visual communication • Like any language, visual language has many styles • A familiarity and understanding of different styles is required for a visual communicator to be proficient • Style is the combination of distinctive features of an era (or person, school, group, etc..) • These styles you will become familiar with in this course.

5. Definition #3: Graphic Design is marketing communication • Most graphic designers serve marketing needs • If a company does not have a need to promote itself, then graphic designers would not be needed • Graphic designers have a responsibility to produce work that meets the client’s marketing need • The result of good marketing is…profit

6. Definition #4: Graphic Design is creative communication • Graphic design is a creative endeavor • Good designers offer client solutions that are functional yet distinctive, innovative, imaginative, and inspired • Creative endeavors have no predetermined outcome as there are infinite solutions to every design problem.

7. Definition #5: Graphic Design is mass communication • A graphic designer’s product is usually mass produced • A graphic design’s primary medium is print and web • Designers are increasingly producing work for electronic media (Internet, television, DVDs, etc.) • Other types of mass communication are books, movies, television, etc.

8. Definition #6: Graphic Design is planned communication • All designers plan out projects in a systematic form • All designers prepares detailed plans (process/thumbnails) • Designers make rational design decisions that can be justified and measured • Designer are problem solvers • A good design is functional and effective

9. Definition #7: Graphic Design is a structured arrangement of type and images • Graphic design is the arrangement of visual elements into a unified whole • Visual elements include: images, text and color. • Good design gives order and hierarchy to visual information • A design is resolved when you can’t add, remove or alter an element to improve it

10. Definition #8: Graphic Design is a collaborative process • Graphic Designers do not work alone • Designers work on teams which include copywriters, other designers, creative directors, pressmen, etc. • Designers also work with clients

11. Definition #8 cont.: Graphic Design is a collaborative process • The collaborative process helps designers solve problems in a more creative manner • The collaborative process often includes brainstorming many creative solutions in order to determine the best one • Feedback, critiques and revisions are an important part of the collaborative process • Everyone thinks differently.Through the collaborative process the concept is tested to make sure the message reaches the majority of the target audience

12. Definition #9: Graphic Design is a skilled craft • Like all crafty people, designers make things • Making objects of quality requires discipline, study and practice • A good designer embraces the technology and materials one works with (i.e. printing techniques, paper, ink, digital media) • Just because design is available to everyone, does not mean everyone is a designer. Ask yourself this question: Would you let just anyone build you your dream house just because he/she has access to the equipment? Should be the same with graphic design.

13. Definition #10: Graphic Design is a business • Graphic designers work in the service sector • Clients hire designers for their expertise • Designers work one-on-one with clients seeking solutions to visual communication problems • Designers can either be freelance or work in-house for a salary

14. Graphic Design is POWERFUL • Graphic design has the power to change the way people see the world • Designers produce mass market imagery that becomes part of our collective consciousness • As stewards of pop culture, designers alter the landscape of what’s “cool” and what’s not • Graphic design spreads knowledge!

15. Typical Graphic Design Projects • Ads (print, outdoor) • Logos • Posters • CD/DVD Packages • Brochures • Package Design • Books • Broadcast graphics • Magazines • Film credits • Newspaper • Fonts • Infographic• Web sites

16. Top 8 Reasons Why study graphic design history?

17. To build your visual vocabulary • Writers learn words and grammar from reading • Designers learn visual vocabulary and design principles by looking at art and designs • Studying the work of other designers throughout history will give you a larger visual vocabulary • Since design is EVERYWHERE…understanding the history of design will help you weed through good designs and bad designs.

18. 2. To learn to see instead of just to look • Too often we filter out what’s in front of us • By deconstructing other designers’ work, one can begin to understand why things look the way they do • Learning to see involves isolating specific visual elements, styles and techniques

19. 3. To acquire good taste • Painters study art history; musicians study music history, movie directors study film history; designers study design history • The more you know about the traditions of design, the more you will be able to distinguish the good from the bad • The ability to make judgments about visuals is called ‘visual literacy’

20. 4. To acquire an understanding of style • Style is “the way in which something is said, done, expressed, or performed” • In graphic design, style can also mean the “look and feel” of a piece

21. 5. To begin to recognize “personal style” • In art, “style” can also refer to a specific artist or designer’s signature look • By studying influential designer’s work, one can begin to think about developing a personal signature style for ourselves • Even though not all of you will become designers, personal style is reflected in your style of clothing, home décor, etc.

22. 6. To be able to communicate better • In mass communication, style is a transmission code, a means of signaling that a certain message is intended for a specific audience • By studying design history, one begins to understand the dominant visual aesthetic of a particular period or time • An understanding of styles and trends will allow you to manipulate visual forms to attract the right audience for a product, service or brand • For example, if a company was holding a “50’s Blast from the Past” party, using contemporary images and typeface (fonts) would give the wrong impression of what the theme of the party is.

23. 7. To become a better designer • Only the best work by the most respected, will be preserved in history • Time has judged these designs to be worthy of preservation and re-examination

24. 8. Why reinvent the wheel? • By studying what other designers before you have done, one can begin to appreciate and understand the innovations of the past • Understanding the past might even help you predict the future • Past innovations are excellent sources of inspirations of new work