WHAT IS GRAPHIC DESIGN ???

Suppose you want to announce or sell something, amuse or persuade someone, explain a complicated system or demonstrate a process . In other words , you have a message you want to communicate . How do you " send " it ? You could tell people one by one or broadcast by radio or loudspeaker . It is verbal communication . But if you use any visual medium at all , if you make a poster ; typing correspondence ; create a business logo , a magazine ad , or an album cover ; even make an impression - the computer that you are using a method of visual communication called graphic design .

Graphic designers work with drawn , painted , captures a picture , or computer generated images (pictures ), but they also design the letterforms that make up various characters found in movie credits and TV ads ; in books , magazines , and menus ; and even on computer screens . Designer to create , select , and organize these elements - typography , images , and the so-called " white space " around them to communicate a message . Graphic design is a part of your everyday life . From humble things like gum packaging in big things like billboards to T - shirt you're wearing , graphic design informs , persuades , conducts , stimulates , locates , recognizes, attracts attention and provides pleasure .

Graphic design is a creative process that combines art and technology to communicate ideas . The designer works with different communication tools to send a message from a client to a particular audience . The main tools are image and typography .

Image-based design

Designers develop images to represent the ideas their clients want to communicate. Images can be incredibly powerful and compelling tools of communication, transportation not only information but also moods and emotions. People respond to images instinctively based on their personalities, associations, and previous experience. For example, you know that a chili pepper is hot, and this knowledge in combination with the image creates a visual pun. 

In the case of design based on the image, the images must carry the entire message; there is little or no words to help you. These images may be photographic, painted, drawn, or graphically rendered in many different ways. Design based on the image is used when the designer determines that, in a particular case, a picture is indeed worth a thousand words.

Type-based design

In some cases, designers Rely on words to convey a message to They use words differently from the ways writers do. To designers , what the words look like is as important as their meaning. Visual forms , even typography ( communication designed by assembling the printed word) or handmade lettering , perform many communication functions . They can arrest your attention will be a poster , identify the product name on a package or a truck, and present running text as the typography in a book does . Designers are experts at presenting information in visual form in print or on film , packaging, and signs.

When you look at a page of "ordinary" printed in running text , what is involved in designing such a seemingly simple page ? Think about what you would do if you were asked to redesign the page. Would you change the font or font size ? Would you divide the text into two narrower columns? What about the margins and spacing between paragraphs and lines ? Do you bleed gold em paragraphs begin with decorative lettering ? What other treatment might give the page number ? Would you like to change the terms in bold , italics or underlining perhaps using ? What other currency that could be considered , and how they might affect the way the reader reacts to the content ? Evaluate the designers and the public to the design based on the message type in order to make the kinds of decisions thesis .

Image and type

Designers often combine images and typography to communicate a client 's message to an audience. They explore the creative possibilities presented by words (typography ) and images ( photography, illustration and fine arts ) . It is up to the designer not only to find or create shapes of letters and the appropriate images, but also to establish the best balance between them.

Designers are the link between the client and the public. On the one hand , a client is often too close to the message to understand various ways in which they can present. The public , meanwhile , is often too broad to have a direct impact on how a communication is presented . What's more , it is often difficult to make the audience a part of the creative process . Unlike client and audience , graphic designers learn how to construct a message and how to present it successfully. They work with the client to understand the content and purpose of the message . They often collaborate with market researchers and other specialists to understand the nature of the audience. Once a design concept is chosen, the designers work with illustrators and photographers as well as with typesetters and printers or other production specialists to create the final product design .

Symbols, logos and logotypes

Symbols and logos are special forms highly condensed information or identifiers. Symbols are abstract idea or identity representation. "The Eye" and CBS "television" are symbolic forms active, we learn to recognize as representing a particular concept or company. Corporate logos are identifications based on a special typographical word treatment. Some identifiers are hybrid, or combinations of symbol and logotype. In order to create these identifiers, the designer must have a clear vision of the company or idea to be represented and the audience to which the message is addressed.

Graphic Design: A Career Guide and Education Directory
Edited by Sharon Helmer Poggenpohl
Copyright 1993
The American Institute of Graphic Arts