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)
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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!
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
Top 8 Reasons
Why study graphic
design history?
1. 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.
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
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’
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
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.
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.
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
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