Graphic Design
Graphic design is a process that creatively combines art and technology to communicate ideas visually.
It is performed by designers who utilize a variety of tools to generate messages that client’s use to convey messages to their prospects and customers (audience). The primary tools used in the graphic design process include photography, drawings, paintings, letterforms (typography) and computer-generated images. The finished products from the graphic design process are usually combined with text to create ads, brochures, illustrations, posters, signage, banners or other things used to communicate visual ideas.
Graphic design is often image-based
When clients define their needs to communicate a message to their ‘publics’, and the textual position of the message has been prepared, graphic designers go to work to create the images that support the text message with visual elements. These can be powerful and compelling communications tools that convey moods and emotions in addition to information. These images are either drawn, photographed, painted or generated by computer programs. In some cases, there is little if any text and graphic design elements must be able to convey the entire message. This is called image-based design and it is a very-popular approach for posters, billboards and other signage as well as for illustrations in books, magazines and other media. Image based graphic design stresses the old adage that “a picture is worth a thousand words.”
Graphic design can also be type-based
Graphic designers also work with products that use mainly words to convey the message, but quite differently from the ways that writers do. That’s simply because graphic designers are more concerned with what the word look like than what they actually say. Whether the visual forms are hand drawn or based upon typography, they can convey many different communications functions. They can use unique forms of typography to catch your attention, identify a specific brand or be presented as a logo and tag line that creates vital memorability with the viewer. For example, everyone recognizes the form of the word Coca Cola regardless of where it appears because it has established strong brand recognition through its distinct graphic design format.
Graphic design often uses images and type
Some of the most creative forms of graphic design combine images and text elements. This often provides more creative possibilities than either method does when used alone. In this case, the designer has to find and create appropriate letter formats and images as well as to establish the most effective balance between the two. It is also true that the graphic imagery is sometimes the primary element that capture’s the reader’s attention and motivates him to read the text elements for additional details.
Symbols, and logos are important graphic design creations
Symbols and logos are extremely important forms of highly compacted information that forms an identifier. Some major corporations spend millions of dollars to create and disseminate their corporate logos on letterheads, ads, and every kind of form, product labeling and shipping materials. Case in point: Who doesn’t immediately associate the stylized RCA logo with the consumer electronics products they are well known for? Symbols are abstract representations that also convey ideas or identities. The CBS eye and the NBC peacock are good examples. Logotypes are compact elements that combine a graphic element with a tag line or other short textual identifier that work in the same way.
