What is Graphic Design?
Graphic Design is a visual form of communication used to promote or send a message to a targeted audience. This visual communication can take the form of such things like; a poster, a letter, business logo, a magazine ad, a web site or even a computer print out.
Drawings, paintings, photographs or computer-generated images are things that Graphic Designers work with. They also design the letter forms that make up typefaces found in movie credits, television ads, books, menus and web pages. Graphic Designers are responsible for organizing all of the elements; type, images and the white space around these elements, to communicate a message. Graphic Design informs, persuades, locates, attracts attention and provides pleasure. It is a creative process that combines art and technology to communicate a message. A graphic designer works with a variety of communication tools, the main ones being images and typography.
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Design Types
Image-based design
This is where the designer would develop images to communicate their clients ideas. Images can be powerful and compelling tools of communication because they show, not only information, but also moods and emotions. There is an instinctive response to images based on a persons personality, association and previous experiences.
In this type of design there are few, if any, words to help, so the images must carry the entire message. The images can be photographs, painting, drawings or computer-generated renderings.
Type-based design
Type-based design relies on words to relay a message, but the words are used differently than the way a writer would use them. For designers, the way the words look is just as important as their meaning. The words, whether typography or homemade lettering, perform many communication functions. They grab your attention on posters and they identify the name of a product on a package.
When it comes to designing a page there are many things that need to be considered. What typeface or type size should be used? Should the text be divided into two narrow columns? How should the margins and the spacing between the paragraphs and lines be set? These are just a few of the things a designer must consider before starting a project.
Image and type
Often times designers will combine images and text to communicate a message to an audience. Here the designers explore the creative possibilities presented by words and images. It is the designers responsibility to, not only create the right letterforms and images, but to also establish the best balance between the two.
A client is often too close to the message to understand the various ways it can be presented, likewise, the audience is often too broad to have any impact on how a message is presented. Because of this separation between the client and the audience, the designer becomes the link between the two. The graphic designer becomes familiar with ways to construct a message and then present that message successfully.