What is Graphic Design?
Now that is a great question.
Graphic design, in my opinion, is a visual representation of ideas and messages. A graphic designer would use the elements around them to come up with a solution to whatever the problem is. A good graphic designer thinks outside of the box. They take the standard thoughts and twist and pull them to come up with something that is mind blowing. Graphic designers will take pictures, text, words, and symbols to tweak them to make something better. A graphic designer needs to think of something someone else cannot.
Skills
The skills of the trade if you will. Every designer should have and use at least one of these in their design work.
Page Layout
In my opinion, this is the most important. You need your work to flow. You do not want all your images, text, and/or symbols on one side of the page and leave the other side blank. The best practice I got was when I was in school. We had to write out a four to six (4-6) word phrase on a large piece of white stock. After the second class my professor got fed up and told us the right way to do it. Below are two examples. Which one stands out more?
Which now brings me to my next subject…
Typography
This is yet another great skill to have. If your clients needs a poster, there will obviously be text that needs to be put in. Same as the last skill, page layout, you want your typography to flow on the page. Group them together (example below), or make some words stand out (example), or make them just look nicer.
Interface Design
As someone who markets himself as a graphic and web designer, I use this skill quite often. According to Wiki, Interface design is often used when the end user interactivity is a design consideration of the layout or interface. It combines both the visual communication (graphic designer) with the interactive communication (web designer) so the end user has a much better experience on the website. Not many graphic designers can handle both the visual and the interactive skills so that is when a web developer is brought in to create the look and the feel of the website. They will enhance the experience for the person viewing the website.
Print Design
According to Wiki, Print Design is the process of making artworks by printing. However, it is far more important than just taking an image and printing it on stock (paper). The correct DPI, dots per inch, needs to be a larger number. This will enhance the artwork that you are printing and make the colors on the paper stand out more. Please understand, when using a higher DPI, you are using more ink. That is why it prints a much better quality image. Use your program’s wisely, and remember, DPI is your friend when creating something for print.
Tools
Tools are just as important as anything else. Pens, Paper, Pencils, Clipart, Text, Images, Icons, Filters, and Photos are all tools that are needed. When software companies, such as Adobe, started to come out with graphic art software, it enabled designers to explore the world in a all new light. Computers are generally considered to be an indispensable tool used in the graphic design industry. Computers and software applications are generally seen, by creative professionals, as more effective production tools than traditional methods.
Computers or Pencils/Paper?
This is one debate that does not seem to end. Computers are the tool that allows graphic designer to show off the great artwork we render. However, it is the pencil that allows us to skip over the headaches that could happen when dealing with a computer. Computers can freeze, they can crash, your work, your time can all go down the drain in a blink of an eye. However, when you use a pencil and paper, you will never lose it. My opinion is that the computer outweighs the pencil any day of the week. However, I do try to draw out a few complex designs before I bring them to the computer. My rough sketches are far from the finished product, but they serve a purpose.
As a graphic designer, I must say, I work hard at what I do. I may skip over a few of these tools, or skills, but the end result is what matters. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Even better, why don’t you ask me for a quote.
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