Chapter 1 Introduction

1
Chapter 1Introduction
2
Objectives (1 of 2)

• Define graphic design.
• Understand the place graphic design has in our
  world.
• Become familiar with the major categories and
  specializations in graphic design and advertising
  professions.
• Become acquainted with the nature and impact of
  visual communications.

3
Objectives (2 of 2)

• Be aware of the employment opportunities for
  visual communication professional.
• Understand the nature of collaboration.
• Appreciate why design matters.
• Value ethical practice in visual communication.
• Realize the education necessary visual
  communication professionals.

4
Definitions (1 of 2)

• Graphic design can be thought of as a visual
  language that is used to convey a message to an
  audience.
• A graphic design is a visual representation of an
  idea that relies on the creation, selection, and
  organization of visual elements to create an
  effective communication.

5
Definitions (2 of 2)

• A graphic design solution can
• persuade
• inform
• identify
• motivate
• enhance
• organize
• brand
• rouse
• locate
• engage
• carry/convey many levels of meaning

6
The Graphic Design Profession

• The graphic design profession is an expert
  creative discipline that focuses on visual/verbal
  communication and meaning.

7
Specialized Areas (1 of 11)

• Information design
• highly specialized area of design
• involves making large amounts of complex
  information clear and accessible to audiences of
  one to several hundred thousand

Design and Concept The Design Studio of Kean
University. Creative Director Alan Robbins
8
Specialized Areas (2 of 11)

• Identity design
• Involves the creation of a systematic visual and
  verbal program intended to establish a consistent
  visual appearancea coordinated overarching
  identity and spirit or image for a brand or
  group
• Also called corporate identity, brand identity,
  and corporate design

Logo Designer Liz Kingslien
9
Specialized Areas (3 of 11)

• Promotional design
• Design intended to introduce, sell, or promote
  brands (products and services), ideas, or events
  and to introduce or promote groups and social
  causes
• Sometimes overlaps with advertising, in
  definition and purpose

Promotional Design Firm Drenttel Doyle Partners
10
Specialized Areas (4 of 11)

• Branding
• The entire development process of creating a
  brand, brand name, and a brand identity
• Brand experience
• Entails developing an entire brand experience
• comprehensive strategic, unified, integrated,
  creative program for a brand including every
  graphic design and advertising application for
  that brand with an eye and mind on how consumers
  and individuals experience the brand or group as
  each interacts with it

11
Specialized Areas (5 of 11)

• Publication design
• Involves the design of editorial content
• Also called editorial design.
• The publication designer makes content
  accessible, interprets the contents intention to
  clearly communicate, enhances the readers
  experience, and establishes a voice,
  character/spirit, and format for the publication.

Magazine layout, Print designer Steven Brower
12
Specialized Areas (6 of 11)

• Advertising
• Involves generating and creating specific
  visual/verbal messages constructed to inform,
  persuade, promote, provoke, or motivate people on
  behalf of a brand or group
• group represents both commercial industry and
  social cause (non-profit) organizations)

TV Commercial Agency Grey Advertising
13
Specialized Areas (7 of 11)

• Environmental design
• Solves problems about information or identity
  communication in constructed or natural
  environments, defining and marking interior and
  exterior commercial, cultural, residential, and
  natural environments

Interior graphics for Penn Station Design firm
Pentagram
14
Specialized Areas (8 of 11)

• Type design and lettering
• Highly specialized area of graphic design
  focusing on the creation and design of fonts,
  type treatments, and the drawing of letterforms
  by hand (as opposed to type generated on a
  computer)

Custom lettering Hand lettering Jim Redzinak
15
Applications within Specialized Areas (9 of 11)

• Information design
• Charts, graphs, pictograms, signs, symbol signs,
  icons, web sites, sign systems
• Identity design
• Logos, visual identity, corporate identity,
  branding
• Promotional design
• CD covers, book covers and jackets, posters,
  packaging, web sites, web banners, motion
  graphics (film title design, TV graphics design,
  openers, promotional motion presentations),
  multimedia promotions, giveaways, merchandise
  catalogs, direct mail, invitations, announcements

16
Applications within Specialized Areas (10 of 11)

• Branding
• Brand naming, brand conception, brand identity,
  brand revitalization, brand launch, brand
  relaunch, brand environments, global branding,
  corporate branding, social cause branding, brand
  strategy
• Publication design
• Book design, magazine design, newspaper design,
  newsletters, booklets

17
Applications within Specialized Areas (11 of 11)

• Environmental design
• Architectural interiors, interplan exhibit
  environmental graphics, exhibits, environmental
  wayfinding (system of integrated signs)
• Type design and lettering
• Custom and proprietary font design for digital
  type foundry, hand lettering, custom typography
• Advertising
• Print ads, television commercials, unconventional
  formats, banner ads, web sites, webisodes, web
  films, product placement, viral marketing, direct
  mail, branded entertainment, product placement

18
Media

• For many visual communications categories,
  different media can be employed.
• Print, digital, broadcast, unconventional, or film

19
The Nature and Impact of Visual Communications

• Produced in multiples, graphic design is created
  for a specific audience.
• In graphic design, a message is intentionally
  designed, transmitted, and then received by
  viewers.

Ad Agency Carmichael Lynch
20
Employment in the Visual Communication Field

• The main places of employment for a visual
  communication professional are
• Design studios
• Branding firms
• Companies
• Corporations and organizations with in-house
  design departments

• Publishers
• Interactive agencies
• Unconventional marketing firms
• Advertising agencies
• Integrated communication firms
• Self-employment as well as free-lance work

21
Collaboration (1 of 2)

• From developing a strategy to negotiating a fee
  to choosing a printer, the client and graphic
  designer collaborate.

22
Collaboration (2 of 2)

• A graphic designer also works with other visual
  communications professionals
• Creative directors
• Design directors
• Associate creative directors
• Production experts
• Photographers, illustrators, copywriters, and art
  directors
• Specialists
• (interactive / type/lettering / architects / film
  directors / producers / casting directors /
  talent (actors, musicians, and models) / music
  houses / IT professionals / psychologists /
  social anthropologists/market researchers)
• Printers and printers sales representatives

23
Design Matters

• Paula Scher, Pentagram
• The visual communications profession helps to
  drive the economy, provide information to the
  public, and promote research and development of
  goods and services.

24
Ethics in Visual Communications

• Each individual designer is responsible to
  discover ethical ways to practice.
• Any design problem can be solved in a great
  number of ways and each solution has different
  economic and social benefits and consequences.

25
Summary (1 of 2)

• Graphic design and advertising plays a key role
  in the appearance of almost all print, film, and
  digital media forming societys popular visual
  landscape.
• Graphic designers and advertising art directors
  are the creative professionals who, through
  ethical practice, use a visual language to convey
  messages to an audience.
• Visual communications can persuade, inform,
  identify, motivate, enhance, organize, brand,
  rouse, locate, engage, and carry/convey many
  levels of meaning.

26
Summary (2 of 2)

• Visual communication professionals work in a
  variety of settings.
• Visual communication professionals collaborate
  with a good number of other creative
  professionals as well as with their clients.
• Design matters visual communications help
  society in a great number of ways, from driving
  the economy to informing the public.
• Visual communications professionals need to be
  well educated with a strong liberal arts
  background and excellent training in design,
  writing and conversant in ethics.