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GRAPHIC DESIGNGraphic design in its most basic form is the arrangement of visual elements and styled text to communicate a specific message to a desired audience. This does not happen by accident (most of the time). Graphic design is a specialty profession that takes years to perfect. Ideas, specifically appropriate ideas, are the beginning point, while digital files are normally the end point and graphic design occurs at all steps in-between. Ideas and concepts are usually expressed as pencil sketches, associative word lists, and conversations. Our project files are filled with scraps of paper, cocktail napkins and much pencil lead. Once several ideas are deemed viable, graphic designers take hold and gather assets, work with copywriters, and start to assemble initial layouts. Ideas are generally presented in PDF format for viewing by a client’s responsible team. Occasionally we are still asked to make formal face-to-face presentations but the results are often the same. Good ideas rise to the top while bad ones can drive customers away. After client input, discussion, and eventual approval, graphic design is still required all the way through final production. Every project requires skill, composition, a sensibility to space, creative discrimination, and even innovation. Can we find a way to do this more cost effectively? Will this tweak or that tweak make the project more successful? Continuous thinking and questioning are a key part of every graphic designers’ DNA. |
