What is Graphic Design?

What is Graphic Design?

The definition of Graphic Design is to communicate with people by using typography, illustration, photographs and printing. The first person to use the term Graphic Design was William Addison Diggins in 1922.

Every person can communicate in different ways such as texting, speaking, drawing, in sign language, signs and other people communicate through graphic design by posters, illustrations, manipulated photographs and advertisments. Certain works of Graphics are to inform, others are to advise people about something and to give opinion.

There are different types that one could use Graphic Design for:

Insignificant- Stamp design
                       Labels
                       Bus tickets and concert tickets
                       Billboards
                       Posters

Permanent-    Logos and brand names
                       Hotel signs and company signs

Signs and
sombols-        Translating pictures and/ or images into words and meaning

Pictogram-      Image representing an object/place/meaning creating a visual language.

Rebus-            Is a pictorial image representing a sound

Ideogram/

Phonogram-   A character or a symbol representing a whole idea

This is an example of a Graphic designer work:

A Graphic Designer uses certain programs to create these type of work such as Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.
Graphic Design goes back to the medieval times. They used to stamp on metal. Even in caves, people used to paint on them with certain tools or engrave.

There is the image based design which consists of images that represents defferent ideas that the graphic designer wants to communicate to us with information and emotions. In this case the image has to show all the information, it as to be clear to the target audience either way the graphic designer is not doing their work right. The images can be either painted, drawn, manipulated, taken primarily or graphically rendered. For example one can use clichés to interpret a message. If the graphic designer has an audience where they don't know that fire means danger for example he or she should do something different to communicate.

Then there is the type-based design which consists of a typography message. Graphic designers can send a message to the people by a certain text that would imply something they want to send.

There are 3 roles in graphic design: To identify, to inform and instruct and to present and promote.


Examples of logos, signs, rebus and abstract:

Who is Stefan Sagmeister?

Stefan Sagmeister was born in 1962 in Austria. He blends typography and imagery to create new, ambitious stuff. He is best known for his album covers for Talking Heads, Lou Reed, OK Go and The Rolling Stones.
The Sagmeister and Walsh company creates identities, commercials, websites, apps, films, books and objects for clients.


Sagmeister  is known for tricking the senses as in typography, exhibitions and environmental art. He disorientate the images and manipulate them in his own style which is also knowned as Style=Fart.


At the age of 15 years, Sagmeister started his very own unorthodox career for a magazine titled, 'Anthorn', but he later realized that working on the layout was more enjoyable than writing articles.

This photo above is one of his magnificent works, he used typography on top of the woman shown and he used monochrome as colour scheme.









This example has a dynamic effect where the words form: Embrace change. The colour purple is used for the words and the dress of the woman.


Bibliography:


AIGA | What is graphic design? . 2014. AIGA | What is graphic design? . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.aiga.org/guide-whatisgraphicdesign/. [Accessed 05 October 2014].


Aizone - Work - Sagmeister & Walsh. 2014. Aizone - Work - Sagmeister & Walsh. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.sagmeisterwalsh.com/work/project/aizone/. [Accessed 07 October 2014].

About Stefan Sagmeister | Stefan Sagmeister: The Happy Show. 2014. About Stefan Sagmeister | Stefan Sagmeister: The Happy Show. [ONLINE] Available at: http://thehappyshow.tumblr.com/Bio. [Accessed 07 October 2014].


AIGA | Stefan Sagmeister . 2014. AIGA | Stefan Sagmeister . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.aiga.org/medalist-stefan-sagmeister/. [Accessed 07 October 2014].