Visual Balance/Flow
All posts by Anne Gariel
Visual Hierarchy/Emphasis
Visual Unity/Variety
What is graphic design?
Graphic design has many facets. As it is showed in beginning of the video, books, posters, websites, t-shirts, subways maps, and many other object we use daily are the result of a process. The goal of that process is to impact the audience in a particular way. It is the client that has to explain to the designer what message or emotion he wants his audience to get. Most importantly, graphic design is about visual communication. The job of the graphic designer is to understand the material he is trying to communicate and make an appropriate and unique design. It is a creative process as the graphic designer wants to create something unique, which has never been seen before.
Now that I have a better understanding of what graphic design is, I realize that it is absolutely everywhere, and I am becoming more critical of it. For example, I will be using an app on my phone and think that it is not easy to navigate, and that there is probably a better way to design it. I also notice when posters or logos are especially well done, or smart. I actually never noticed that the Fedex logo formed an arrow between the E and the X. I wonder if it was meant to be obvious, or if they wanted people to figure it out after years of seeing this logo. It’s like the hidden bear in the Toblerone logo, which is hidden in the mountain. Obviously this one is meant to be hidden, and you have to know that it is here to notice it. I love this logo because it’s almost like a guessing game, and it gives a stronger identity to the brand.
The process of Graphic Design
The first step when creating a design is to understand what we are working with. The graphic designer needs to clearly understand who is the client, what he wants, who his target audience is. It is important that not only the client is satisfied with the piece, but also the people who will be seeing or using it. That is the big difference between an artist and a designer. The artist makes his art for himself, while the designer creates material for others to see and use. Certain types of graphic design will use scenario planning to give the users the best experience possible, by simply pretending to be in their shoes. The next step after understanding what the client wants and what is best for his audience is to start brainstorming initial ideas and concepts for the piece of work. Another important element to take into consideration are the constraints, whether they be time, budget, or production method.
This process doesn’t really sound close to anything I have ever done, but I like the problem solving part of it, and the fact that it requires a lot of communication. I think problem solving and communication would be my bigger assets if I were to become a graphic designer, and I would probably struggle a little more on the creative aspect of it.
What a graphic designer does
Before reading the book and watching the video, the first thing that came to my mind when thinking of graphic design are logos. Now I get that there is much more to graphic design, as it is a visual language that serves a purpose. A graphic designer manipulates text, images, shapes, colors and a multitude of other elements to make a project look good. The project can be anything, such as a magazine, a restaurant menu, or a website. The goal of the graphic designer is to help people (clients, brands) to convey a certain message or emotion. A good example of that is the amazon logo, with its distinctive yellow arrow, pointing from the a to the z, showing that Amazon has absolutely everything, and making a comforting smile at the same time. On the other hand you have the logo of Metallica, with its well known lightning bolt-like M and A, which perfectly matches the music they play.
On top of the message, the graphic designer makes sure that the project, whether it be a logo, a poster, or anything else, looks good. For that he is going to use color, fonts, images, shapes and more, that work together to give an identity to the project. But isn’t the concept of “looking good” subjective?
Introduction
Hi everyone! My name is Anne, I’m 25 and I live in Brooklyn. I am french but I lived in the U.S for about 3 years now. I’m a Video Arts and Technology major, and this is my last semester in BMCC. I have absolutely no experience in graphic design, but I really enjoyed my Introduction to Multimedia class last semester, so I can’t wait to learn more about graphic design. I would say my main field is video, particularly editing, but I always love to extend my skills to other fields. I want to become a video editor. I’m looking forward to knowing more about you guys, and start working on some projects!
