Graphic Design Essay Research Paper Any paper

Graphic Design Essay, Research Paper

Any paper you pick up was put together using graphic design. It is a very widely used art form incorporated into many different projects. The ultimate purpose is to communicate. The field takes a lot of knowledge to be able to produce a finished and printed product (Rogers, interview). Graphic design is an art that uses skill, information, and technology to communicate to the world. Graphic design, even though it may not have been called that, has evolved with technology. It always has been here to get our thoughts across, but they didn.t always use pictures and color. Graphic design started out as typography, letter writing, which quickly gained popularity. Carvings in wood blocks were used as stamps before Johan Guttenberg invented metal casting in AD 1450 (Kagy 27). The first poster made in 1472 used text to advertise a sale on a book in England. Letterpresses were then made. Even though presses were available, most communication was still verbal. The old technology using print presses didn.t start dominating the new art of advertising until the 1940s (Hurlburt 40). Designers then started to influence advertising. The balance began to shift from purely verbal concepts to image presentation. Then the letter types, typewriters, were made. Next came the photocopiers. Finally today we use computer publishing. Even though designers now use computers, they still need pen and markers to create some images. Felt-tip pens and colored markers replaced pencils and paints as a sketching medium. Technical pens have replaced ruling pens in finished artwork. The marker has not changed the idea of the line, but just made it more dominant. It gives the art a different tone in communicating. Throughout the change of technology, communication has also changed from Old English to our present grammar and slang. Though the language has changed, it is still an important transmission of ideas and information. Graphic design changed just as drastically as our language. It allows easier communication to be achieved between two parties. Individuals with dissimilar backgrounds still share communication with common experiences. Visual design permits individuals with different heritages to exchange ideas, information, and feelings (Knobler 30). From the first sign of communication, cave men, to commercials on television, visual images have communicated our ideas to other receivers (Hurlburt 40). Graphic design communicates the client’s ideas to the receiver by persuading, identifying, and informing. We use the written word to inform or identify, but incorporating the art of design into a project creates a more forceful persuasion. Package design, while informing the consumer and identifying what they are looking at, persuades them to buy the product or service. Even book design incorporates information, but the book jackets may try to persuade the consumer (Hurlburt 23). The art of composing information to persuade and create identity in any piece is a complex process. The logo is the most difficult piece of graphic design. The designer has to be able to make a portrayal of the company from scratch. The logo has to be able to fit on a stamp or be as big as a billboard. A company communicates to anyone who runs across their logo, advertisements, menus, or mailer. Even a logo speaks. Logos are important visual representations of a business. The colors show what kind of people they are. If the colors are bright and cheery, you have a down to earth, happy image. When business uses a monotonous, dull, deep red or green, they give out the more sophisticated image. If the company logo consists of only a small forest, then the consumer will know the business is near a forest, using a forest, or has something to do with trees or forests. (Hopefully your designer is more creative to give you something more than trees and your company name.) Just by giving out the name of the business, usually the consumer will figure out what type of business it is. This is just in a logo. Keep the communications consistent, otherwise the audience gets confused (Parsons 3). If the business decides to make an advertisement, there is an enormous communication log between the company and consumer. The advertisement tells what the business sells or what service they give, how the consumer can benefit from the business, why the consumer should use the business, and much, much more (Rogers, interview). Art is a big part of this communication process. Art is used in giving a word and image presentation. Just the different concepts of a word and image speak to the audience. There are different techniques used to portray the artistic styles of design. One technique is to use .the concept. of the product. If it is something big the business is dealing with, then the designer should play with the idea of BIG. .The other side. is a technique used to say how good something is by incorporating the bad things. Using .continuity. imprints the message of the business by keeping the communications consistent. The company.s slogan is a type of continuity. .Recognition. runs with continuity, because continuity makes recognition. The consumer sees the imaging again and again. Using a .symbol. helps the audience relate to the ideas of the business. When using a .demonstration,. the message is clear, because the audience has proof the product work or the service is good. The .declarative. technique is a strong one. It makes