What is Graphic Design

Graphic Design was once known as "commercial art", which meant art created for business, advertising or commercial use. Although the name has changed the principal is still the same. There was a time when Commercial Artists didn't use computers, but now computers are a principle tool in the graphic design industry. The software graphic designers use these day is pretty standardised and include programs like Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Flash, Quark Express, Lightroom, etc. As for the word "graphic", it's a term that has come to be an umbrella term for "visual art". In other words, graphic design is different from Sound Design, Interior Design, architectual design or product design as the principles of Graphic Design unlike the other examples is that it is the combined use of text and imagery to convey a message, advertise or communicate somthing to a target audience as effectively as possible.

Today, graphic designers work on a variety of things including, brochures, logos, billboards, video games, film and television graphics, book illustrations, web design, product packaging...the list goes on. Even things you wouldn't expect. Go into a wellknown retail store and look . All the photos, signs, and even color scheme of the store itself was created by a team of graphic designers. We all are very familiar with the golden arches of Mac Donalds, the Just Do It slogan and Tick of Nike to name two, but there are millions of other Symbols, Brands and Slogans that we can recognise!! This widspread recocognition is the proof of successful and effective graphic design.

                                                                                      

The principles of design are, unity, Balance, Contrast, Economy, Direction, Emphasis, Proportion and Rythem.
The use of Typography is just as important as the imagery, infact a message can be communicated through the careful use of font design alone.

Graphics Design can be viewed in a multitude of different ways, from illustration, different printing methods, typography, computer generated imagery, photography, photomontage and collage to name a few...... !  These methods are used by Graphic Designers to create Brands, Logos, Symbols and Slogans to create campaigns, advertisments or simply to make a visual statement, which has been commissioned by a client and is intended to target a specific consumer group.