What is graphic design?
Anyone who does graphic design, sooner or later, will think about this question. Here, I don't want to use too many words to explain it. A senior in the industry once gave a vivid analogy: design is like how paper cannot normally wrap fire, but people invented lanterns that allow paper to contain fire. That's design. To put it plainly, something that seems impossible at first glance can be achieved through design, solving the problem. That's what design is! Therefore, the essence of design is improvement and problem-solving! As graphic designers, we improve and solve these problems using our professional graphic knowledge, and that's graphic design!
What basic knowledge is needed for graphic design?
Nowadays, some people have learned a few computer software programs: Photoshop, Illustrator, CorelDRAW, PageMaker, FreeHand, attended training at a computer school for a few days, and then consider themselves graphic designers capable of doing graphic design. This is actually a rather mistaken approach! While human insight and diligence are certainly important, a scientific knowledge system is indispensable! So, what knowledge does an excellent graphic designer need? In my opinion, at least the following aspects are required: sketching, color theory, plane composition, color composition, patterns, three-dimensional composition, printing processes and hardware equipment, VI design (some treat logos as a separate course), packaging design, advertising design, layout design, bookbinding, and currently also involves online electronic advertising, etc. It also involves advertising psychology, consumer psychology, design history, history of arts and crafts, and other areas of knowledge!
Design needs management!
Even if all of the above are possessed, what else is needed? What I want to say is that graphic design requires management. Some people think that graphic design means letting their imagination run wild, just being creative, and making things look good. Actually, I would say that these people do not truly understand graphic design. There's a saying that goes well: "Graphic design is negotiation, art is ideal!" Why do we say this? In the purest sense, design is not art, nor can it be art, even if "commerce" is used to define it. But there is nothing wrong with making the activity of design artistic. Just as eating is not art, but one can eat artistically - Japanese people use women's bodies as plates to serve food, surrounded by a bunch of old men tasting delicacies. Whether those beauties have taken a bath or not is unknown. However, let's tentatively call it art.
I've mentioned before that graphic design solves problems. From a commercial perspective, graphic design conveys certain commercial information and concepts to the audience, making them interested in the product or commercial activity, ultimately playing a role in promoting sales. Therefore, what graphic designers need to solve is how to effectively convey the purpose of commerce to the audience and encourage them to actively accept it. The issues that design needs to consider must include at least the following points:
1. Understand the business plan and objectives, and find key factors that can attract the audience. Often, designers need to create such factors.
2. Understand the target group of the business plan, grasp their living habits, cultural cultivation, cognitive ability, and aesthetics. This point is the most important part of the design.
3. Based on the above two points, determine what kind of graphic elements and representation techniques (design concept) are needed to complete the design.
From the above three points, it can be seen that design has strong purposefulness and orientation. On the contrary, art is different, and artists do not need to consider these aspects at all. They can simply depict the nature they see according to their own consciousness, which is a completely personal behavior. It is the inner release of the artist, and the works of the artist hang on the wall waiting for others to appreciate and recognize them. Design works, however, are sent directly into the hands of the audience, "requiring" appreciation and recognition.
We can also distinguish between art and design from the motivation. Artists do not need, nor can they consider, what situation their artworks will be in afterward when they are creating. Secondly, their actions do not involve a client; it is entirely out of their own spiritual needs. Different from art, commercial design has clients. Designers must consider whether their designs can bring certain benefits to merchants and whether their works can be accepted by the audience. Designers play a secondary role in design activities; the audience is the most important. They express not their own subjective ideas, but commercial purposes and the general aesthetic orientation of the audience. Therefore, a CEO of an advertising company once said that in their company, the evaluation of design is not based on whether the composition is reasonable or beautiful, but whether it helps sales. Although somewhat extreme, it highlights the importance of commerce to design. If this goal is not reached, no matter how good the design is, it is still a failure.
Source: Professional Graphic Design www.08vi.com/pmsj2.htm