Graphic design
Its practice involves creativity, innovation and lateral thinking using manual or digital tools, where it is usual to use text and graphics to communicate visually.
Usually, graphic design uses the aesthetics of typography and the compositional arrangement of the text, ornamentation, and imagery to convey ideas, feelings, and attitudes beyond what language alone expresses.
[9][10] In this sense, in some countries graphic design is related as only associated with the production of sketches and drawings, this is incorrect, since visual communication is a small part of a huge range of types and classes where it can be applied.
With origins in Antiquity and the Middle Ages,[11] graphic design as applied art was initially linked to the boom of the rise of printing in Europe in the 15th century and the growth of consumer culture in the Industrial Revolution.
In graphic design, "the essence is to give order to information, form to ideas, expression, and feeling to artifacts that document the human experience.
[11] It can be argued that graphic communications with specific purposes have their origins in Paleolithic cave paintings and the birth of written language in the third millennium BCE.
However, the differences in working methods, auxiliary sciences, and required training are such that it is not possible to clearly identify the current graphic designer with prehistoric man, the 15th-century xylographer, or the lithographer of 1890.
Nevertheless, the evolution of graphic design as a practice and profession has been closely linked to technological innovations, social needs, and the visual imagination of professionals.
Increasingly, throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, advertising agencies, book publishers, and magazines hired art directors who organized all visual elements of communication and integrated them into a harmonious whole, creating an expression appropriate to the content.
[11] In China, during the Tang dynasty (618–907) wood blocks were cut to print on textiles and later to reproduce Buddhist texts.
[18] In the mid-15th century in Mainz, Germany, Johannes Gutenberg developed a way to reproduce printed pages at a faster pace using movable type made with a new metal alloy[19] that created a revolution in the dissemination of information.
[24] In 1917, Frederick H. Meyer, director and instructor at the California School of Arts and Crafts, taught a class entitled "Graphic Design and Lettering".
Johnston redesigned the Underground sign and logo to include his typeface on the blue bar in the center of a red circle.
[citation needed] Tschichold, Bauhaus typographers such as Herbert Bayer and László Moholy-Nagy and El Lissitzky greatly influenced graphic design.
With the advent of the web, information designers with experience in interactive tools are increasingly used to illustrate the background to news stories.
[36] In the mid-1980s desktop publishing and graphic art software applications introduced computer image manipulation and creation capabilities that had previously been manually executed.
Traditional tools such as pencils can be useful even when computers are used for finalization; a designer or art director may sketch numerous concepts as part of the creative process.
[39] Some designers argue that computers allow them to explore multiple ideas quickly and in more detail than can be achieved by hand-rendering or paste-up.
Other open-source programs used include GIMP for photo-editing and image manipulation, Krita for digital painting, and Scribus for page layout.
Print design techniques have evolved over centuries, beginning with the invention of movable type by the Chinese alchemist Pi Sheng, later refined by the German inventor Johannes Gutenberg.
This involves the creation of the entire process of acquiring and integrating the product, including aspects of branding, design, usability, and function.
This profession requires a combination of skills, including visual design, social psychology, development, project management, and most importantly, empathy towards the end-users.
[42] This area of graphic design requires practitioners to understand physical installations that have to be manufactured and withstand the same environmental conditions as buildings.
Good graphic design builds strong, recognizable brands, communicates messages clearly, and shapes how consumers see and react to things.
Studies have shown that certain colors can evoke specific emotions and behaviors in consumers, and that typography can influence how information is perceived and remembered.
For example, infographics and data visualizations can help to distill complex information into a format that is easy to understand and engaging for consumers.
Graphic designers must take care to accurately represent information in all visual elements, such as graphs, charts, and images, and avoid distorting or misrepresenting data.
This means avoiding any images or messaging that perpetuate negative or harmful stereotypes based on race, gender, religion, or other characteristics.
Virtual and augmented reality technologies may also allow designers to create immersive and interactive experiences for users, blurring the lines between the digital and physical worlds.
As consumers become more conscious of environmental issues, for example, there may be a greater demand for designs that prioritize sustainability and minimize waste.
