Introduction to Graphic Design

If you are going to go into practically any form of business, graphic design is something you are going to become familiar with quickly. Here is a primer.

Graphic design is the use of words and images to pass on information or to create a certain visual effect. It is used both to refer to the effect that is created and the actual act of creating it. There is much overlapping between what is called advertising art, graphic design, or even fine art. Many of the elements of all three of those things are similar, but graphic design involves just about everything that can done with words and pictures to convey information.

Graphic design has administrative applications. It could be anything from the design of a road sign to the layout of a technical manual. The idea that necessary information can be passed on more readily through the use of clever pictures and carefully prepared word order is all part of graphic design. Advertising is one of the areas that is commonly associated with graphic design. It can be used in the layout of individual ads or it can be used to create a special identity for a company
through logos or a process known as branding.

Graphic design is also used in education. It has been found that proper presentation of visual materials is a very valuable aid to the learning process. Text design and the use of graphs, charts, and other visual enhancements are all used to accomplish this. Entertainment is another area that makes extensive use of graphic design. The opening and closing credits of motion pictures is one example of the use of graphic design in entertainment.

Web design is the current "hot" field in graphic design. With the explosion of the World Wide Web, the field of web design has been one of the most rapidly growing segments of graphic design. The computer has also expanded the tools used in graphic design.
Computer graphics have given designers the chance to quickly do things that in the past took a long time and a lot of labor. It gives the designers a chance to almost instantly try various techniques to evaluate them. A click of the mouse button erases everything and allows them to start over. This was not possible in the past and saves a lot of ink.

Graphic design may not be the same as fine art which serves the purpose of creating beauty for the sake of beauty itself, but it is the art of our times. The talent that graphic designers bring to their work educates and informs. It helps power our marketplaces and entertains us. The future of graphic design is exciting to consider as each day seems to bring some break through in creativity and technology.