"Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives."
The study of creating visual designs for print media, including logos, illustrations, infographics, and layouts.
Design elements: The basic building blocks of design, including color, line, shape, texture, and space.
Principles of design: The guidelines that govern how design elements are arranged in order to create a visually pleasing composition. These principles include balance, contrast, unity, repetition, and movement.
Typography: The art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable, and appealing. This includes choosing the right fonts, sizes, and spacing to convey the intended message.
Layout: The arrangement of design elements within a printed piece, such as a magazine page or a brochure. Layout involves balancing text and images to create a visually appealing and easy-to-read design.
Design software: The tools used to create digital designs, including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Familiarity with these tools is crucial for creating professional-quality print designs.
Color theory: The study of how color affects our perceptions and emotions. Understanding color theory can help designers choose the right colors to convey the intended message and create a mood or atmosphere.
Image editing: The process of manipulating images using software tools. This includes adjusting color and contrast, removing backgrounds, and resizing images to fit within a design.
Branding and identity: The process of creating a company's visual identity, including its logo, typography, color palette, and other design elements. This involves understanding the target audience and creating a visual identity that represents the company's values and mission.
Print production: The process of preparing a design for printing, including selecting the right paper, ink, and finishing options. Familiarity with print production is crucial for ensuring that designs are printed accurately and look their best.
Marketing and advertising: Understanding how design can be used to promote products and services through print ads, brochures, and other marketing materials. This involves understanding target audiences and creating designs that effectively communicate the intended message.
Branding and Identity Design: Designs logos, brand identities, and marketing materials for companies and products to create a consistent brand image.
Advertising Design: Creates compelling, eye-catching advertisements for print and digital media to promote products, services or events.
Publication Design: Designs magazines, books, newsletters, and newspapers to create visually appealing layouts that are easy to read.
Packaging Design: Designs product packaging that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional, protecting and promoting the product inside.
Environmental Design: Designs graphics for public spaces like museums, zoos, and theme parks to create an immersive and engaging experience.
Web Design: Designs visuals for websites and other digital media, including graphics and interactive elements that enhance user experience.
Motion Graphics Design: Creates animated graphics and videos for broadcast, advertising, and online content.
User Interface Design: Designs the interface for software and apps, creating intuitive and user-friendly interfaces that enable users to easily navigate the computer or mobile application.
Exhibition Design: Designs exhibits and displays for museums, galleries, and trade shows to create a unique atmosphere that showcases products or exhibits in a creative way.
Environmental Graphics Design: Designs large-scale graphics for architectural and interior design projects, including signage, wayfinding systems, painted murals, and digital displays.
Type Design: Creates custom typefaces or fonts for individual projects or sale.
Infographics Design: Designs visual representations of data, statistics, and information in a memorable and engaging way.
"Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of design and of the fine arts."
"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."
"The role of the graphic designer in the communication process is that of encoder or interpreter of the message. They work on the interpretation, ordering, and presentation of visual messages."
"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."
"That graphic design transforms a linguistic message into a graphic manifestation."
"Graphic design has, as a field of application, different areas of knowledge focused on any visual communication system."
"For example, it can be applied in advertising strategies or it can also be applied in the aviation world or space exploration."
"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."
"Graphic design as applied art was initially linked to the boom of rise of printing in Europe in the 15th century."
"The growth of consumer culture in the Industrial Revolution."
"Graphic design was closely associated with advertising in the 19th century."
"Given the rapid and massive growth in information exchange today, the demand for experienced designers is greater than ever."
"The development of new technologies and the need to pay attention to human factors beyond the competence of the engineers who develop them."
"Graphic design is an applied art."
"Transmitting specific messages to social groups with specific objectives."
"Aesthetics of typography and compositional arrangement of text, ornamentation, and imagery."
"Using text and graphics to communicate visually."
"Using manual or digital tools."