What is Graphic design?
Graphic design, also known as communication design, is the art and
practice of planning and projecting ideas and experiences with visual
and textual content. The form it takes can be physical or virtual and
can include images, words, or graphics. The experience can take place in
an instant or over a long period of time. The work can happen at any
scale, from the design of a single postage stamp to a national postal
signage system. It can be intended for a small number of people, such as
a one-off or limited-edition book or exhibition design, or can be seen
by millions, as with the interlinked digital and physical content of an
international news organization. It can also be for any purpose, whether
commercial, educational, cultural, or political
Design that’s to be experienced in an instant is the easiest to recognize. Designers arrange type, form, and image on posters, advertisements, packages, and other printed matter, as well as information visualizations and graphics for newspapers and magazines.
This kind of design is often confused with illustration, but while an
illustrator creates or draws an image in response to an idea, a
designer combines illustrations, photographs, and type in order to
communicate an idea. One way to understand this is to consider the
difference between a furniture maker and an interior designer. One makes
a specific object for a specific purpose, while the other thinks about
how all of the objects and surfaces of a room create an environment for
the person moving through it. Good illustrators are often capable
designers and vice versa, making it harder to distinguish between the
two practices.
Motion graphics are equally predetermined and
crafted but are meant to be experienced over a fixed time span, like the
opening credits of a movie or an online video that explains part of a
newspaper article. They usually go beyond the visual, curating and
cueing sound to moving vector graphics, photographs, and video. The
difference between motion graphics and videography or animation is the
same as the difference between two-dimensional graphics and
illustration. Motion graphics combine animation,
videography, and typography for a communicative purpose, and this
combination over time and the space of the screen constitutes the
design.
Whether physical or digital, books and magazines
are meant to be enjoyed over time, during which the reader has control
over the pace and sequence of the experience. In books, the content
usually comes before the design, while in magazines, the design is a
structure that anticipates written and visual content that hasn’t yet
been created. Some commercial websites or exhibition catalogues also fit
in this category, as do digital or physical museum displays that show
information that doesn’t change. All have content in a suggested order
that has been thought about ahead of time, but the user or reader finds
his or her own path through the material.
Many designers also produce systems that are meant to be experienced over time but aren’t confined to the making of objects. Wayfinding, a form of environmental graphics,
refers to branding and signage applied throughout and on buildings or
outdoor areas like parks or highways. While each sign or symbol in
wayfinding is a work of design, together they form a larger system that
helps people navigate while maintaining a sense of the character of
where they are. The design of the system—the relationships among all of
those parts—is where the designer brings greatest value.
The larger category of environmental graphics includes any design
that connects a person to a place, extending to and overlapping with dynamic displays, didactic type and imagery, and creative placemaking.
A wall of terminals that show arriving and departing flights, a digital
display on the facade of a building that shows stock prices, an
inspirational quote in a building lobby, and a placard explaining a
historical place or landmark are all examples of environmental graphics.
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