9 What is the Purpose of Graphic Design?
What is the Purpose of Graphic Design? I was once in an elevator with the custodian
of our building. I knew him by name, and he knew I was a professor of graphic design.
This day he proudly announced to me that he planned to open his own graphic design business.
“Really?” I responded with genuine curiosity. This man had never spoken to me about graphic
design before. “Yes. I just got a new computer and now
I can choose fonts.” I was dumbfounded. It was apparent that he
thought that choosing fonts was all there was to graphic design. To reinforce his position,
he continued, “I designed my first brochure last night, and I used twenty-eight different
fonts!” Mercifully, the elevator door opened on my
floor and I got out. This kind of idea is all too common, even
among graphic design students and a few novice practitioners. They feel a graphic
designer’s job is to “make it fancy.” or to
“jazz-up” the content, or even to “make it look cool” or While jazzing-up
a design may be appropriate in some circumstances, it might be disastrous in others, and it never
was the underlying purpose of good graphic design.
So, just what is the real purpose of graphic design?
To aid communication. This can be accomplished in several ways:
1. Attracting Attention. In our world of never-ending messages, one must first get a pair of eyes
to look at a message before it can be communicated. Designers use tools like typography, layout,
color and imagery to do this. So esthetics do matter.
2. Organizing the Message. Complex messages or bodies of information must be broken down
into manageable and logical subsets, as well as a logical order. This is essential in media
such as brochures and web sites. 3. Use Imagery & type Correctly. A given
design can lead with imagery or with type. Type can be a kind of imagery in itself. When
used together, there needs to be a hierarchy in the elements to control the viewer’s
eyes and the communication experience. 4. Using the Right Media or Output and Using
it Correctly. This may seem too obvious to mention, but the physical form of the media
can give advantages but also imposes limitations. It all comes down to Communication. But there
are different ways to communicate and they all have different constraints.
A poster does not work like a website. A brochure has different parameters compared
to a business card. Signage is not the same as a magazine ad.
Every different media has its own constraints. But branding design is different. A corporate
identity doesn’t need to work in a single application with its single set of limitations.
A successful branding design must work effectively in ALL of those situations and, as such, must
conform to the limitations of ALL applications. Each of those applications impose limitations
that a brand design must conform to. And it’s not just the applications: a successful
brand must work well in positive or reverse, for either interior or exterior (with all
of those differing lighting conditions), at any size, in color or in B&W, printed in offset
lithography, letterpress, silk screening, flexography, cut vinyl.
Remember this central principle: the primary job of graphic design is to facilitate communication.
Anything that compromises that core function of communication is counter-productive.
And the primary function of a brand design is to be easily and clearly identified in
all situations, in all media, at all sizes. All of these considerations are why you can’t
approach branding design like any other area of graphic design, as we will discuss in our
future videos. For more information go to LogoDesignTheory.com.
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