hello and welcome to this beginner's
guide series to graphic design
from what graphic design is skills to be
a graphic designer design theory
education you need equipment you need to
the graphic design portfolio and
interview advice this series is for
anyone at any level so if you're
interested in graphic design and
considering becoming a graphic designer
then join me as i discuss a series of
graphic design topics
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so you're interested in graphic design
perhaps considering becoming a graphic
designer and looking to learn more in
this video i'm going to discuss what
graphic design is
now a lot of people on my channel have
asked me this question mainly youngsters
and people who are thinking about
pursuing graphic design and want to know
what graphic design is and if it's right
for them
now i have often found this a really
hard question as it does not really have
a simple answer without some degree of
explanation
now if you google this it will tell you
that graphic design is the art or skill
of combining text and pictures in
advertisements magazines or books
so quite a simple and accurate
explanation there though i happen to
think there's more to it than that
in this video i'm going to attempt to
answer this question and give you my
take on it from my experience
so what is graphic design
well let's start simple
so with graphic design we have two
things we have graphic and design
graphic is visual which is associated
with art imagination and expression
involving many mediums such as drawing
painting engraving or lettering given
clear and explicit detail
so the graphic part of graphic design is
made up of visual elements the building
blocks of design
the basic visual elements that combine
to create graphic design include the
following line color shape
texture space form and typography
through the harness of our artistic
expression we choose these visual
elements and arrange them on a surface
in a layout to convey an idea
now the second part is design which is
to decide upon the look and function of
something before it is made
so design is thinking problem solving
and practicality theory
in graphic design there are rules that
can be considered these rules are called
the principles of design these
principles all have a relationship
between each other and appear in every
well-designed piece of work you see
so the design principles make the design
in graphic design
a good grasp of design theory will mean
there is always substance behind your
work
the key principles of design are
contrast hierarchy alignment balance
proximity repetition simplicity and
function
when we bring both the visual elements
and the design principles together we
have graphic design
now graphic design is not drawing
graphic design is not painting graphic
design is not creating a poster or a
quick logo on your computer these things
are the means to the end and skills in
their own right
graphic design is not about making
things look pretty graphic design is the
organization and presentation of
information developed through a creative
process for a particular function
in graphic design we must first
understand information a message or
brief and then research think imagine
and develop and create a solution a
concept in order to communicate that
information tell a story a message or
idea in a visual way
it's only once we have a solid idea
developed through the design process we
can use our skills with layout color
typography and creative tools to bring
that idea to life
once upon a time that would have been
with just the aid of a pencil or
paintbrush on paper
today it's all those things and more
today we also have cameras computers and
printers
since the invention of the print press
which enabled reproduction on a mass
scale
graphic design has been used to
communicate and spread messages
worldwide
through the evolution of technology
today we are surrounded by an abundance
of visual communication
today graphic design is implemented
across a broad spectrum of media both
print and digital such as advertising
branding web design
interface design magazine layout paper
engineering
and packaging tv motion graphics
infographics signage art and
installations and digital art
if you are looking to pursue a career in
graphic design you will inevitably end
up creating work across one of those
sectors
over many decades in the past graphic
design has shaped culture through pop
art political art and commercial art
today graphic design has a big
commercial side it's associated heavily
with commerce and used to sell and
advertise things but that's not all it
has to be the power of graphic design to
inform influence and instruct on a
commercial level can also be used to
educate and inspire generation
i believe graphic design is the unity of
two opposing forces
artistic expression and practical
application design theory
as a graphic designer these two forces
will always be at odds with each other
in your mind
when you can harness these two forces
together in harmony then you can create
great visual communication
so that's an introduction to what
graphic design is for any of you that
were unsure of what graphic design was i
hope that has helped to explain
in this video i mentioned that graphic
design is made of two things visual
elements and design principles over the
next seven episodes i'm going to talk
more about design theory and talk in
detail about visual elements that make a
piece of graph design work
in the next video i'm going to start by
talking about line as a visual element
in graphic design so see you in the next
video
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