You have a general sense of what graphic design is - after all, you see logos and clever advertisements everyday. Nonetheless, you may not fully understand what graphic design is. This introduction on graphic design should provide some of the information you need to decide whether to pursue a job or course in graphic design.In simple terms, graphic designers are visual communicators. In their jobs they use tools such as pencils, paint brushes, computers, and cameras to create images or words that communicate an idea. White space, pictures, shapes, and typefaces are situated in a particular manner, and attention is paid to how overall aesthetic forms, shapes, and colors influence the message of a subject.
Types of Graphic Design
In approaching a graphic design job, designers employ primarily four modes of design: image-based design, type-based design, image and type, and symbols, logos, and logotypes.
Image-based design, as the name suggests, refers to the use of images in communicating a message. Words are not used and images are created photographically, by hand, or generated by computer. Graphic designers think about what an image means. For example, a butterfly might represent something delicate while a feather might suggest lightness.
Designers who rely on words to convey a message are type-based designers. Type-based designers place importance in their job not only on words but how words look. Factors such as typeface, type size, layout, and formatting are considered. Type-based designers think about the message as well as the readers as they craft a design.
Graphic designers also use symbols and logos to represent an idea or a corporate identity, for example. Symbols can be used alone to communicate an idea or they can be combined with a logotype to create an identity that is particularly meaningful.
