What is Graphic Design?

Looking Back


At the beginning of Graphic Design last year, Mrs. Lofquist gave us this exact same assignment. Now, it's time to look back to when I was first introduced to the world of Graphic Design.

In last years' post, I jotted down a couple of sentences that I think are still very relevant (and true) today.

• The full definition - the art and practice of planning and projecting ideas and experiences with visual and textual content.                                                                                                                                             
• It is also known as Communication Design.                                                                        
• The form of communication used in Graphic Design can either be either physical (such as a poster or an ad in the newspaper), or virtual (such as the format or appearance of a website).                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Definitions, job descriptions, those never change. But back then, I had never experienced Graphic Design for myself. I didn't have any personal connection; after all, I had just started the class. However, a year later, I feel like I've learned so much about Graphic Design. These things probably don't hold true to everybody, but it's how Graphic Design works for me. Graphic Design isn't something that's the same for everybody. We all have our personal tastes, our own opinions, and, most importantly, our own creativity.

Your creativity is the fuel of Graphic Design, and there are no limits to that.

If we didn't, Graphic Design would be the same everywhere we turned. But that's not the case. Everything is different in its own way. There's no right or wrong answer, because it's whatever you want it to be. That being said, here are my three personal rules that I created after last years' experience in Graphic Design.

My Three Rules

1. Creativity is great, but you have to be careful not to get carried away by too much of it.

Just a little too busy.

Last year, we created a personal logo to represent ourselves in Graphic Design. I was pretty satisfied with it at the time, but now, looking back, I wish I would have done something completely different. It was too busy; too many parts, too many things going on at once. This year, I hope to find some spare time to create a simpler, but better, logo.

2. Always, always, always know exactly what you're going to do before you start doing it.

One of the reasons I think my logo became too busy was because I didn't create a clear plan of what the final product would look like. I got a little carried away with Illustrator, and added / changed things once I started. Next time I create something, I need to make sure I have a ridiculously precise layout of the project, so there's no excuse for me to stray from it.

3. Don't substitute personal taste for purpose. 

Let's say you have two ideas for a logo: One that fits the company better, and one that you think looks better but doesn't reflect the company as well. In this case, don't choose the one you feel is better just because you like it more. Personal taste cannot be an alternative to the best fit for the project. You have to be able to take your emotions out of it to make a good decision.

Finding a Great Graphic Design Site

A great site I found is The Design Blog, which includes work of other artists, divided into sub-categories. They also select a designer of the week and a quote of the week for inspiration.

Here's the official description of the site:

About The Design Blog:

Founded, designed and curated by Ena Baćanović - designer based in Zagreb - Croatia, The Design Blog brings you carefully picked high quality inspiration, featuring works of designers and design studios from all over the world, with the main focus on young designers/ students. Except from the daily inspiration, whole week is filled with different types of inspiring posts and sections that are design-related.