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and Anonymous , 1 as these Pictograph s from the US National Park Service illustrate. ]] Graphic design is the process of Communicating Visual ly using text and images to present information. Graphic design practice embraces a range of cognitive skills, aesthetics and crafts, including Typography , Visual Arts and Page Layout . Like other forms of Design , graphic design often refers to both the process (designing) by which the communication is created and the products (designs) which are generated. GRAPHIC DESIGN HISTORY Early : Folio 114v, Decorated text. ''Tunc dicit illis'']] The story of graphic design spans the history of humankind from the caves of Lascaux to the dazzling neons of Ginza . In both this lengthy history and in the relatively recent explosion of Visual Communication in the 20th and 21st centuries, there is sometimes a blurring distinction and over-lapping of Advertising art, graphic design and Fine Art . After all, they share many of the same elements, theories, principles, practices and Language s, and sometimes the same benefactor or client. In Advertising art the ultimate objective is the sale of goods and services. In graphic design, "the essence is to give order to information, form to ideas, expression and feeling to artifacts that document human experience."Meggs, Philip B., 'A history of graphic design'. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1983 The paintings in the caves of Lascaux around 14,000 BC and the birth of written language in the third or fourth millennium BC are both significant milestones in the history of graphic design and other fields which hold roots to graphic design. The Book Of Kells is an early example of graphic design. It is a lavishly decorated hand-written copy of the Gospels of the Christian Bible created by Celt ic Monks around 800AD. From 1891 to 1896 William Morris ' Kelmscott Press published books that are some of the most significant of the graphic design products of the Arts And Crafts Movement , and made a very lucrative business of creating books of great stylistic refinement and selling them to the wealthy for a premium. Morris proved that a market existed for works of graphic design in their own right and helped pioneer the separation of design from production and from fine art. The work of the Kelmscott Press is characterized by its obsession with historical styles. This historicism was, however, important as it amounted to the first significant reaction to the stale state of nineteenth-century graphic design. Morris' work, along with the rest of the Private Press movement, directly influenced Art Nouveau and is indirectly responsible for developments in early twentieth century graphic design in general. Modern aircraft. The cyan blue pattern, the US Flag , Presidential Seal and the lettering were all designed at different times and combined in this one final design. Graphic design is applied in virtually every organization or society. There are virtually no limits to the size and applications of graphic design.]] '' cover for Duran Duran designed by Malcolm Garrett . Illustration by Patrick Nagel . Fine art illustrations are used in graphic design, but are not usually considered graphic design until typography is applied.]] - a classic piece of 'anti-design' Postmodern graphics]] The signage in the London Underground is a classic of the modern era and used a font designed by Edward Johnston in 1916 . In the 1920s , Soviet Constructivism (art) applied 'intellectual production' in different spheres of production. The movement saw individualistic art as useless in revolutionary Russia and thus moved towards creating objects for utilitary purposes. They designed buildings, theater sets, posters, fabrics, clothing, furniture, logos, menus, etc. Jan Tschichold codified the principles of modern typography in his 1928 book, ''New Typography''. He later repudiated the philosophy he espoused in this book as being fascistic, but it remained very influential. Tschichold, Bauhaus typographers such as Herbert Bayer and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy , and El Lissitzky are the fathers of graphic design as we know it today. They pioneered production techniques and stylistic devices used throughout the twentieth century. The following years saw graphic design in the modern style gain widespread acceptance and application. A booming post-World War II American economy established a greater need for graphic design, mainly advertising and packaging. The emigration of the German Bauhaus school of design to Chicago in 1937 brought a "mass-produced" minimalism to America; sparking a wild fire of "modern" architecture and design. Notable names in mid-century modern design include Adrian Frutiger , designer of the Typeface s Univers and Frutiger ; Paul Rand , who, from the late 1930s until his death in 1996, took the principles of the Bauhaus and applied them to popular advertising and logo design, helping to create a uniquely American approach to European minimalism while becoming one of the principal pioneers of the subset of graphic design known as Corporate Identity ; and Josef Müller-Brockmann , who designed posters in a severe yet accessible manner typical of the 1950s and 1960s . An important point was reached in graphic design with the publishing of the . USES Graphic design is used whenever visual intricacy and Creativity are applied to the presentation of Text and Image ry. Contemporary design practice has been extended to the modern computer, in particular WYSIWYG user interfaces, often referred to as Interactive Design , or Multimedia design. Anywhere there is a need to Communicate visually, there is potential enhancement of communications through graphic design. Here are a few examples: In Administration From road signs to technical schematics, from interoffice memos to reference manuals, graphic design enhances transfer of knowledge. Readability is enhanced by improving the visual presentation of text. Intricate and clever pictures are used when words cannot suffice. In Advertising Graphic designs have a unique ability to sell a product or idea through effective visual communications. It is applied to products as well as elements of company identity like Logo s, colors and text, together defined as Brand ing. ''See Advertising ''. Branding has increasingly become important in the range of services offered by many graphic designers, alongside Corporate Identity and the terms are often used interchangeably. In Education Graphics are used in textbooks for subjects such as geography, science and math to illustrate theories and diagrams. A common example of graphics in use to educate is diagrams of human anatomy. Graphic design is also applied to layout and formatting of educational material to make the information more accessible and more readily understandable. In Entertainment From decoration, to scenery, to visual story telling, graphic design is applied to Entertainment . From cover to cover in novels and comic books, from Opening Credits to Closing Credits in film, from programs to props on stage, graphic design helps set the theme and the intended mood. In Journalism From scientific journals to news reporting, the presentation of opinion and facts is often improved with graphics and thoughtful compositions of visual information. Newspapers, magazines, blogs, television and film documentaries may use graphic design to inform and entertain. On the Web Graphic designers have long been involved in Web Design . Combining visual communication skills with the interactive communication skills of user interaction and online branding, graphic designers often work with web developers to create both the Look And Feel of a web site and enhance the online experience of web site visitors. GRAPHIC DESIGN TOOLS The primary tool for graphic design is the creative mind. Critical, observational, quantitative and analytic thinking are required for designing page layout and Rendering . If the executor is merely following a sketch, script or instructions (as may be supplied by an Art Director ) they are not usually considered the author. The eye and the hand are often augmented with the use of external Traditional or Digital Image Editing tools. The selection of the appropriate one to the communication problem at hand is also a key skill in graphic design work, and a defining factor of the rendering Style . In the mid 1980s , the arrival of Desktop Publishing and the introduction of Graphic Art Software Applications introduced a generation of designers to computer image manipulation and 3D image creation that had previously been laborious. Computer graphic design enabled designers to instantly see the effects of layout or typographic changes without using any ink in the process, and to simulate the effects of traditional media without requiring a lot of space. Traditional tools such as Pencil s or Markers are often used to develop graphic design ideas, even when computers are used for finalization. Computer s are generally considered to be an indispensable tool used in the graphic design industry. Computers and Software Application s are generally seen, by Creative Professional s, as more effective production Tool s than traditional methods. However, some designers continue to use manual and traditional tools for production, such as Milton Glaser . There is some debate whether computers enhance the creative process of graphic design.www.designtalkboard.com [http://www.designtalkboard.com/designtalk/index.php/topic,1441.msg6356.html#msg6356 retrieved 3-18-2007 Rapid production from the computer allows many designers to explore multiple ideas quickly with more detail than what could be achieved by traditional hand-rendering or Paste-up on paper, moving the designer through the creative process more quickly.Jann Lawrence Pollard and Jerry James Little, ''Creative Computer Tools for Artists: Using Software to Develop Drawings and Paintings,'' Nov 2001 Introduction However, being faced with limitless choices does not help isolate the best design solution and can lead to designers endlessly iterating without a clear design outcome. New ideas can come by way of experimenting with tools and methods, be they traditional or digital. Some designers explore ideas using pencil and paper to Avoid Creating Within The Limits of whatever Computer Font s, Clipart , Stock Photo s, or rendering filters (e.g. Kai's Power Tools ) are available on any particular configuration. Others use many different mark-making tools and resources from computers to sticks and mud as a means of inspiring creativity. One of the key features of graphic design is it involves selecting the appropriate image making tools out of it's ability to generate meaning rather than preference.Mike Rohde, [http://www.rohdesign.com/weblog/archives/000472.html ''Wall Street Journal Mention in Jeremy Wagstaff's Loose Wire,'' Retrieved 3-19-2007 Some graphic design ideas are created entirely in the mind, before approaching any external media. A graphic designer may also use may detract from a creative thought process. The traditional-design/computer-production hybrid process may be used for freeing ones creativity in Page Layout or Image Development as well. Traditional graphic designers may employ computer-savvy Production Artist s to produce their ideas from sketches, without needing to learn the computer skills themselves. SEE ALSO Related disciplines Related topics EXTERNAL LINKS AND ARTICLES
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