Graphic Design. Introduction. Why Graphic Design?

Transcription

1 Graphic Design Introduction Before I get started, how many of you like to draw? And when I say draw, it could be doodling, sketching, scribbling, rendering, roughs, chicken scratch, etc. Great, I encourage all of you to take out a pad, notebook or ipad and doodle while I give this presentation. You don t have to worry about taking notes because I ll provide a link to the full notes and this presentation at the end. How many of you are interested in graphic design? web design? video game design? app design/development? product development? print? interior design? fashion design? tattoo artist? visual effects? illustration? animation? architecture? Drawing is an important skill in all of these fields. More on that in a moment. My name is Graham Nash. I m a Graphic Designer. I work for a small creative services company called High Point in Brunswick, ME. We handle design, print, direct mail, marketing, web design and development, and promotional items. I work approximately 40 hours a week, but as a creative professional you ll find you re actually working all the time. Ideas come at the most bizarre times (in the shower, as I m falling asleep, while I m asleep, while driving, etc.) so, I recommend always having a notebook and pen or pencil handy. I make approximately $40,000/year. Why Graphic Design? I ve always loved to draw so, I knew I wanted to do something involving art. My parents encouraged me. I took as many art classes as I could in High School. I was a member of the yearbook staff my senior year which gave me my first taste of desktop publishing. I didn t get a scholarship so, I ended up at a smaller local college which offered a graphic design/marketing communications degree. My dad, being an engineer and very logical and practical suggested I go that route because it would pay the bills. Graphic design wasn t necessarily my dream job, but I decided it was the most practical option for me.

2 Preparation For the graphic design side, I studied: - tons of art history - drawing and figure drawing - illustration - 2-D design - 3-D design - typography - graphic design software (such as the Adobe Creative Suite) - graphic design production - graphic design identity systems - digital graphic design - culminating in a portfolio review For the marketing communications side, I studied: - advertising - marketing - economics - accounting - communications I also did an internship, and I highly recommend doing one even if its unpaid because the experience you ll gain working in the real world will be worth it. It took me 5 years to go through college. I graduated with a BFA degree (primary concentration in graphic design, secondary in marketing communications) in (University of South Alabama) and because I lived at home and worked two jobs, I had no student debt. Let s Get to Work! It used to be that a specialist was needed in a single area of design, but there s been a shift to being more well-rounded because clients want to entrust entire campaigns or branding efforts to you or your group so it will have a unified direction between different mediums. My career to date has definitely followed that path. I started out as a print specialist. I worked on print advertising, stationery, brochures, sell sheets, direct mail, posters, tradeshow graphics, packaging, anything that was print related. The software company I worked for had separate designers for web and multimedia. My next job focused on logo, identity and brand development for Orthodontists and Dentists. Our

3 Skills department still focused primarily on print, but we designed elements for a separate web development department. Today, not only do I handle print design, I develop logos and identity systems, handle brand management, web design & development, design and development, promotional items (about the only thing I don t have a hand in is video and animation, but I ve had a hand in the development of some). Critical thinking: It s not about how good you are at using the software. It s how well you problem solve that will set you apart from other designers. The better you are at solving issues in a unique way that resonates with your target audience the better designer you ll be. Anticipate problems before they arise. Critical thinking skills and creative problem solving will be your most important skill set. Communication: If you can t relate your ideas in a meaningful way to your co-workers or clients how will you be able to communicate to your audience? You can t design in a vacuum. Load your mind with relevant information the more you know about what product or service you re designing for, the better you can communicate it. You need to be able to communicate effectively with outside vendors and understand their capabilities. Build and maintain good working relationships. Be personable, listen, understand and interpret what your client s intentions are, what they need and want from you. See the big picture, beyond the initial scope to what something can possibly be, not just what it is or what you ve been told it should be. Drawing: It s important to draw because drawing will help you develop and refine your ideas. Mine for ideas by drawing lots of thumbnail sketches of whatever it is you re designing. Design is an alchemy of words and images, and drawing is still the best way to ease the creation and development of these persuading images. Again when I say drawing you could replace that word with terms like doodling, sketching, scribbling, rendering, roughs, chicken scratch, etc. Drawing can be simple it doesn t have to be complex to communicate. Anyone can draw. Anyone here ever play the game Draw Something? It wasn t geared toward the creative community, but anyone with an ios device. The more you do it and make it a habit the better you will get and your own style will emerge (if it hasn t already). Computer & Software: It s important to strike a balance between analog and digital. Analog facilitates digital so, start with drawing, refine your idea and THEN bring it into the computer. For graphic design there are 4 programs in the Adobe Creative Suite you will want to learn inside and out: Adobe Illustrator for vector graphics, Adobe Photoshop for image editing and manipulation, Adobe InDesign for combining your vector artwork

4 such as logos or illustrations with images and copy to create magazines, books, posters, packaging, brochures, etc. Once you ve created your masterpiece you ll output it in PDF format which is where Adobe Acrobat (not Reader) comes into play for proofing to clients, posting online or providing files for final output. If you want to start learning how to use the Creative Suite, Adobe offers a creative cloud subscription for $20/mo to students and teachers. You can also download free trial versions. Whether it s a Mac or a PC, you re going to need to be able to use a computer, navigate the web and use and manage other programs for , file transfers, font management, image optimization, etc. Typography: Understanding how to use type and being aware of its limitations will go a long way towards helping you solve creative problems. Using typography effectively will help you develop a hierarchy within your piece giving it the proper flow. Using the right font can evoke a specific feeling or fit a particular look or style. Using typography correctly will give your piece a more polished and professional look. Study examples in print and on the web. Organization: Organize your files in a specific, logical way so not only you will be able to navigate and find them, but your co-workers will too. Create specific job folders for customers with print samples and project paperwork. Time management: Develop smart workflows which allow you to work smarter, not harder. You ll typically find yourself in a fast paced environment and deadlines are what they are. Technophile: Be a bit of a technophile, stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in the media/s you design for and understand how they affect your workflow. Perfectionist: It s expensive to print a run of 5,000 brochures... twice. Proofread your work carefully. Don t just rely on your client to look it over and give the go ahead. Ultimately the end result is your responsibility so make sure everything is perfect. It s expensive to reprint and you never get a second chance at a first presentation. Typical Work Day Unless there s an emergency, my first hour to hour and a half is spent answering s, returning calls, and launching print jobs. Then turn off or hide my because it gets distracting. Don t worry, if a client really needs to get in touch with you, they will call.

5 Projects: Next I check project calendar for priorities and upcoming deadlines (maybe go over a work in progress or WIP) and focus on those projects. I generally try to work on projects in the order that they come in, but sometimes a more important client needs something right away. Clients: Sometimes I have client meetings in my office, sometimes I travel to them and sometimes I meet with them over the web or on the phone. Clients often drop by the office to pick up proofs, completed print jobs or promo items, or just to say hi. Purchasing: Make purchasing decisions for photography or illustrations, whether it s stock or hiring an illustrator or photographer. Marketing: Working on internal marketing, website, s, brochures, etc. Breaks: It s important to take breaks for eyes, but also for fun - studies show that taking frequent breaks as opposed to long stretches of focused work make for more productive workdays. Everything else: Sketch out ideas, proofreading, answering the phone, checking the status of projects with outside vendors, entering jobs into our CMS system, putting together proposals, quoting, attend webinars, read design blogs, search for info. Challenges Managing Expectations: Not only do we expect the best from ourselves, but our clients do as well. Convincing those in power that a winning concept cannot necessarily be immediately conjured out of thin air is a challenge. Communicating Your Ideas: At the end of the day if you can t talk about and explain your design, it may never see the light of day. These days, great designers need to be great sales people too. Rejection: It can be difficult getting used to clients rejecting your ideas, especially when you ve put everything you ve got into an idea. Remember that as a commercial artist, it is your design, but it s not. The client has the final say. Deadlines: They are what they are. Deadlines can be very demanding at times and dealing with that stress is certainly a challenge. Staying Up-to-date: As a designer you are constantly trying to improve. In this industry if you are standing still, you re falling behind; you are constantly expanding your portfolio, your designs, your knowledge, your career and more.

6 About Doodling... 75% of your brain s processing power is visual. Drawing improves thinking. It s a common misconception that if you re doodling you re not paying attention. Turns out that s not the case. A study published in the Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology found that doodling improves your cognition, or thinking, skills and memory recall by at least 30%. Doodling keeps your brain processing without affecting its performance on the main task at hand. So doodling is a preemptive measure to stop you from losing focus. Drawing also enhances learning. There are four ways a person can intake information in order to make decisions: visual, auditory, reading/writing, kinesthetic (touch). In order for your brain to begin learning at least two of these modalities must be engaged. If you have an emotional response you only have to engage one modality. The cool thing about drawing is that when you draw you engage all 4 modalities. As you draw more and get better at it, if you like to draw you ll get the emotional response for supercharged ideation, for creating concepts, for coming up with ideas. Drawing is a taxi for your ideas. If you draw, even just one little doodle, everyday for 21 days straight it will become a habit. The more you draw the better you will get and the better your designs will be in whatever design field you go into. Graphic Design USA Magazine: Top Design Schools Academy Of Art University, San Francisco Carnegie Mellon School Of Design Drexel University, Antoinette Westphal College Of Media Arts & Design Full Sail University Kansas City Art Institute Maryland Institute College Of Art Otis College Of Art And Design Parsons The New School For Design Philadelphia University Graphic Design Communication Portfolio Center Pratt Institute Prattmwp Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute Rhode Island School Of Design

7 Scad: The University For Creative Careers School Of Advertising Art School Of Visual Arts Sessions College For Professional Design The Art Institute Of Tampa The College Of Saint Rose Center For Art And Design The Shintaro Akatsu School Of Design University Of Bridgeport Most Influential Graphic Designers of the Past 50 Years 1. Milton Glaser 2. Paul Rand 3. Saul Bass 4. Herb Lubalin 5. Massimo Vignelli 6. David Carson 7. Peter Saville 8. Paula Scher 9. Stefan Sagmeister 10. Lou Dorfsman 11. Walter Landor 12. Seymour Chwast 13. Jan Tschichold 14. Ivan Chermayeff 15. Susan Kare Most Influential Graphic Designers Working Today 1. Stefan Sagmeister 2. Paula Scher 3. David Carson 4. Milton Glaser 5. Paul Sahre 6. Michael Bierut 7. Charles S. Anderson 8. Shepard Fairey 9. Chip Kidd 10. Sean Adams