What is
good
Graphic Design
? Created and layout by HO Chee Ting, Jessica
What is good Graphic design ?
able to tell you what to do when things .
freeze up
What is good graphic design?
Reference List of Illustrations Figure.1 ‘mingle’ Aurthor’s own graphic. January 2011………………………………………………..19 Figure.2 ‘London’s new skyline’ By Richard Coward Burgoyne, Patrick (2010) ‘London’s new skyline’ http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2010/july/londons-new-skyline (Accessed 3/1/2011)………………………………………………………………….23 Figure.3 ‘An Ethics of Interrogation’ Tobin, Issac (2010) ‘An Ethics of Interrogation’ http://bookcoverarchive.com/book/an_ethics_of_interrogation (Accessed 3/1/2011)………………………………………………………………….24 Figure.4 ‘Dialogue’ By Homa Delvaray Keyghobadi, Roshanak (2010) ‘Dialogue’ http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/homa-delvaray-a-contemporary-iranian-graphic-designer-and-her-mission#_ednref (Accessed 20/12/2010)………………………….30 Figure.5 ‘The locked G of Galant and the not so hidden shoe.’ By Bulgaria Ralev Showker, Fred ‘Logos: of Negative Space’ http://graphic-design.com/design/graphic-design/logos-negative-space (Accessed 3/1/2 011)……………………………………………………………………………..33 Figure.6 ‘Mouse logo’ By Johnson Banks (2010) ‘Negative spaces in logo design’ http://www.logodesignlove.com/negative-space-logo-design (Accessed 3/1/2011)...33 Figure.7.1 Logo ‘X-treme studio’ http://www.logobee.com/logo-design-samples/logo-design-samples.php?c=9&sid=7 (Accessed 5/1/2011).…………………………………………………………………38 Figure. 7.2 Logo ‘Capital Resale’ http://www.logobee.com/logo-design-samples/logo-design-samples.php?c=9&sid=7
6
(Accessed 5/1/2011).…………………………………………………………………38 Figure.8 McDonald’s New Packaging - Bag Burgoyne, Patrick (2008) ‘McDonald’s New Packaging - Lovin’ It?’ http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2008/december/mcdonalds-new-packaginglovin-it (Accessed 5/1/2011)…………………………………………………………42 Figure.9 McDonald’s New Packaging - Burger Burgoyne, Patrick (2008) ‘McDonald’s New Packaging - Lovin’ It?’ http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2008/december/mcdonalds-new-packaginglovin-it (Accessed 5/1/2011)…………………………………………………………42 Figure.10 McDonald’s New Packaging – Big Mac Burgoyne, Patrick (2008) ‘McDonald’s New Packaging - Lovin’ It?’ http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2008/december/mcdonalds-new-packaginglovin-it (Accessed 5/1/2011)…………………………………………………………42 Figure.11 Product - ‘POM’ http://www.pomwonderful.com/products/ (Accessed 5/1/2011)…………………….43 Figure.12 Product - ‘Lite POM’ http://www.pomwonderful.com/products/ (Accessed 5/1/2011)…………………….43 Figure.13 ‘NY Pocketbook’ By Tobias Wong Arshad, Zara(2009) ‘Design to Empower the People’ http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/design-to-empower-the-people (Accessed 5/1/2011)………………………………………………………………….47 Figure.14 ‘Inside the Stalin Archives – Discovering the New Russia’ By Jason Booher, Helen Yentus (2010) ‘Inside the Stalin Archives’ http://bookcoverarchive.com/book/inside_the_stalin_archives (Accessed 5/1/2011) …………………………………………………………………51 Figure.15 Logo -‘Fedex’
7
What is good graphic design?
Showker, Fred ‘Negative Space: nothing says a lot’ http://www.graphic-design.com/design/desktop-publishing/negative-space-nothingsays-lot (Accessed 5/1/2011)………………………………………………………...56 Figure.16 ‘Think small’ advert By Bill Bernbach’s Showker, Fred ‘Negative Space: nothing says a lot’ http://www.graphic-design.com/design/desktop-publishing/negative-space-nothingsays-lot (Accessed 5/1/2011)………………………………………………………...56
8
E
dward de Bono
‘The first line of any instruction book should be ‘What to do when things freeze up.’
10
It is mentioned when Dr. Edward de Bono explained how simplicity could, to a large extent, make life simpler. (Bono, 1998, p.17)
11
What is good graphic design?
W
hile a great part of graphic design is to help directing people towards a direction or to make decision, a good graphic design should be able to guide you what to do when you are not sure or ‘when things freeze up’.
12
Design is a mixture of creativity and innovation and Graphic design is a profession that pinpoint on visual communication . 13
Drenttel, William; Helfand, Jessica An Introduction to Graphic Design
What is good graphic design?
Figure.1 ‘mingle’ (Autheor’s own January 2011)
14
R
  oles of graphic design span from directing people and providing information to organizing layouts and attracting attention. Through accepting the visual information that is available, design should help to clear our mind and provide a better understanding of the situation.
15
What is good graphic design?
According to the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA),
‘Graphic design is a creative process that combines art and technology to communicate ideas.’
16
E
  ven though the purpose of a piece of graphic might be transmitting certain information based on the client’s proposal, the designed items can be decorative while practical.
17
What is good graphic design?
As for a lot of people, Graphic design might only be finding the simplest way to display the information and to have the problems quickly solved.
18
‘It is all around us, explaining, decorating, identifying; imposing meaning on the world.’ Neville Brody
19
Simplicity is important.
It can be vital as it serves both ways :
to clearly
display data and be
cost effective 21
What is good graphic design?
V
  isually accepting a large amount of messages will have them confusing each other, slowing down or even affecting the decision being made.
22
As for retail business, transferring too much information at a time is not helpful of giving guidance to customers. Graphic design for packaging, especially, is cautious about not to crowd the product package with words and images while being able to give enough information to the customers and stood out from their competitors.
23
What is good graphic design?
However, solely following the notion of simplicity is not a guarantee to produce good graphic design.
24
(Designing packaging graphics)
Figure.2 ‘London City Skyline‘ By Richard Coward (Burgoyne, 2010)
Then , is this too much?
25
What is good graphic design?
Figure.3 ‘An Ethics of Interrogation’ (Tobin, 2010)
26
o o n l y
only
way.
on
That can’t be the
27
only
ly
y nl
onlynlyonly o onlynly o
What is good graphic design?
B
  y starting with complicated relationships and ideas, I think will help to enrich the content of the idea. Then, simplify the existing content so as to be approachable while presenting the ideas clearly. This would probably have a more constructive impact to a design.
28
A
  lthough most of the work in graphic design would like to uphold the notion of Simplicity, believing less is more; yet injecting complex cultural ideas and riddle-based elements, which stimulate viewers to think and reconsider what they actually see, can create a more insightful design.
29
Bono, (1998), p.71-77
What is good graphic design?
Contemporary Iranian Graphic Designer Homa Delvaray once stated that, to her
‘the essence of art is creativity and confrontation’. ( Delvaray, 2010 ) 30
S
he believes that by making the design obvious, it ‘would insult the intelligence of the viewers’, as we are equipped to understand complex relationships. It reinforces that we are capable to decode complicated relationships both visually and cognitively.
31
What is good graphic design?
Figure.4 ‘Dialogue’ By Homa Delvaray Keyghobadi, 2010
32
From figure.4, within the seemingly decorative carpet design sketch there are yellow emoticons dots, lines formed by punctuations and arrows as part of the design , is a poster design.
(Keyghobadi, 2010 Homa Delvaray: A Contemporary Iranian Graphic Designer and Her Mission)
33
What is good graphic design?
T
˜he decoding process would have encouraged us to think more on the subject and to discover other related items. It is because when we experience a ‘visual gulp’, we tend to sift through information to make sense of what we see; as mentioned in the article entitled as ‘Negative Space: nothing says a lot’.
34
Figure.5 ‘The locked G of Galant and the not so hidden shoe.’ By Bulgaria Ralev (Showker, 2010)
Figure.6 ‘Mouse logo’ By Johnson Banks (2010) ‘Negative spaces in logo design’
35
What is good graphic design?
T
  o be able to produce a good graphic design, how the information being visually presented is crucial. In a piece of graphic design, typography, illustration, images and the content interact with each other. The choice of font, spacing and size of the letters and imagery will alter the impression given to a viewer. In the retail business, for example, the changing of feeling might mean the gaining or losing of profit. 36
I
  n particular for packaging design, it acts not only for providing information about the product and cost, but also to catch the attention of the customers while being displayed. Each brand would like to transfer their belief, image and the quality of product through the packaging.
37
(Designing packaging graphics)
What is good graphic design?
‘Packaging has always had a fundamental role to play in the way brands communicate these values.’ Jonathan Sands
(Designing packaging graphics)
38
I
  t reflects that on top of looking good, graphics for packaging design have to be simple, clear, convincing.
39
What is good graphic design?
Swooshes VS Blocky
Figure. 7.1 Logo: ‘X-treme Studios’
Figure. 7.2 Logo: ‘Capital Resale’
Dynamic VS Trustworthness
40
(Colleen, The Right Logo)
B
  esides the basic information, without portraying the trustworthiness to the buyers; it would also be hard to increase the sales figures. Cost dominates a great part of business decisionmaking. Therefore, simplicity in packaging is more than following the trend. Using simple layout and a minimal colour palette enable to be cost effective and to maximize profit. 41
(Weich, 2011, p.31)
What is good graphic design?
‘From where the original product is sourced and the cost of materials used, to the transportation costs to store and the legacy issues surrounding its reuse or disposal designers today must consider the full impact of a pack’s design.’ Jonathan Sands
42
F
  rom above, we can see that to determine a good graphic design in packaging, the design alone is not the full criteria; cost and sustainability also have to be considered. I believe these criteria can also be transferred to other designs besides packaging.
43
What is good graphic design?
For example McDonald’s new packaging of using food photography. The appearance of the fresh food is trying to protray a healthier image and to be more appealing.
Figure.9 McDonald’s New Packaging - Burger Burgoyne, Patrick (2008) ‘McDonald’s New Packaging - Lovin’ It?’
Figure.8 McDonald’s New Packaging - Bag Burgoyne, Patrick (2008) ‘McDonald’s New Packaging - Lovin’ It?’ Figure.10 McDonald’s New Packaging – Big Mac Burgoyne, Patrick (2008) ‘McDonald’s New Packaging - Lovin’ It?’
44
It stood
ou
t ju s y the tb
t ou
he
t
pr o d
Exampl
li e n of
ei
sa
Po
uc
t
at
e
j ui
ce
g m e ra n
Figure.11 Product - ‘POM’
br
an M
.
45
d PO
Figure.12 Product - ‘Lite POM’
What is good graphic design?
T
  he context of the design where it situated also has a significant role. The same graphic design can have a completely different impact when they are positioned in various places. The larger the difference from people’s expectations and the connections with the surrounding environment, the more it stands out from others.
46
Apart from the design itself, there are many factors affecting the context of where the design is displayed. They can be the physical position of the design or the emotive impact of the design has towards a particular group of audience. Either of them would be able to vary the effect of the design.
47
What is good graphic design?
C
  ollective memory is one of the emotive causes that might alter the result of the design. The existing relationship of us with the events might help enhancing the impact of the design.
48
A
n example of it is the NY Pocketbook designed by Tobias Wong.
Figure.13 ‘NY Pocketbook’ By Tobias Wong Arshad, Zara (2009) ‘Design to Empower the People’
49
What is good graphic design?
‘We are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves’ (Berger et al, 1972,p.1)
50
T
  he experience of the 9/11 attack is dreadful and the design is to express the frustration of the designer and to pay tribute to those who lost their life. The memory will not only make sense of the design, but also to enhance the influence. Apart from the emotive impact in terms of the context, the design also has a political role. Designers might use them to response to the worldwide events, like the problems about the climate change and the threat of terrorism, to express their view or frustration towards them. (Arshad, 2009, Design to Empower the People)
51
What is good graphic design?
T
  he linkage between political events and design is important. Design helps to present the current affairs or other sensitive topics in a more approachable way. According to the article ‘Design to Empower the People’, designer works in a socially responsible practice that has the power to transmit message to the public mostly without the restriction of censorship. A successful graphic design should bear both the responsibility to deliver the message to the targeted audience and to stimulate the awareness of the society about certain issue. A novel design on an ordinary item or an old advert might encourage people to think more about their surrounding or ways of presenting ideas. (Arshad, 2009, Design to Empower the People)
52
The Red trapizium represent Russia, and the words are like the means to enter and reveal what is behind. Figure.14 ‘Inside the Stalin Archives – Discovering the New Russia’ By Jason Booher, Helen Yentus (2010) ‘Inside the Stalin Archives’
53
What is good graphic design?
A
  bad design, not necessary means looking bad, is one that failed to serve its purpose. It might not give a clear direction, not display the information appropriately or the layout of the information is simply confusing. Having too much design elements on a piece will overwhelm the viewer from focusing to the original message.
54
What is good graphic design?
I
  n other words, the use of negative space is not thoroughly being utilized. Good design should treat negative spaces as a solid element. The blank spaces can be used as a tool to catch attention and to direct the attention to the imagery or the text. Initially when the viewers do not understand the message, the layout would be the aspect that attracts the attention. White or emptiness would be a way to do it and which has shown the value of negative space. (Use of Negative Space in Graphic Design)
56
One of the examples of designing negative space is the arrow within the ‘Fedex’. ( fig. 15 ) Figure.15 Logo -‘Fedex’ Showker, Fred ‘Negative Space: nothing says a lot’
57
What is good graphic design?
Another exmaple of negative space. Figure.16 ‘Think small’ advert By Bill Bernbach’s Showker, Fred ‘Negative Space: nothing says a lot’
58
A
  ll in all, to create a good design, the visually components have to be planned and tested. Designers should not only think about the content, but also aspects that can make it interesting. One might incorporate cultural elements that can produce a design with more volume. Designers should always think about the end users of the piece in order to create things that is close to reality, but not only presenting the vision of the designers. 59
What is good graphic design?
A
  ble to reveal the style of the designer is important, yet the consideration of how the end user will approach the design should have a higher priority.
60
.Human-centred.
61
What is good graphic design?
Bibliography
Books John Berger, Sven Blomberg, Chris Fox, Michael Dibb, Richard Hollis (1972) Ways of seeing. London. Penguin Books Ltd. Edward de Bono (1998) Simplicity. London. Penguin Books Ltd. Ambrose, Gavin; Harris, Paul (2005) Typography. Switzerland. AVA Publishing SA
Journal and Magazine ( Hard Copies ) Weich, John (Jan 2011) ‘Old & New’. Wallpaper. p.31 (Accessed 29/12/2010) Thompson, Henrietta ( Jan 2011) ‘ Do you like to watch?’ Wallpaper. p.40-44 (Accessed 29/12/2010) Poynor, Rick (June 2009) ‘mind the gaps’ Print. Vol. p.2526 (Accessed 24/11/2010) Gaddy, James (June 2009) ‘Nordic Lights’ Print. Vol. p.6471 (Accessed 24/11/2010) Kuang, Cliff (June 2009) ‘The Irresistible Appeal of Info Porn’ Print. Vol. p.78-85 (Accessed 24/11/2010)
64
Electronic resources Keyghobadi, Roshanak (2010) Homa Delvaray: A Contemporary Iranian Graphic Designer and Her Mission, [online] US, AIGA. Available at http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/homa-delvaray-a-contemporary-iranian-graphic-designer-and-her-mission#_ edn4 (Accessed 20/12/2010) Tootoonchi, Nahid. (2006) Beneath the Surface: Iran’s Graphic Design Evolution, [online] US, AIGA. Avaliable at http:// www.aiga.org/content.cfm/beneath-the-surface-iran-s-graphicdesign-evolution (Accessed 20/12/2010) Arshad, Zara (2009) Design to Empower the People, [online] US,AIGA. Available at http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/ design-to-empower-the-people (Accessed 20/12/2010) Barringer, David (2010) Paper, Paper, Skin and Body, [online] US,AIGA. Available at http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/ paper-paper-skin-and-body (Accessed 20/12/2010) Lupton, Ellen (2009) Writing 101: Visual or Verbal?, [online] US,AIGA. Available at http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/ writing-101-visual-or-verbal (Accessed 23/12/2010) Use of Negative Space in Graphic Design, Available at http://designreviver.com/articles/use-of-negative-space-in-graphic-design/ (Accessed 3/1/2011) Showker, Fred Negative Space: nothing says a lot, [online] Available at http://www.graphic-design.com/design/desktop-publishing/negative-space-nothing-says-lot (Accessed 3/1/2011)
65
What is good graphic design?
Showker, Fred Parkol: graphic design & negative space, [online] Available at http://graphic-design.com/design/desktoppublishing/parkol-graphic-design-negative-space (Accessed 3/1/2011) Showker, Fred Visual Proofreading: 10 Rules, [online] Available at http://www.graphic-design.com/design/desktop-publishing/visual-proofreading-10-rules (Accessed 3/1/2011) Showker, Fred Typographic Faces, [online] Available at http://graphic-design.com/typography/design/typographic-faces (Accessed 3/1/2011) What is graphic design?, Available at http://www.designtalkboard.com/design-articles/whats-design.shtml (Accessed 3/1/2011) Drenttel, William; Helfand, Jessica An Introduction to Graphic Design, [online] Available at http://observatory.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=8727 (Accessed 3/1/2011) Hunter, Mat What design is and why it matters, [online] Available at http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/about-design/Whatdesign-is-and-why-it-matters/ (Accessed 3/1/2011) Is graphic design just about creating imagery?, [online ] Available at http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/about-design/Typesof-design/Graphic-design/Imagery/ (Accessed 3/1/2011) Packaging graphics, [online] Available at http://www. designcouncil.org.uk/about-design/Types-of-design/Graphic-design/Packaging-graphics/ (Accessed at 3/1/2011) Showker, Fred Designing Spaces, [online] Available at http://graphic-design.com/design/graphic-design/designing-spac66
es (Accessed 3/1/2011) Designing packaging graphics, [online] Available at http:// www.designcouncil.org.uk/about-design/types-of-design/packaging-design/graphics/ (Accessed 3/1/2011) Colleen, Ryan The Right Logo, [online] Available at http:// graphic-design.com/design/graphic-design/right-logo (Accessed 3/1/2011)
67