What is Graphic Design?

What is graphic design?

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the video
- [Man] At it's core, graphic design is really combining words,
shapes, form, and color to communicate an idea. When I started out in
school, I thought graphic design was about layout, and I thought
great, I get to put some nice typography with some nice images and
move them around on a page, and I love doing that, but the turning
point with me, was when I first got into art school and one of our
teachers, Lou Danziger showed us a piece that he had done, it was an
American flag on a paintbrush, and all of a sudden it made
sense, graphic design was about combining forms and ideas and
images to make a new concept. That was the part that made it
exciting, all of sudden, it wasn't about layout anymore, it was about
ideas. Now one thing I like to think about graphic design, when people
say, "Well can it change the world?" is yes, it can, and it doesn't
change it like working for Green Peace and saving whales, but it does
change it in terms of you do a good job and it makes a company more
successful, that's the real point of this, is to help others succeed, that's
the core of graphic design, we work other individuals and
companies and help them along a little bit, kind of make their lives
easier to sell a product or communicate an idea. Now that idea can be
in the service of a branding exercise, a poster, information graphics,
television, broadcast graphics, title sequences, you can do interactive
design, experience design and figure out the way someone actually
moves through the space and how they interpret that information. The
media isn't as important as the concept itself and that's where good
graphic design really takes hold, smart ideas that communicate a clear
message and do it with skill and craft. It's important to understand
there is an actual process and take it step by step. You've gotta learn
how to sketch, how to come up with ideas, how to draw, how to use
typography, how to work with color in new ways, and those are all
basic skills. The first thing I do on any project is sit down and start
sketching. I can't jump into something without a good idea, and that's
the process that we all learn. From there, you can move on to more
complex ideas and more high-end tools, that basic part is something
you're always gonna return to. And be patient. It takes time, and it
takes practice.
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