Summer

Well with it being more than half way through the summer holidays already I thought it was about time I did a post. I seem to have hardly done anything this summer, I have been working a lot and have earned quite a lot of money which I suppose is the plus side of staying in York and not getting up to much.

The summer project is going OK, as always with a project I only really enjoy it once it is all coming together and I can see that I have made all the right decisons. At the moment I am still agonising as to whether I'm doing the right thing. I havn't really got anything to show yet it is all a bit of a work in progress. I have, however, been shooting a lot of film lately on my old SLR which I have been really enjoying. I basically learnt how to use a proper camera(SLR) shooting digital, now I know how to expose and compose a shot properly shooting film is a lot more satisfying. Here are some of the fruits of my labour:






I got my reading list which was quite exciting. I've read about half of 'How to be a graphic designer without loosing your soul' A lot of it is more relevant to someone who has graduated and is just starting out on there own as a graphic designer. I think it's a testement to how well written it is that I am still going strong half way through even though a lot of the book isn't relevant to me now. It has given an interesting insight into what it's like to be a graphic designer in the industry.


I also found this little beauty hiding in my dads office. The Penguin Book of Kites, Its full of brilliant modernist, very minimal illustrations. I really like its style, it was published in 1976 so to think it was all done long before computers is pretty cool.








To finnish off here are some of the designer/blogs/websites that I have been looking at recently:
Andy Chung
Leslie David
Jonathan Stuart

I always check Manystuff, they usually have a lot of interesting design work - Manystuff

I also came across this site that has load of shortcuts and tips for Illustrator, they are the kinds of things that are really useful to know, you can save so much time.
Adobe Illustrator Shortcuts

What is Graphic design?

I don't know if it ever possible to answer the question "what is graphic design?" because it will inevitably mean something different to every graphic designer. But with this buzz I will try and describe what graphic design is to me. First to understand what graphic design is I think it is important to know what "design" is. this is the introduction/definition of what design is from wikipedia:

Design

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaay not know about Wikipedia

Design, usually considered in the context of applied arts, engineering, architecture, and other creative endeavors, is used both as a noun and a verb. As a verb, "to design" refers to the process of originating and developing a plan for a product, structure, system, or component. As a noun, "a design" is used for either the final (solution) plan (e.g. proposal, drawing, model, description) or the result of implementing that plan (e.g. object produced, result of the process). More recently, processes (in general) have also been treated as products of design, giving new meaning to the term "process design".

Designing normally requires a designer to consider the aesthetic, functional, and many other aspects of an object or a process, which usually requires considerable research, thought, modeling, interactive adjustment, and re-design

What is Graphic design?

Graphic design

The term graphic design can refer to a number of artistic and professional disciplines which focus on visual communication and presentation. Various methods are used to create and combine symbols, images and/or words to create a visual representation of ideas and messages. A graphic designer may utilize typography, visual arts and page layout techniques in varying degrees to produce the final result of the project. Graphic design often refers to both the process (designing) by which the communication is created and the products (designs) which are generated.

Common uses of graphic design include magazines, advertisements, product packaging and web design. For example, a product package might include a logo or other artwork, organized text and pure design elements such as shapes and color which unify the piece. Composition is one of the most important features of graphic design especially when utilizing pre-existing materials or using diverse elements.

What is Graphic design?

Work by Massimo Vignelli


I think this epitimises graphic design to me in terms of it being systematically done, organised and timeless. I like the idea of good design being a joy to use and interact with, good design should make peoples lives better.




This is the American Airlines corporate identity which has been in use and unchanged since the sixties. This reinforces my view that good graphic design should be timeless. It should be beautiful because it offers a solution a problem in an elegant way.





To me information design is very interesting. graphic design in this sense can be approached in a very intellectual way and the aesthetics of a piece are directly derived from its meaning and function.

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What is Graphic design?

Information Design


From the site barcode plantage, These are barcode visualisations.




More examples of information design from the site infosthetics.com

What is Graphic design?

In the notes below are pieces of design that I have chosen with my head: intellectual, organised and functional. here I am going to look at MM Paris, I think it would be true to say that I am choosing these pieces of work with my heart. I think graphic design should be a balance between heart and head, creativity and organisation.


I love the expressive nature of MM's work.