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Job No:01077 Title:The fundamentals og Graphic Design
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Proof Page:92
Uncomfortable truths (right)
This is a V&A Museum poster for a slave trade exhibition.
NB: Studio’s design features an ink-drawn image representing
the travel aspect of the trade as people were forcibly relocated.
92 The Fundamentals of Graphic Design The graphic design process
Experimentation in design
Personal computers and digital technology have
driven the development of graphic design over the
last 20 years, and have given designers great
flexibility to experiment creatively by making it easy
to change a design on-screen, incorporate different
effects, draw new type forms and so forth. However,
experimentation and the design development process
do not have to be technology-driven; many designers
benefit from a craft-based approach, returning to pre-
computer practices to produce new ideas.
A craft-based approach sees designers getting
hands-on with various materials that provide the
chance to focus on tactile qualities, folding, cut-outs
and other aspects that are difficult to visualise by
looking at a computer screen. The last chapter in this
book refers to a basic kit that can be used to
experiment in this way.
Development and experimentation
Design is a creative process that encapsulates
experimentation and the development of visual and
physical ideas. The starting point for development and
experimentation is the job’s brief. Once this has been
agreed, the design team can start working up ideas to
fulfil it.
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Layers of meaning < Development and experimentation > Art direction 93
Adidas (above, right and below)
Jog Design’s brochure for Adidas appropriated and re-purposed the idea of
a map so that the document could be browsed in different directions without
the need to open it out. The format allows the reader to peel back the shoe
to see it operating at various levels and in different conditions. The folding
mechanism also creates three strong lines that reflect the stripes of the
Adidas brand.
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Sketching
Sketching refers both to drawing images with a
pencil and the process of thinking ideas through
to build and refine them. Although technology has
equipped designers with many electronic aids,
sketching remains a valuable design tool to develop
and rough-out ideas for answering a brief.
Sketching as drawing
Sketching as the art of drawing is an essential design
tool allowing a designer to quickly outline the visual
elements of a design and capture an idea in the
moment that it materialises. Sketching means a
designer can quickly articulate an idea to a client
without having to produce a complete design. A
visual record of that idea can then be worked up in
full detail at the studio.
Sketching as thinking
Sketching out the thumbnails of the pages of a
publication provides a visual aid that helps a
designer to plan the project, its pace and the
placement of text and images. This makes it easier to
conceptualise the final publication in a way that can
be easily altered before starting the detailed design.
Once the detailed design has begun, it is easy
to become bogged down in the details and overlook
aspects, such as the flow of a publication and the
narrative that unfolds on successive pages.
Sketching is immediate, full of energy and it can
capture the quintessential elements of the design.
It is also cheap – ideas can be drawn, dismissed,
reworked, refined or thrown away very quickly and at
little cost before the designer even sits down at the
computer, which can save time in the long run.
Thumbnails
Thumbnails are small-scale representations of the
pages of a publication and can be used to start and
form the basis of the final work by setting the pace
of a project, and the location of specific elements.
A book, for instance, is not just a series of pages –
the pages have a sequence, flow and relationships
with each other, which can only be seen in this
reduced size.
94 The Fundamentals of Graphic Design The graphic design process
The sketches below were made for the website shown opposite. These were used to
establish basic spatial relationships and to determine the feel and look of the pages
prior to programming.
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Layers of meaning < Development and experimentation > Art direction 95
Surface View
NB: Studio was able to quickly develop
ideas for different layouts of Surface
View’s website by sketching. Note that
the sketches include notes about
functional aspects, such as navigation
and backdrops.
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