adminor show off, and their output ends up being either tedious or too complicated to understand.
In a way, attempts to be sophisticated through overdoing run opposite to the primary objective of graphic design. A good design should be a good arrangement of components that may include text and images so as to achieve two outcomes – to capture attention and imagination of a reader, and to present information that is easily understood.
It is vital for whoever the graphic designer may be to at the very least have some background information of the characteristics of the target audience.
For example, some words may prove to be meaningless to children and may fail to communicate if used in some graphic material for them. Similarly, no matter how eye catching an advert is, if it is done using a foreign language, its meaning and purpose may not be readily understood by readers.
Image is particularly important in graphic design. Its unique ability to both present and evoke emotion and moods makes it invaluable. After all, a picture is said to be worth a thousand words.
But without careful planning, an image has the potential to be worth much less.
In advertising, graphic design has a business motive. The general intention is to market an idea, product or service. If the selected image is week on the emotional side, if it fails to give enough clues about intention or objective, then it would certainly fail to induce the right mood inside the reader.
Images use in graphic design vary an include drawings, paintings, photographs and computer-generated pictures. Each has its own advantage over the others and a graphic designer has an obligation to choose the most appropriate in any given circumstance.
A graphic design can be limited by two external factors – the budget and the needs of the client. But whatever limitations there may be, the image has to tally with the overall objective of the composition.
When inserting multiple imagery in a graphic design product, the important question that should override any insertion is, ‘what value is each image adding to the meaning and relevance of the entire composition?’
In many newspaper adverts, one is bound to see the company logo inserted several times, typically in two or more corners of the composition. One is quite enough.
While multiple ‘pop ins’ may increase the visibility of the corporate image, it is also likely to appear to a reader as meaningless duplicates crowding out the important information.
The reason why most graphic designers would isolate the main image and eliminate all the background components of a picture is that the sky or trees or studio curtains or buildings around the image may not add information to support the argument presented by advert. If the image is used in a composition for marketing purposes, it is imperative that its overall characteristics convey the right meaning. One important image factor frequently ignored by designers is quality. Some otherwise good adverts are spoiled by hazy, ‘pixelated’ or out of focus images. Clarity is one of the most important words in graphic design. Haziness or ambiguity dilutes relevance of the composition.
Text can be very effective if used right. Words are used as the principal tool to suggest meaning. Because of this, text needs to be simple, clear and consequently well understood. Inexperienced designers have a tendency of getting carried away when using text. They feel the need to use various font types just to show off. Too much variety spoils an advert as that may clatter the space, disturb a natural flow or tire the eye of a reader. The meaning and objective of an advert may thus be lost when multiple fonts are used. Other font considerations include size, colour, shades, borders, columns, margins and spacing.
The trick though is to keep it simple because the main objective of any graphic design product is to communicate with the target audience. Anything short is a failure.
Graphic design is a form of visual language. Its level of communication cannot be taken for granted. Similar to linguistics, the clearest of messages are those with simple, direct and easy to understand. Graphic designers are part of the community that they create their products for and would obviously know how to communicate in a straightforward manner.
Simplicity is the principal thing. The composition has to be catchy yet immediate too. One famous quote about creating graphic design products says, ‘make the clever simple, and the simple clever’.
There is no substitute for simplicity in graphic design.
Online Reporter