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What is Graphic Design?

An intern’s perspective

So many people do not understand what graphic design is, or believe they do. For one, it is not art or decorative. Graphic design is a message that communicates to an audience. Of course, art communicates to an audience in its own way, by amusing or persuading people, explaining a complicated system, or to sell or demonstrate something. Point blank, graphic design is a creative process that communicates ideas. Some examples would be posters, business logos, magazine ads, even CD covers. Graphic designers mostly work with images and/or type to inform, persuade, stimulate, identify, organize, and attract attention. Graphic design is all around us from the clothing we wear to the billboards outside.

Why do you need a graphic designer to get your message across? For one, we are trained in getting messages across to an audience of all kinds, to think with ideas, and to create ideas for you. We have the resources, and we know how to use them. Now, there are always great ideas, and anyone can come up with them. But can you make your great idea a reality? Can you print your idea out and advertise it for the world to see. Does the world understand your idea, or what you are trying to convey? That is where a graphic designer comes in. We are the link to you and your audience, or customers. We take your idea, and make it real. We provide something that can be seen or touched, and understand a message behind that idea. The art of graphic design is very systemmatic, but also fun. We are creatives after all. Sometimes our designs are really ‘out-of-the-box’. We know how to balance your important message, contact information, and creative ideas into one big design. We are all about exposing you…getting your name and your ideas out for your audience to see.

Good design is intentional, not accidental. We do not randomly pick things out and throw them together until they look good. There is a meaning behind everything. For instance, when an author of a book will expand about another topic in a story, but is intentional for the story to make sense. We are trained to come up with great ideas and to execute them for a wide variety of audiences. We can take an idea, and mold it into something real and understandable.