Graphic design is both a science and an art. It can be defined as the application of art and communication skills to the needs of a business. The ability to use words, colors and images to communicate is the jobs a a designer. Their art is visual-verbal expression.
The individual building blocks of graphic design (line, shape, color, value texture and format) demand a thorough education in and of themselves, and then an understanding of the comprehensive way in which they must seamlessly and organically work together to successfully communicate a message. To the untrained eye, choices about the various elements that make up a design may often seem mysterious or random; in fact, to many the primary skill of the designer is to make something look “right.”
While there are acknowledged best practices for achieving excellence, there is never a “one size fits all” methodology to guarantee design greatness. In fact, two essential principles of graphic design are not teachable: passion and empathy. And yet both are critical components of achieving design distinction. Design without passion is simply manipulative persuasion. Design without empathy leaves the designer without the meaningful ability to connect one mind with another through their work. At the same time, the skills that can be taught, such as working within the world of pigments, or managing the aesthetics of form, language and image, are robustly complex and can take a lifetime to master. However, the more information we have, and the more access to information we have, the more capacity we will have to create a meaningful representation of the world through design.
Graphic design has the unique ability to reflect the culture in which it is created. Color, typography, layout, and style all contribute to the modern expression of design in our society. The extension of any one of these sensory perceptions vastly impacts the way we think and act—and the way we perceive the world around us. When these perceptions change, people change; consequently, the world changes.