Assistant Professor of Visual Communication Department of Industrial, Interior, and Visual Communication Design The Ohio State University [Note: All emphasized text and links have been retained from the original printed newsletter.] Words. The more we use them, the less they mean. Take "graphic design" for instance--just what is it anyway? If you go to your local print shop they may tell you they do graphic design. So will many highly-trained, and in relation, highly paid consultants or corporate designers. Obviously there's a huge difference in the quality of services and finished products between the two extremes cited (or so we hope). Does this situation bother you? It bothers me. In my opinion the term "graphic designer" has lost its significance. It's come to mean too much, and now it means very little. The term was originally conceived by the field's early practitioners as a way to differentiate their activities from those of their counterparts in advertising and commercial art. They saw their practices focusing on the design of informative communications instead of those meant to persuade. Their hope was that "graphic design" would develop into a true problem-solving profession (as opposed to a service profession) with a status akin to that of architecture's. What differentiates a true profession from a service profession you may ask? A service-oriented business generally offers a number of predetermined products or services to customers or clients. For instance, a barber provides haircuts, shampoos, shaves, etc. A professional-oriented business, however, typically utilizes a "process" for serving clients, and a body of knowledge and theory that is drawn from when conducting that process. A lawyer, though he or she may specialize in one area of the law, must investigate a client's situation, analyze it, look at precedents, and prescribe an appropriate course of action. Investigation, analysis and planning now enter the equation, and there the distinction lies. Where does "graphic design" fall into this framework? Somewhere in the middle, but closer to the service side I'm afraid. Some graphic designers do conduct investigation and analysis to inform their form-making, but the majority do not. That is why graphic design has never achieved the status of a true profession, and has been historically viewed as the poor step-child of the design fields. How did "graphic design" lose its original intent to become professionally-oriented? Simply put; by focusing on the product (form-making) and not the process. Form-making is an extremely important part of what we graphic designers do. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not advocating that form-making become less important. I'm merely suggesting that we make the earlier stages of the design process (investigation, analysis and planning) equally important. These activities should not be left to marketing people, as their primary focus is on finding better ways to sell goods and services. Graphic design is about selling at times, but just as often it's about providing information--and that's something most marketers know little about. Graphic designers should be involved in analyzing a client's communications, and finding ways to provide information that is of strategic value. Transforming complicated product and pricing information into an easily understood form is one example of a communication that is of strategic benefit to a client, and that would be greatly appreciated by the end-user. Clearly this type of activity requires a focused and well-defined process to solve a particular problem, and problem solving is what true "professionals" do. Stylistic and form-making developments generally receive the most attention from graphic designers. That is appropriate, as no one would wish to see one style of form-making used in all situations. There are, obviously, many different types of audiences with different concerns and expectations. A style utilized for a communication geared to one audience is probably not valid for a communication geared to another audience. The ability to understand the concerns and expectations of audiences can only be achieved through incorporating investigative and analytical activities prior to the development of form-making. It is graphic design's inability (or refusal) to do this that has resulted in its current less-than-professional stature. What about the term "visual communication"? Many of us see it merely as a fancy way of saying "graphic design." I define visual communication as the process of providing pictorial and written information to an intended audience. There are, in my opinion, two important distinctions that separate visual communication from graphic design. The first is that visual communication is a "process," that by its problem-solving nature includes investigative and analytical skills in the creation of communications. Graphic design focuses primarily on form-making, while visual communication incorporates a broader series of efforts to provide rationale for form-making. The second distinction is that visual communication includes other types of communications beyond printed matter (graphic design's mainstay). The design of interactive computer presentations that integrate video, animation, sound, stored images and text is also included in this definition (like it or not, this will be a major activity of tomorrow's designers). Many changes in our roles as designers are in store for this decade and the coming century. There will be significant advances in how we practice and how we educate newcomers to our field. If we wish to progress towards a more substantial professional stature we must incorporate additional concerns and skills into our practice, and provide ways to incorporate these skills into our educational programs. It's clear that to produce a designer that is literate, well-educated and adept at utilizing analytical processes and creating sophisticated form will take more than four years of undergraduate education. Consequently, there will be a new emphasis on graduate design education (one Ph.D. program in design already exists in the US, more will likely be created). On the other hand, the profession may be asked to provide more student work experiences, where critical hand-on and technical training can be most easily supplied. Our field is being forced to grow up. If it doesn't it will eventually become irrelevant. Facilitating changes such as those discussed above will be the emphasis of educators like myself. Whether we call ourselves graphic designers or visual communicators is of little importance. The important thing is that we move our field forward. Our future depends on it. Have a nice day. : ) return to What's New return to the Main Menu [Photo] Look! Even Sir Speedy is a graphic designer! back [Photo] This is a picture of [the author's] grandfather--he was a barber. Now you know why I've chosen this example. back [Photo] Cinderella with a T-square: graphic design as the poor step-child. back Rhode Island School of Design already offers a five year "Bachelor of Graphic Design" degree for those who wish to go beyond the typical Bachelor of Fine Arts. back The Institute of Design at IIT in Chicago has recently created the first Ph.D. in Design program in the United States. back. |