with ADOBE APPLICATIONSGRAPHIC DESIGNFOUNDATION IN

LESSON 1Summary Notes

WHAT IS GRAPHIC DESIGN?Well, the dictionary definition of Graphic Design is

“the art or profession of visual communication that combines images, words and ideas to convey information to an audience”

Graphic design is everywhere.

Any where we look we are seeing advertisements, magazines, infographics, logos, websites, apps, signage, the list is endless.

It is about being able to communicate a message visually, if it’s not, it is “Art”

This is a very important statement;Design must be interpreted the same way by everyone to function.

Art is beauty, design is aesthetic.

GRAPHIC DESIGN ISVISUAL PROBLEM SOLVING

Graphic Design is all about Visual Thinking and Visual Problem Solving.

How can we convey information to somebody at a glance, sometimes without that person even being aware that we are doing it.

Your aim is to create something that is:PLEASING TO THE EYEGETS ATTENTIONCONVEYS A MESSAGE

However, it’s not always about making things look cool!Design has to Work!

Examples of DesignThat Don’t Work

Cluttered, indecipherable posters with lots of fonts. strange lines and imbalance.

Illegible fonts, again can look quite cool but what is the point if you can’t actually read it!

Unusable web interfaces, again, while visually interesting the design can become unusable and confusing for the end user.

Worst of all is sending the wrong message, remember Design must be interpreted the same way be everyone to function.

WHAT DESIGNERS DOWe are visual communicators.We are given briefs to solve problems.

To give an example of what we do:

1) We are given a brief by a client with a particular problem to solve or message to communicate. The initial brief is important as it will contain the clients wishes and also becomes a point of reference for the designer.

2) The designer will then do some research, for example looking at competitors, examining trends and also looking at the company itself, both it’s history and it’s future direction.

3) Next a strategy is developed by analyzing the research and deciding on a path or process.

4) This idea is then developed

5) And then presented to the client along with quite possibly a small section of the intended audience, where it is then reviewed and tweaked in accordance with feedback

6) After the last of the tweaks and when everyone is happy (or at least the majority who actually make the decisions!) the project is launched.

Example company aiming for different target audience.Designer will take a problem, research why it exists, devise and create a concept, develop and elaborate and test on a sample of target audience and finalise for delivery.

DIFFERENT AREAS of GRAPHIC DESIGN

Graphic Design is a huge wide ranging area with plenty of more specialized disciplines, as you can see in front of you, and these are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head, but you get the idea!

Some people specialize in the print and physical side of design, while others stay in the digital world, but there is lots of room for cross over.

It’s always good to try and get some experience in as many of the different areas as you can before finally deciding on the path you feel is right for you.

DON’TSOMEHOME TRUTHS NEED TO

be goodat drawing

NEED TOspend years

in college

NEED TOspend €€€’s

on equipment

DISCLAIMER: By the way, I’m not saying these do any harm!*

DOSOMEHOME TRUTHS NEED

a PortfolioNEED

Visual Thinking SkillsNEED

to Speak ADOBE

THE INDUSTRY STANDARD

ADOBE OVERVIEW

Adobe products have become the de facto industry standard in graphics editing.

The applications we will be using for this foundation course will be Photoshop & Illustratorwith a brief introduction to InDesign, which we will expand more on in the advanced course, along with other applications in the Adobe Suite.

IMAGING & DESIGN APPLICATION

PHOTOSHOP

• Benchmark in the world of professional digital image solutions.

• Powerful photo and image editing application.

• Photoshop is Not a Drawing Program!

• The real power of Photoshop is in working with existing images. Typical tasks include treating and manipulation, compositing, converting to different formats, printing, etc.

VECTOR ART & ILLUSTRATIONS

ILLUSTRATOR

• Vector-based drawing and graphic design tool.

• It’s Not Photoshop! Photoshop is a bitmap editor, Illustrator is a vector drawing program.

• Works by generating curved paths (AKA Bezier curves) connected by anchor points.

• Shapes, anchor points and other information are stored as part of the file and can be modified at any time.

• Vector images can be resized without losing quality. These attributes are what make vector-based programs different to bitmap-based programs that store data as individual pixels only.

PAGE DESIGN & LAYOUT

InDESIGN

• Page layout application for print or digital publishing.

• Ideal for newspapers and magazines, posters, brochures, cover art, etc.

• Also for digital publications like interactive PDF’s, eBooks or interactive documents with Audio, Video and HTML content.

• Convert ordinary documents into digital formats.

PHOTOSHOP WORKSPACE

Workspace Switcher

Main Menu

Options Bar

Document Window

Tools Panel

Layers Panel

INTRODUCTION TO LAYERS

Organising Layers

Visibility

Create New Layer

Delete Layer

Fill / Opacity

Blend Modes

Layer Groups / Filter Layers

Background Layer

Stacking Order

Blending Options

Adjustment Layers

STAY SOCIAL!

https://www.facebook.com/shawacademy

https://www.twitter.com/shawacademy

https://youtube.com/shawacademy