A limited company is a separate legal entity from the people who own it and has the advantage that its debts are separated from its owners. However, official accountancy procedures that are legally binding must be adhered to and the directors of the company have legal duties to comply with. Companies pay corporation tax rather than income tax, and this can be an efficient way for a designer to handle tax issues.
This will depend on the size and scope of the business. Partnerships and collectives A sole trader may later enter into a partnership or collective with like-minded individuals or those who can bring a different skill set to the team. This is typical of a collective that forms to benefit from a cross-fertilisation of ideas and talents. This embraces the s idea of the commune where people come together for a specific project and then separate. This is a fluid working structure, but it is difficult to keep together due to its informality.
Working with other people requires a high level of trust and understanding between group members for personal, financial and legal reasons. For clarity and the protection of all parties, the entity should be established on a legal basis to clearly indicate who has responsibility for what and how finances, debts, profits and ownership are decided.
Another option is to go for a limited liability partnership. This has the benefit of limited liability whilst maintaining a traditional partnership. Graphic design today 21 Graphic design today Graphic design has evolved and adapted to change by incorporating new technologies in communicating to an ever more segmented audience.
It poses a number of questions: Where does this process of evolution leave graphic design today? What is the currency of modern graphic design?
What does graphic design seek to do? Text and image Text and image are the mainstays of graphic design and their arrangement on a page, screen or in the built environment is one of the ways through which people communicate in the modern world. Numerous groups compete for our time and attention; our attention spans are getting shorter, which means messages need to be abbreviated. Designs have to work harder and on different levels in order to communicate effectively.
Different design elements must complement each other in order to enhance the overall communication. Storytelling Designers are modern storytellers who try to make sense of the world through the arrangement and presentation of text and images. Narrative development is one of the issues mentioned throughout this book and is one of the essential elements that a designer instils within a publication.
A narrative is constructed by using text and image to create meanings, which can be achieved in many ways through the use of symbolism, metaphor or other devices. Questions to ask when constructing a narrative: General Specific to example opposite page What: What are you trying to say? Report on the financial performance of a company Why: Why is your message unique? Presenting it in a way that makes the information accessible and interesting Who: Who is the message for? For shareholders, regulators, customers, staff and other stakeholders How: How are you going to do it?
Where: Where will the message appear? When: When will it be delivered? The designs in this report are honest, straightforward and engaging in spite of its heavy subject matter. The piece recognises that brick production is not necessarily very stimulating, even if it is a profitable business. The design uses specially commissioned photography and a lenticular cover to provide colourful and juxtaposed, contrasting images that are relevant to the company and its staff members. Group structures and working methods Chapter 2 Influences and creative elements Graphic design is subject to the evolving intellectual and aesthetic trends that influence the work of designers and reflect the attitudes of society at large.
For example, design responds to the changing themes that govern the way we view the world and this is evident in movements such as Modernism, Postmodernism and Deconstructivism. These trends help shape the development and evolution of graphic design as a creative discipline, opening new doors of creative possibility and providing new tools with which to meet design challenges.
Bird These spreads from the book Bird were created by 3 Deep Design. They are an example of a craft-based approach to typography and image-making that is not constrained by technology.
The design exhibits a high level of artistic freedom and personal expression through the use of sewn images, type and detailing in different coloured thread and hand-painted images. The images in these spreads were drawn by Kat Macleod. Areas looked at in this chapter p26 p28 p32 p38 Graphic design: art or craft? Graphic design is a multidisciplinary process that draws on many creative sources.
Some view it as a craft — one of the trades of the traditional printing and publishing process — while others see it more as an art. This subtle distinction can be of fundamental importance to a design, as will be seen in the following sections. Design as craft As a craft, graphic design is an integral part of the print production process that involves preparing text, image and other content for publication.
As such, a graphic designer occupies a key role in the process by liaising with the client and other professionals such as printers, typographers, photographers and finishing houses.
This view of graphic design as part of the print process sees graphic design as a craft. Some elements of design work, such as the addition or subtraction of space between letters to create well-typeset and attractive text, can be considered as a designer crafting the type in a similar way that a carpenter works a piece of wood or a letterpress printer adjusts the bed pressure to create the correct type impression on the stock.
This view sees the designer as having a relationship with a client as part of a commissioned process, with the designer facilitating what needs to be done to produce the job. Design as art As an art, graphic design creates striking images and layouts to communicate ideas and information to different audiences. The discipline is at the forefront of creative thought, advancing theory on how to communicate effectively through visual media by using a wide range of intellectual tools to establish meaningful connections between different design elements.
This view of design sees the designer as a separate entity who is preoccupied with personal expression rather than being led by a brief or a commission. Many designers undertake personal experimentation projects and produce self-published work whereby their intentions can be closely linked to those of an artist.
However, the two views on design are not mutually exclusive. Many designers are commissioned for their unique styles, while other designers adapt their style to suit a specific commission. Reappropriation Taking elements from mainstream culture and re-inserting them into peripheral culture or vice versa. The installation is a combination of art and craft as the a contemporary look.
The black-and-white image is styled like an designers turned their hands to a variety of disciplines to engraved plate, such as those that were traditionally used to produce the final result, a return to the multidisciplinary illustrate books; it is shown here to illustrate the fact that practices of the Renaissance period.
The detail shows the graphic design draws from many disciplines. An engraved carpet design that was 30m x The carpet was designed by Studio Myerscough. The design process, by commissioning pieces, often blurs the line between whether something is considered as art or craft.
Graphic design: art or craft? More importantly, it brought dramatic changes to the print and production processes as type and typesetting methods changed to support faster production rates.
Printing developments New and faster printing presses presented new demands on other elements in the printing process, such as the type used to print, the stock printed on and the way whole pages were prepared for print.
Printing press The printing press underwent dramatic changes following the Industrial Revolution. Wood was replaced by cast iron, which resulted in increased printing pressure and a greater print area. Friedrich Koenig created a steam press that by could produce over 1, impressions an hour, as well as doubled-sided printing.
In , the rotary press was invented by Richard Hoe, which meant millions of copies of a page could be printed in a single day. The subsequent development of rolls or webs of paper resulted in mass production.
Line casting Machines such as the Linotype enabled type to be set at much higher speeds. This invention revolutionised newspaper publishing. Photoengraving Photoengraving replaced the use of handmade printing plates with a photochemical process that engraved a metal plate using photographic techniques.
An acid-resistant, photosensitive material is applied to a metal plate bearing the design to be printed. Exposure of the metal to acid dissolves the exposed metal, engraving the image on to it. A similar process is used to make intaglio — printing plates that have depressions for the ink to sit in.
Intaglio A printing technique using an image from a recessed design, which is incised or etched into the surface of a plate. Ink lies recessed below the surface of the plate, transfers to the stock under pressure and stands in relief on the stock. The items pictured here show how printing evolved over time: left to right a page printed in early Latin, incunabula, dated ; a letterpress alphabet that became common during the Industrial Revolution; and a newspaper printed by letterpress Columbian Centinel of Boston, published 06 May, Corbis above and right This Volume magazine was designed by Jog Design for the image library, Corbis.
It features typography reflecting the pixelated structure of digital type. The digital age has supplanted the industrial age and most publications are now designed and set electronically using pixels rather than picas. Technology 29 Contagious right and below These spreads from Contagious magazine by Why Not Associates show how design boundaries are constantly challenged. The publication abides by conventions, but is also surprising and engaging. The layered graphic devices and convergence of type and image create a single, unified piece.
In this example, the relationship between the designer and architect, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, results in bold, engaging and optimistic graphics that clearly inform people of their location.
Technology 31 Technology Graphic design, like many other disciplines, is linked to technology at many different levels. Technology affects how designs are produced and it also influences developments in style, art and society as a whole, which in turn are reflected in the form a design takes.
Technology also offers designers a variety of media outlets for their projects. Graphic design and technology It would be easy to think of graphic design as a discipline that is solely influenced by artistic or academic concerns. However, it is also shaped by advances in technology, which bring new considerations and processes for a designer to utilise and manipulate.
Design principles are highly transportable and transferrable through different technological epochs, which are modified and refined along the way. Technology has democratised design by simplifying production processes and extending access to the tools used to generate designs. Digitisation has revolutionised design so that it can be mass reproduced utilising ever more diverse delivery systems, such as wireless hand-held devices and diverse online mechanisms, as information delivery migrates away from print media.
Technology not only affects the delivery mechanism, but also the design. Images and text can be subject to far greater manipulation and intervention at quicker speeds than in the past.
This poses the threat that design may become a form of urban noise where the message is lost and diluted among the plethora of other messages that bombard society. Advancements in technology open up new avenues of creativity by putting new tools into the hands of the designer or allowing designers to produce work more rapidly. This in turn provides more time for experimentation and can provoke profound changes in the design process.
This is evident in how the Apple Macintosh allowed designers to escape the limitations of the paste-up board. Newspapers have been pioneers in the application of new design technology, such as fourcolour printing and the use of the Internet. Consumption culture readily adapts to the benefits of technology, this means that traditional media also face a threat from technological developments such as digital media.
For example, newspaper print subscriptions may be falling, but online subscribers are increasing, allowing newspapers to provide other services to readers.
Technological development continues to provide designers with new tools and techniques for creation, but the need to harness the tools available to good effect remains constant. The design evokes a sense of fun and retains a simplicity that is reminiscent of illustrated advertising art from the early twentieth century.
Although its creation was made possible by technology, the imagery is not technology-led. Vault 49 could have produced a similar job by using a different method, such as hand illustration. Industrialisation Typography 33 R. This period also saw the introduction of dot matrix and digital typography.
The introduction of personal computers in the s broadened font development opportunities, allowing for characters to be drawn and amended quickly, while type shapes could be easily copied to form the basis of different letters.
The acceptance and use of digital type was assisted by the development of PostScript — the standard used for digital typesetting in the late s.
Open Type Open Type — a scalable format for computer fonts developed by Microsoft and joined by Adobe in the s — is now the dominant standard for digital font production. It can support up to 65, glyphs in a font and has advanced typographic features. Digitisation has reduced the cost of type to the extent that it has changed from being an expensive specialist tool to a commodity product, which now poses a stern challenge to type foundries.
It is estimated that there are now over , digital fonts available — there may be a lot of choice but as a result, decision-making is made more difficult. Subsequent improvements in technology have increased the speed and power of personal computers, reducing the time needed to create new fonts, many of which have been showcased in the typography magazine Fuse — launched in by Jon Wozencroft and Neville Brody.
There is usually no harm in this as the substitution is quite universal. The distinction between typefaces and fonts is arguably more important now that the two seem to occupy the same space. A typeface is a combination of characters, letters, numbers, symbols, punctuation and other marks that share a similar design. A font was traditionally something physical, such as lithographic film or metal type characters pictured above.
Digital type foundries Digital technology has led to the development of digital type foundries, organisations and companies that use computer software to produce type in electronic format rather than the cast metal symbols that characterised printing from the Industrial Revolution until the s.
Digital type foundries, such as Emigre, FontFont and Jeremy Tankard, harness the benefits of digital technology to produce a wide range of fonts, exploring and developing the form of text characters. Digital production has seen an explosion of the number of typefaces available due to the relative ease, speed and low cost of producing and storing them compared to traditional type creation techniques. Industrialisation Typography 35 thequickbrownfoxjumpedover thelazydog Negative tracking above the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog Negative leading above A number set from a font of metal type characters.
The examples above show the effects of negative tracking and negative leading, both made possible by digital typography. The impact of digital typefaces In the digital age, fonts are no longer just physical objects.
This means that a designer has more options available regarding font usage, which offer more opportunities for control and manipulation, for example, in terms of leading and spacing. The image above shows a block of numerals in metal type, which were used for printing text before the advent of digitised type.
As these are physical items, it was not possible to overlap type or have negative leading, something that is now taken for granted in the use of computer-generated type. Tracking and leading Type spacing can be altered on both the horizontal and vertical planes by manipulating tracking and leading — two processes that have become more flexible with digital typefaces.
Tracking works on the horizontal plane; it is the amount of space that exists between the letters of words, which can be adjusted to bring characters closer together or take them farther apart. Tracking can be reduced to condense space between letters or removed completely with negative tracking. On the other hand, increased tracking adds space, which can prevent characters from touching each other.
More specific adjustments can be made in the space between two letters by kerning removal of space or letterspacing addition of space. Leading works on the vertical plane and refers to the space between the lines in a text block.
The term originates from the strips of lead placed between the rows of metal type letters to keep constant space alignment — a function digital leading still serves.
However, digital type also allows for negative leading, resulting in overlapping or the absence of space between text lines. It is easy to read and is compatible with different operating systems. Glyph switching flipping Glyph switching or flipping is where a digital typeface contains multiple versions of characters, enabling a design to create an eclectic look within the limitations of a single character set.
Flipping is an example of technology presented in a certain way so as to appear non-technological by including random differences that add a touch of the accidental, such as the random printed marks produced by the wear patterns of letterpress characters. Commands in the PostScript code refer to a random generator that makes the character outlines irregular. The use of glyph switching makes a design look as though it was not produced using current technology when technology is actually facilitating it.
There is a certain irony in the fact that the designers of digital fonts are trying to achieve a non-uniform effect, while printers using traditional technology strive to overcome quirks and irregularities in their finish. Fonts for screen Fonts are now designed specifically for use with digital applications such as the Internet. Fonts designed for screen use are created so that they can be used on a wide range of different systems while giving the same performance. The existence of web-safe fonts means website producers can increase the likelihood that the content will be displayed as required.
Microsoft produced a standard family of fonts for Web use. With only a limited range of web-safe fonts available, it is probable that a company may not be able to use its font choices in all arenas. This means the fonts for its offline communications may be different to those used for its online communications. Other limitations of web-safe fonts when used in print applications is that the serifs can be too fine — the fonts can be overly broad and they can fill in with ink when printed.
Industrialisation Typography 37 Typography Typography is the means by which a written idea is given a visual form. It is one of the most influential elements that establishes the character and emotional attributes of a design; the visual form it takes dramatically affects the accessibility of an idea and how a reader reacts towards it.
Variety and creativity Typefaces vary from clearly distinguishable letterforms that flow easily before the eye, to more elaborate and eye-catching forms and vernacular characters appropriated from the urban environment. The different styles and forms of fonts enable them to communicate in ways that go beyond the words they spell out; different typefaces can be said to have different personalities, and it is these personalities that a designer often focuses on when selecting fonts for a particular job.
Typography is a discipline that continues to evolve as computer technology makes the process of font creation quicker and easier, as well as more experimental. In addition to appropriating elements from the vernacular, typography is also selfreferential — the origins of many of the fonts in current use can be traced to designs created during earlier historical epochs, from the earliest days of printing to Roman tomb inscriptions.
Designers can harness this heritage to instil their designs with historical references. This section will look at many different examples of typographic design and how type is used to communicate. It will also look at how fonts are classified into different families and systems that help to organise and better understand the many thousands that exist. The ability to classify typefaces is essential to design and effective communication — different fonts have different characteristics, histories and personalities.
Typeface classification is based on the anatomical characteristics of the letters and are generally categorised as: block, roman, gothic, script or graphic, with several further sub-classifications. Typeface classification loosely charts the development of fonts over time and gives an indication of the historical development of type. Pangrams are used to showcase typefaces as they are holo-alphabetic — they contain every letter of the alphabet at least once.
The poster says as much about the typeface as it does about the car. It features both nostalgic and contemporary type that jumps out at the reader. This dramatic impression is typography and borrows from previous times and reappropriates created by the use of large-format, orange type set against a the styles to create a modern approach that is engaging and black background and fine, white-line art illustrations.
Note how the letterforms of the title overprint. Brand information takes the Community Fund. The key messages of teamwork circle , a secondary role. The models are real people photographed by service excellence star , accountability plus sign and valuing famous snowboard photographers and the type reflects solid people tick were screen printed in a single colour to give a authenticity with its filled-in counters.
Moving card right A thermographic ink was used to print this card. Thermography is a printfinishing process used to produce raised lettering on paper substrates by depositing a powder on the printed piece while still wet; it is then passed through an oven. In this example, the numeral has been expanded as much as possible, while still remaining legible and recognisable. This project was created by Parent Design. Technology Consumerism 41 Type classification The wide range of typefaces available means that a way of classifying them is essential, particularly to simplify the communication of specifications for a piece of work.
Typefaces and families of type can be classified according to the inherent characteristics of their anatomical parts. Roman Italic Condensed Roman The basic cut of a typeface is the roman version, so-called due to the inscriptions found on Roman monuments. Italic A true italic is a drawn typeface based around an angled axis. These are normally designed for serif typefaces. Obliques are slanted versions of sans serif typefaces rather than newly drawn versions.
Condensed Condensed types are narrower than the roman cut and are useful when space is limited. Extended Extended Extended types are wider versions of the roman type. They are often used for items such as headlines to dramatically fill a space.
Boldface Boldface Bold, boldface, medium, semi-bold, black, super or poster — all refer to a typeface with a wider stroke than the roman cut. Light or Thin Light or Thin Light is a thinner version of the roman cut.
The typeface shown is Goudy Text. R Old style Roman fonts that have a slight stroke contrast and an oblique stress. This font group includes Venetians and Garaldes. The above type is Garamond. Italic Based on Italian handwriting from the Renaissance period where letterforms are condensed. Originally a separate type category, they were later developed to accompany roman forms.
The type shown is Garamond italic. R R R Modern Typefaces from the mid-eighteenth century typified by extreme stroke contrast and the widespread use of hairlines and unbracketed serifs. The type above is Bodoni. Script Fonts that attempt to reproduce engraved calligraphic forms. This type is Kuenstler Script. Transitional Transitional typefaces marked a divergence from Old Style forms towards modern forms at the end of the seventeenth century.
It is characterised by increased stroke contrast and greater vertical stress in curved letters. The font shown is Baskerville. R R R Square serif Typefaces that have little stroke weight variation and thick, square serifs — as shown by the Clarendon type above. Sans serif Typefaces without serifs and little stroke weight variation first introduced by William Caslon in The type shown above is Gill Sans.
The above type is Rotis. Technology Consumerism 43 Consumerism The demand for a wider range of goods results in fierce competition between manufacturers and like products. Consumerism impacts on graphic design because product packaging and advertisements have an increasingly narrow and restricted window of opportunity to connect with the consumer. Taking account The concept of branding has developed with the rise of consumerism as marketeers have seen that people tend to respond to something familiar when faced with a multitude of different visual stimuli.
In order to succeed in this highly competitive environment, products and services are designed to provide character and individuality, and to instil sales appeal. This means that the designs representing the face of a product are becoming increasingly sophisticated, which can result in a clash between the aesthetic principles of a designer and the taste of the general public or target audience.
Cigarette packaging is an interesting example in this context as designers are faced with the challenge of creating an alluring design that complies with the legal requirements to include highly visible health warnings. Personal choices Ultimately, the type of client you are willing or unwilling to work for is a question of personal choice. For some, the thought of working on an alcohol or tobacco product is unthinkable, while others draw no distinction between these and other products.
For many designers, this may not be a clear-cut decision and some product types or companies may fall into a grey area. For example, a designer may not be willing to design a new cigarette carton for a tobacco company, but would create leaflets warning of the health risk involved in using the product for the same company.
The magazine frequently appropriates and reworks the messages of well-known, global brands to present what it sees as the true story behind them. Action and reaction The graphic design industry includes many people who collectively and individually are responsible for creating the images and communications used to boost consumerism.
This was supported by over graphic designers and artists who sought to re-radicalise design, emphasising that design is not a neutral, value-free process. Many graphic designers now actively participate in culture jamming — the subverting of well-known corporate symbols and messages — to reflect other perspectives that people have of the global, corporate consumer world.
Anti-consumerism While graphic design played a key part in the rise of consumerism, it is also used as a tool against it. The misery of choice has never been more apt than in graphic design today as there are more modes of communication, more products, more people to sell to and more fonts to choose from; but do any of these ultimately make us happier? Culture jamming Culture jamming uses existing mass-media messages and twist them so that they provide pithy comment on themselves.
The Adbusters magazine is a well-known example of culture jamming and it seeks to draw attention to the practices of global corporations that are contrary to the often idyllic images and messages they produce in order to reinforce and promote their brands. Endorsed identities An endorsed identity is one where each product has a separate and unique brand, but the brand also identifies the parent company.
These programmes prominently feature the new C Crafts Council logo while the main image relates to a different aspect of craft.
Rebrand Redefining the brand identity of a product, service or organisation to alter its message. Instead of being shiny, the identity is cool and understated, but has an exciting and vibrant flash of colour. The identity features consistency in the restricted colour palette.
It has the same typeface throughout and focuses on aspects such as the circle motif present on different pieces. This consistency is essential to ensure that the brand appears in the same way regardless of the media or production methods used.
The designer must therefore ensure that the design is flexible and adaptable. This is easier to achieve when the design is kept simple. Non-visual identity — values An identity seeks to combine those attributes of an organisation that are considered important and central to its success in a way that appeals to the target audience. An identity is successful when selected attributes capture the essence of the organisation well. These need to be communicated to the target audience in a way that is credible and well-executed.
A successful identity creates a strong impression about the values and function of an organisation. It uses monotone patterns to create the brand and the napkin holder features the company logo. Pattern below and below right This identity for fabric design group Pattern demonstrates a clear influence from the sector in which the client operates.
The images show scenes from the studio and the use of the identity in situ. The identity was created by Mark Design, London. The image shows how a floral-based brand mark is used to instantly identify the restaurant on all the items. Notice how the process of identification is aided by the consistent positioning of the brand mark in the lower right-hand corner of each piece.
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This portfolio can be used by individuals as well as by designer agencies. Inkscape manual author Inkscape Source: Ma. Advertising graphic design is the creation of art to communicate messages online and offline, and basically constitutes the majority of the work that designers do today. Many companies make use of advertising graphic design to promote their products or services, where the primary purpose is to attract potential customers.
In the offline field, printed publications such as billboards, magazines, newspapers, flyers, books, banners, brochures, mugs, cups, personalized t-shirts, etc. We hope you liked it and already have your next book! If you found this list useful, do not forget to share it on your social networks.
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