Graphic Designers

The challenge of combining beauty, function, and technology in whatever form has preoccupied artisans throughout history. Graphic design work has been used to create products and promote commerce for as long as people have used symbols, pictures, and typography to communicate ideas.

Graphic design grew alongside the growth of print media (newspapers, magazines, catalogs, and advertising). Typically, the graphic designer would sketch several rough drafts of the layout of pictures and words. After one of the drafts was approved, the designer would complete a final layout, including detailed type and artwork specifications. The words were sent to a typesetter and the artwork assigned to an illustrator. When the final pieces were returned, the designer or a keyline and paste-up artist would adhere them with rubber cement or wax to an illustration board. Different colored items were placed on acetate overlays. This camera-ready art was now ready to be sent to a printer for photographing and reproduction.

Computer technology has revolutionized the way many graphic designers do their work. Today it is possible to be a successful graphic designer even if you can't draw more than simple stick figures. Graphic designers are now able to draw, color, and revise the many different images they work with using computers. They can choose typefaces, size type, and place images without having to manually align them on the page using a T square and triangle. Computer graphics enable graphic designers to work more quickly, since details like size, shape, and color are easy to change.

The widespread use of computers has greatly changed the world of graphic design, which is also known as communication design. Digital design, a more appropriate term for the field today, involves the use of computer hardware and software applications to create art that was once only created with the use of pen, pencil, and paper.

Design software programs are continually revised and improved, moving more and more design work from the artist’s table to the computer mousepad and graphics tablet. Designers don’t just work with images, symbols, and logos. They also develop design content for Web pages; computer hardware such as iPads; multimedia projects; and interactive media.