Graphic Design

From an early age, human beings try at all costs to keep information to pass on knowledge, this was done by sculptors and painters who used their labour to photograph the society of their time to deliver to the new generations the knowledge and customs of that time.

According to Megg “Since prehistoric times, people have searched for ways to give visual form to ideas and concepts, to store knowledge in graphic form, and to bring order and clarity to information.” (Meggs, P.B, pg9).

This needs to seek to photograph the moment in which they lived made human beings discover different tools and materials such as stones, wood, clay, bronze, gold, and silver to create a print of their time. Until the middle of the late twentieth century, the profession of Graphic Design had not been categorized, until William Addison Dwiggs coined the term Graphic Design to describe the visual activities that were done at that time.

“Over the course of history, these needs have been filled by various people, including scribes, printers, and artists. It was not until 1922, when the outstanding book designer William Addison Dwiggins coined the term graphic design to describe his activities as an individual who brought structural order and visual form to printed communications, that an emerging profession received an appropriate name.”

(Meggs, P.B, pg9)

Since then, Graphic Design has been changing and adapting, from the first printers to the large conglomerates of Artificial Intelligence, Graphic design is present with its creations and ideas.

The Graphic Designer can work on several different platforms, both digital and manual, which increases the range of opportunities he will have during his career, this became more evident with the advent of the internet, the profession of Graphic Design gained new air and began to be a fundamental part of the life of society today.

Graphic designers can work in a wide range of industries and settings, including:

1. Advertising agencies: Creating the visual content for print, digital, and outdoor advertising campaigns.
   
2. Marketing and branding firms: Work with businesses to create branding materials such as logos, business cards, and product packaging.
   
3. Publishing: Designing book covers, layout magazines, newspapers, and other printed materials.
   
4. Web design: Creating web graphics, layouts, and user interfaces for websites and mobile applications.
   
5. Motion graphics and animation: Graphic designers create animated content for websites, television, film, and video games.
   
6. Game design: Graphic designers create visual elements and user interfaces for video games.
   
7. Film and television: Creating visual content such as opening credits, title cards, and special effects for films and television shows.
   
8. Education: Graphic designers teach courses in design, digital media, and graphic communication.
   
9. Non-profit organizations: Graphic designers create materials such as brochures, posters, and infographics for non-profit organizations to help raise awareness and funding.
   
10. Government agencies: Creating materials such as annual reports, public service announcements, and informational brochures for government agencies.

To be a great graphic designer, it’s essential to have a combination of technical skills, creative abilities, and a strong work ethic. Here are some of the key skills that can help you become a successful graphic designer:

1. Visual Communication: The ability to communicate visually is the foundation of graphic design. It involves understanding the principles of composition, colour theory, typography, and layout.
   
2. Software Proficiency: A graphic designer must be proficient in software such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and other design-related software.
   
3. Creativity: Graphic design is all about creative problem-solving. A great graphic designer should have the ability to think outside the box and come up with innovative design solutions.
   
4. Attention to Detail: Graphic design requires precision and accuracy. A great graphic designer should have excellent attention to detail and be able to catch even the smallest errors.
   
5. Time Management: Graphic design projects often come with tight deadlines, so a great graphic designer must have excellent time management skills.
   
6. Communication: Graphic designers work with clients, team members, and stakeholders, so excellent communication skills are essential.
   
7. Adaptability: A great graphic designer should be adaptable and willing to learn new design techniques and software.
   
8. Problem-solving: Graphic design is all about solving problems, so a great graphic designer should be able to identify issues and come up with creative solutions.
   

By developing these skills, you can become a great graphic designer and create compelling designs that communicate effectively with your audience.

My professional target

I’ve been working with Design since 2008 and since then I’ve been able to see all the changes in the area in this new digital age.

I have a degree in Game Design, but I worked only for 1 year in this area, as I ended up changing my focus as opportunities arose. My professional path basically started at a small online course agency for children, there I was able to develop some programming and animation skills with the extinct Flash. I left this company and changed radically, at that time I got an internship at an important sports newspaper in São Paulo, I stayed there for 1 year, which was the time of my internship and I went to a non-profit institution to make a Flash website for them.

At that time I already knew more or less what I wanted to do in terms of Design, because working with a newspaper, I had the opportunity to see ordinary people having contact with my work on the streets. In this period of time, when I finished the site, I was called again to work in the same newspaper, but now officially hired, but I believed that that was no longer for me and that the work had become obsolete and I was not evolving as I should, it was then that I had contact with my first advertising agency.

I was called to work in an advertising agency as a Flash programmer, in this agency I made banners and flash animations for big famous companies that reached thousands of people. I worked as a programmer for more than 1 year when I got an invitation to work at another advertising agency called Ogilvy.

This agency was where I had deeper contact with big names in Brazilian and world advertising. I was able to see up close the glamour of advertising and the great campaigns carried out by great professionals. Over time I started to slowly change areas to Junior Art Director, which was my last position before leaving there.

Staying in the same place for a long time in the Design area is not always good, and I saw that I was becoming obsolete, my creativity was gradually declining, and that’s when I decided that I needed fresh air to return with more force to the advertising market again. The rest of the story can be seen in Personal Skills.

Conclusion:

Currently, going to college and working in a printing company, I am looking for a new challenge, which is to return to the advertising market here in Ireland. I have a list of agencies I want to work with in order:

6 – The Public House
5 – Ogilvy & Mather Dublin
4 – BBDO Dublin
3 – Publicis Dublin
2 – Rothco – Droga5
1 – Boys&Girls

Bibliography

Meggs, P.B. and Purvis, A.W. (2016) Meggs’ history of Graphic Design. 4th ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Pictography

Fig 1. Book of the dead (2023) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_the_Dead (Accessed: March 26, 2023).

Fig 2. Heller, S. (2019) William Addison Dwiggins: A pioneering designer of the 20th century, PRINT Magazine. Available at: https://www.printmag.com/daily-heller/dwiggins-lives/ (Accessed: March 26, 2023).