Page 14 - Graphic Design and Print Production Fundamentals

2 Graphic Communications Open Textbook Collective
imaged products that people interact with on a daily basis. Design itself is only the first step. It is
important when conceiving of a new design that the entire workflow through to production is taken into
consideration. And while most modern graphic design is created on computers, using design software
such as the Adobe suite of products, the ideas and concepts don’t stay on the computer. To create in-
store signage, for instance, the ideas need to be completed in the computer software, then progress to an
imaging (traditionally referred to as printing) process. This is a very wide-reaching and varied group of
disciplines. By inviting a group of select experts to author the chapters of this textbook, our goal is to
specifically focus on different aspects of the design process, from creation to production.

Each chapter begins with a list of Learning Objectives, and concludes with Exercises and a list of
Suggested Readings on the Summary page. Throughout, key terms are noted in bold and listed again in
a Glossary at the end of the book.

In Chapter 1, we start with some history. By examining the history of design, we are able to be inspired
by, and learn from, those who have worked before us. Graphic design has a very rich and interesting
heritage, with inspirations drawn from schools and movements such as the Werkbund, Bauhaus, Dada,
International Typographic Style (ITS), as well as other influences still seen in the designs of today.

Figure I.3 Johannes Itten was a designer associated
with the Bauhaus school

We now work in an age where the computer has had an influence on the era of Post Modernism. Is this a
new age? Are we ushering in an era unseen before? Or are modern-day designs simply a retelling of the
same tropes we have seen for hundreds of years?

Chapter 2 follows with a discussion about the design process. Contrary to what we tend to see in popular
television shows and movies where advertising executives are struck with instant, usable, and bold
ideas, design strategies are seldom insights gained through such a sudden outburst of inspiration. The
design process is a deliberate, constructive, and prescriptive process that is guided by specific strategies.
For example, before any piece of designed communication can be started, some very detailed research
needs to be performed. This happens well before any graphic design or layout software is opened on a
computer. Designing is a form of problem solving, where a system is created to communicate a specific