Page 34 - Graphic Design and Print Production Fundamentals

2.1 Introduction

Alex Hass

Learning Objectives

• Explain the role of communication design in print and media
• Describe how the creative process relates to strategic problem solving

• Contrast how the creative process relates to the design process
• Define critical phases of the design process
• Discover how project research helps to define a communication problem

• Give examples of brainstorming techniques that generate multiple concepts based on a common
message

• Learn about metaphors and other rhetorical devices to generate concepts
• Explore how concepts translate into messages within a visual form

Communication Design and The Design Process

The practice of graphic or communication design is founded on crafting visual communications between
clients and their audience. The communication must carry a specific message to a specific audience on
behalf of the client, and do so effectively — usually within the container of a concept that creates context
and builds interest for the project in the viewer.

See an illustrated model of the design process here: A Model of the Creative Process

Overview of the Design Process

The process of developing effective design is complex. It begins with research and the definition of
project goals. Defining goals allows you to home in on precisely what to communicate and who the
audience is. You can then appropriately craft the message you are trying to communicate to them.
Additional information regarding how to deliver your message and why it’s necessary are also clarified
in the research stage. Often the preferred medium becomes clear (i.e., web, social media, print, or
advertising) as does the action you want your audience to take. Asking a millennial to donate to a cause
is a good example. Research reveals that transparency of donation use, donor recognition, and ease of
making the donation are vital to successfully engaging a millennial audience (Grossnickle, Feldmann,
White, & Parkevich, 2010). Research also reveals that millennials resist negative advertising, so the

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