A Report on the History of Graphic Design and Its Important Role in Advertising

Thanks to Victor Lardent, graphic designer for British newspaper “The Times,” the essay I’m typing is in “Times New Roman. Font design is one of the many aspects of Graphic Design -my passion. As a creatively driven person, graphic design is a passion for me. With design I can express my ideas through the usage of Adobe Photoshop, inDesign, and Illustrator among a few other softwares.

I am passionate about graphic design because not only does it allow me to be creative while producing something practical and worthwhile for a customer, but it allows me to put a personal twist on my own artwork through the use of digital media. No matter where you go, design is everywhere. Books, magazines, candy wrappers, flyers – all methods of advertising ideas. The trick to being a good graphic designer is to know the principals of design in order to create an eye catching image that grabs peoples attention. According to Santanagraphix, “A large percentage of people remember what they see far better than what they hear or read.” This is important to keep in mind for a graphic designer because they are only getting the opportunity to appeal to someone visually as opposed to orally. A graphic designer needs to know how to talk to a large demographic of people using only visuals, and that’s a challenge that I personally love to take on.

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Graphic design drives advertising and attracts us to brands new and old. Advertising is a big part of our culture. Advertising greatly effects consumerism and consumerism is what drives our economy, and that is why Graphic Design is so important to our everyday lives. Every packaged item you see is a product of graphic design. Graphic designer Ewald Berkers states “While you may be taking advertising for granted, it does seek to influence what you spend your money on. Many people don’t believe that they’re susceptible to being influenced, let alone manipulated, by advertising. However, it wouldn’t be so omnipresent if it didn’t work.” (Berkers, The Influence of Advertising). And Berkers is correct. The challenge of being able to attract someone to something subconsciously is one I love to be able to accomplish by making use of the principles of design and focusing on the information I have regarding a particular demographic of people.

Graphic design has an extensive history. Many will argue that graphic design started in 1450 when Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press, revolutionizing culture and education in Europe, but the term itself was first coined by William Addison Dwiggins in 1922. Dwiggins is notably one of the most famous type designers. During World War 1 the American Government used emotional propaganda in advertising to try and get people to sign up and join the war. By using bold colors and big expressive letters along with strong american characters such as “Rosie The Riveter,” and “Uncle Sam,” the United States Government tried to encourage men to join the draft, woman to get involved in industry, agriculture, and business, and children to grow victory gardens to help feed the soldiers.

In Nazi Germany during World War 2, Hitler was very aware of the value of good propaganda and he appointed Joseph Goebbels as head of propaganda. Goebbels used bright contrasting colors such as red, yellow, white, and black in most of his posters, and most included images with strong Aryan Germans instead of Hitler himself. In 1940 Print Magazine was founded by William Edwin Rudge to demonstrate “the far reaching importance of the graphic arts” including art prints, commercial printing, wallpaper, etc. Contents were eclectic covering typography, book making, book printing, fine prints as well as the trade journal aspects of printing candy bar wrappers. (Founding of print magazine, Print Magazine)

Advertising is a strong force that can be used for either good or evil. As cliche as it sounds, a graphic designer has the power to manipulate peoples minds and potentially form opinions for them. My philosophy as a graphic designer stays consistent and that is for me to stay on top of what I do. I want to face my problems in order to strengthen the quality of work I produce regardless of weather it is a basic illustration or some sort of team project. I know that there are no limitations regarding the many ways I can express myself through art and design. As a designer I’m willing to approach and execute the design of visual communications creatively and responsibly in order to better myself as a designer and to show the world what I can do with my creative ideas.

Works Cited

1. “The Importance of Graphic Design.” Santana Graphix RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2015. “Graphic Design.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
2. “What Is Graphic Design?” AIGA. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
3. “Print (magazine).” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
4. “About Us – Print Magazine.” Print Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.

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