Design is a good thing.

What is Design?
Design is a good thing.
Design is thoughtful.
But not always.
It provokes thought.
Most of the time. The good ones do.
Some designs are bad, some are good, some are great.
Design is everywhere...is it?
Design can be used for advertising. It can be used for posters, it can be used for artwork. It can be a lot of things. people keep coming out with more ideas about design.
How is design different than graphic design?


DESIGN: [di-zahyn]
~verb (used with object)
1. to prepare the preliminary sketch or the plans for (a work to be executed), esp. to plan the form and structure of: to design a new bridge.
2. to plan and fashion artistically or skillfully.
3. to intend for a definite purpose: a scholarship designed for foreign students.
4. to form or conceive in the mind; contrive; plan: The prisoner designed an intricate escape.

~verb (used without object)
7. to make drawings, preliminary sketches, or plans.
8. to plan and fashion the form and structure of an object, work of art, decorative scheme, etc.

~noun
9. an outline, sketch, or plan, as of the form and structure of a work of art, an edifice, or a machine to be executed or constructed.
10. organization or structure of formal elements in a work of art; composition.
11. the combination of details or features of a picture, building, etc.; the pattern or motif of artistic work: the design on a bracelet.
12. the art of designing: a school of design.

GRAPHIC DESIGN: (noun) the art or profession of visual communication that combines images, words, and ideas to convey information to an audience, esp. to produce a specific effect.

Much simpler...I like the specific effect part. That's what graphic design is. There's always a certain look you're going for. One could argue that it's the same thing with art. And it's true. Most of the time. Some artists do go about their works with a let's-see-what-we-come-up-with attitude. But I feel like there is more of a point to graphic design. No, point is the wrong word, there is more of a purpose in graphic design. Not a purpose, but there sometimes seems to be a self-serving purpose for art. In graphic design, you're designing for someone else, although sometimes not. You're designing to create a point. But so is art. So how are they different? Most of the time, artworks aren't mass produced, but still some of them are.

I think I'm getting off the subject. What does graphic design mean to me? How do I think about graphic design? Why do I like it? I just do. My favorite letter in the alphabet is 'g.' Why? becuase of all the wonderful different ways the descender looks in different type faces. I like looking at type in general. I like looking at a logo and figuring out the little things wrong with it and how to fix it. I like figuring out how to organize type on a page and making them look good. I like the feel of paper. It really doesn' t matter what kind of paper, just paper in general. Wait, it can't be plain paper. It must not be plain paper. Plain paper is boring. After learning InDesign, I can't seem to use Microsoft Word and be ok with it. I had to turn in a resume for a job completely un-related to graphic design, and I couldn't just list stuff on a page in Microsoft Word. I had to design it in InDesing so I could make it look better. I pay attention to color. I pay attention to type. I pay attention to kerning and leading. Lots of people don't even know what that is. So, how to interpret that into a "provoking and meaningful" message? And then how to turn that into a sucession of 4 post cards?

I feel like I'm not done talking. but what more is there to say? Graphic Design. It's a wonderful and good thing. Think how ugly the world would be if we didn't have it? There would be no personality or color. Straight text without graphic design. Maybe. I guess I'm encompassing a whole lot of stuff with graphic design. The invention of color, good typefaces, placement of text. When I picture the world without graphic design, i picture information looking like text from the internet. Like when a web page is printed out. I never liked how it looked.

Graphic design is a good thing.
Design is thought provoking.
Graphic design is an idea?
Concept is a developed idea.
Design is ongoing. There seems to always be something more you can do. There also seems to be a time when you can't do anymore because you don't want to.

This is something I struggle with. Defining me. Defining me as a designer. Defining design or what i think about design, art, and life in general. It's all so big (and seemingly important) taht I can't tag one thing onto it. Or even tag a paper to define it. This is a question philosophers struggle with, how are we supposed to, being a college kid, supposed to work out the question the whole world can't even answer? I feel I am too complicated to write a paper on and you'll know who I am. This goes for people in general as well. It takes years to know what someone's like.