The premiere issue of my newsletter,The Graphics Grapevine, in January 2004, included the classic essay by Jessica Helfand, “What is Graphic Design?” Five years later John Wade, the brilliant designer and teacher behind Before & After magazine, put that question to his readership, probably all of whom are graphic designers. Of the 251 responses, here are some of my favorite definitions:
a combination of visual and information architecture
art with an ulterior motive
clear thinking made visible
a way to communicate that engages both the left and right sides of the brain
not just making it pretty but making it work
visual translations
the art and architecture of visual communication
what puts the sizzle in the steak
bringing elements together to make something greater than the sum of its parts
the interface between consciousness and matter
the distillation of complex information
taking information (what goes to the head) and adding emotion (what goes to the heart)
a communication language using visual grammar to craft effective statements
making people feel, touch, hear, smell and taste through their eyes
visual explanations
capturing attention, organizing information and transmitting concepts and passions
motivating, informing and persuading
communication in the form of art and art in the form of communication
See John Wade’s original post here.
VIDEO. For more from the designer’s perspective, see PBS Off Book’s new release, The Universal Arts of Graphic Design (6:27)