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The Fundamentals Of Graphic Designing

Graphic Designing is the art of communication, stylizing and problem-solving through the use of type, space and images. The field is considered a subset of visual communication and communication design.

Visual Communication is the communication through visual aid and is described as the conveyance of ideas and information in forms that can be read or looked upon.

Communication Design is a mixed discipline between design and information-development which is concerned with how media intermission; such as printed, crafted, electronic media or presentation communicate with people. Graphic design is a creative process that combines art and technology to communicate ideas.

Computer Graphic Designing

Computer Graphic Designing of shorten to Graphic Design is a broad field that encompasses: Printed, Crafted, Screen, electronic and Presentation. Electronic graphic design is widely in use now, it has an edge over the rest of the field and it is adopted in all other field of Graphic design. It makes the work of Graphic Designer easier and more accurate. Electronic Graphic Design is well known as Computer Graphic, and it is studied separately as a course in Higher Institutions and in many computer schools. It is a sub-field of Computer Science, and it has sub-fields of its own.

SEE ALSO: How To Become Professional In Graphics Design

Computer Graphics are created using computers and the representation of image data by a computer specifically with the help from specialized graphic hardware and software. The interaction and understanding of computers and interpretation of data has been made easier because of computer graphics. Computer graphic development has had a significant impact on many types of media and has revolutionized animation, movies and the video game industry.

A graphic designer is one who has the artistic sensibility, skill and experience and/or training professionally to create designs or images for reproduction by any means of visual communication, and who may be concerned with illustration; typographic; surface design for packaging; or the design of patterns, books advertising and publicity material, or any form of visual communication.

Computer Graphics is widespread today. It seen everywhere; on bill boards, on television, books, newspaper, magazines etc.  Many SME (Small and Medium Entrepreneurs) are going online now. So, there will always be the need for graphics designer to work on the images used on websites. Many radio stations stream their programs live and they all use graphics to enhance the background appearance. Count the number of radio and TV stations we have today, they are much and we are still counting on.

Application Of Computer Graphics

Computer has become a powerful tool for the rapid and economical production of pictures. Today, computer graphics is used in the areas as science, engineering, medicine, business, industry, government, art, entertainment, advertising, education, and training.

Scientific Visualization: – Here, computer generated illustrations and simulations are used to depict the structure of objects that are visible to the naked eyes (e.g. chemical compounds and crystal structures), too large (global weather patterns), too remote (topography of distant planets), too abstract (multidimensional mathematical manifolds), or too dangerous (such as nuclear reaction in a nuclear reactor, dept of ocean trenches).

Entertainment Industry: – Graphics is deployed in most stylish manner in our movies industries all over the world, and it’s well utilized in such a way that sometimes we forget we are watching films. Graphics is used to add special effects, photographic manipulation, animation and other movie tricks.<

Advertisement Industry: – Advertisement industry is another area that uses graphic well and often. All kinds of adverts that include image make use of graphic design to pass messages across to prospective buyers. Well planned and designed adverts catch more attention than poorly designed adverts. That is why most big companies make their logo so attractive and unique because they serve as advert.

Industrial Design: – Designers today employ computerized visualizations and structural models to test industrial artifacts (mass-produced consumer goods, airplanes, cars, buildings, bridges etc.) for safety, cost, utility, and efficiency before manufacturing a first physical prototype. Thanks to sophisticated computer graphics software such as; CAD (Computer-Aided Design) and CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacture.).

Fashion Industry: – Fashion industry is growing rapidly these days; it’s an area in which graphic designing is making much impact as well. Many fashion designer use graphics software to do the sketch of what they intend to sew before the proper design is done.

Education: – Education sector is another area in which graphics design is highly deployed. Many educators believed that is pictures are useful in passing information to the students, words heard are easily forgotten but a picture seen can stay in one’s mind forever.

Essential Tools Used In Graphic Designing

Computer: Everything is computerized in this era of ours, so having a PC (Personal computer) is very essential in the world of graphic designing. It is going to be the primary design tool as well as the main business tool. There are many sophisticated computers out there suitable for graphics design. For one to enjoy designing using the system, a system with good configuration must be purchased. The minimum system requirements are listed below

System requirements

These requirements are recommended as the minimum, some software  do not need that high settings while some require even higher settings to achieve the best result. To be on the saver side stick to these as the minimum requirements, it covers both Major Hardware and Software specifications;

1. PC or Mac with at least 32-bit Processor (single-core, dual-core or multiple-core)

2. Operating Systems (OS) that supports 32-bit processor(s) – Windows OS (XP, Vista, 7, 8 or 8.1), iOS, Linux based OS etc.

3. RAM (Random Access Memory) – Minimum of 1G or Higher

4. HardDisk capacity – 10Gb minimum

5. Java Runtime Environment (JRE)

6. Quiktime Player

7. Flash player

Software: Graphics software are the very essential tools in the design business, for designer to achieve the desired result the provided computer must meet the minimum specifications stated in the software manual. Here are few graphics software widely in use;

– Adobe Collection Suites (Adobe Fireworks, Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe Illustrator etc.)

– Corel Graphics Suites (Coreldraw, CorelPhoto Paint etc)

– FaceGen

– Blender

– Easy GIF Animator

– Maya

Your area of specialization will determine the kind of software to procure.

SketchPad

A sketch pad is one of the essential tools a graphics designer must have, though you will use the computer to finish your designs. A sketch pad must also be provided to start sketching down any new idea before putting the fishing touches on the computer.

Graphic Designing Books

It’s very helpful to build up your own small library of graphic design books. Some should be for inspiration, some for technical help, and others to assist you in the business side of graphic designing.

Other Creative Professionals

While you may not think of them as a “tool,” knowing other designers, illustrators, web developers, photographers and other creatives is extremely important for three reasons:

–  It’s not easy to critique yourself. Get opinions on your work and encourage constructive criticism to push your work to a higher level.

–   Having others around to brainstorm with can bring about the best ideas.

–   As you get projects that are more involved, you will need people to collaborate with. Find a group of people you can trust with different skill sets than your own so you can work on projects together.

These essential tools will help you get started, and grow, in a career in graphic designing. All you need to do now is combine them with your creativity

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