Foundations of Graphic Design

My friend Mike works for Oregon Connections Academy. He has a student who wants to be a graphic designer, and wanted me to give him some recommendations on what he can do to prepare. Well, I did not have traditional training for this occupation. I didn't go to an art school, and I was the first to graduate with a degree in graphic design from the University I attended (read: program guinea pig). After college I had the fortune of being able to learn on the job doing both prepress (boy was that ever valuable!) and design. Thinking back to what I would have liked to know before hand to prepare me for the field, I really couldn't think of anything specifically design-related. Really, the basics of any highschool instruction plus a well-rounded liberal arts education was probably the best thing for me in this field. Here's what I wrote to Mike's student:


Hey DC,

I hear from Mike that you're planning on going into the field of graphic design. Great! It's a whole lot of work, and a whole lot of fun. Mike wanted me to put together sort of a tip sheet for you – as in, what would I have liked to have done or known to prepare me for this field if I were in high school again. Here's what I came up with:

1) Know that graphic design is just another word for visual communication. Many schools would categorize graphic design as a visual arts major, and some of the best design programs I've heard of are at art schools. However, I would equally categorize it as a communications major. The goal of graphic design is to communicate – whether that be to persuade, to express, or to inform; and because communication is a two-way street, graphic design can even be meant to gather information, as a medium to allow "viewers" to persuade, express or inform back.
So I would recommend a solid foundation in the basis of human communication. Know how to read well, write well, and speak well. Language is a large part of how we think and process, and some of the best visual solutions come out of the language we use. Plus, good communication skills are essential to understanding problems and presenting solutions. This brings me to point number two.

2) Graphic design is about problem solving. In this way, it has to potential to make significant impacts. Design can allow people to understand points of view that were previously incomprehensible, and is therefore a tool for reconciliation, unification, resolution, and even peacekeeping. Graphic design can make something that was difficult much easier, make the unclear clear. Graphic design can save lives.
Of course, the vast majority of what you will do as a designer will be (or seem) much more mundane. But you will still be taking someone's problem, and creating a solution. So I would recommend honing your abstract thinking skills. Try your best at understanding math and logic – that's the basis for abstract thinking.

3) Graphic design is beautification. A good solution or an appealing message will be beautiful – or better said, will have a visually appropriate impact on the viewer depending upon the intended purpose of the design. Ugly is beautiful if it's supposed to be ugly for the purpose of a good visual solution. One of the cornerstones of creating something beautiful is craftsmanship. So like a musician trying to make it to Carnegie Hall: practice, practice, practice. Study other people's work that you find beautiful. What makes it beautiful? Don't be afraid to copy in order to learn – that's how the master painters did it. (Don't copy others' work as a final solution – that's called plagiarism.)

4) Some things I would recommend doing regularly in order to prepare for this field would be:
• Read often. Anything at all (preferably good writing, but really, reading in itself is an edifying exercise).
• Write reasonably often, and do so in full sentences (no shorthand), always reading out loud (or "out loud in your head") what you've written after you've written it.
• Draw as often as possible. Doodling is drawing. (I feel hypocritical here, because I have been sucked into the computer trap, and it has taken a great deal of effort of late to start drawing again.)
• Use your hands in your work as often as possible. (Writing utensils count, but computer peripherals do not – not even a Wacom® tablet.)

5) Reading material I would recommend:
• A History of Graphic Design by Philip Meggs
• The Elements of Style by Strunk and White (best book on writing... ever)
• The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst
• Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards
• Take a look at HOW, Print, and Communication Arts magazines, which should be available at your local library or college library. (They also often have articles or snippets available on their websites.)
• Look up anything on the internet having to do with Von Glitschka. He's from Salem, and he's awesome.

Well, I hope that helped. It's very general, but very foundational. You can go a lot of directions in graphic design (and more often than not, companies or clients will want you to be able to go all directions), but being a good designer, I believe, starts with the stuff I've mentioned.

Best of luck to you, DC!
peace,
Brandon Buerkle