Graphic design has been a popular trend of the 20th and the 21st centuries yet these new forms of visualization of the world has only received little importance and research from the academic community. Despite the fact that these manually modified images are pervasive throughout the print and online media, the concept of graphic design still needs further research to understand their importance in the dissemination of information. Graphic designs help increase readers’ awareness and information through the use of strategically combined images and texts for better interpretation of the message. According to the well-known saying, a picture is worth a thousand words and indeed it is a universal ubiquitous truth. For the readers, having images printed together with a news article helps them understand the author’s intention for writing that article; sometimes in lieu of photography, graphic designs or those images intentionally modified by either a computer or through manual process captures the readers’ attention by letting them focus on the image itself, the words printed accompanying the image, and lastly, graphic designed images have more raw iconography which is also an important aspect for the readers to get hooked on reading the news article. The purpose of this paper is to relate the issues in graphic design to my own course and provide some commentaries regarding the relevance of graphic design in the tracking of viewers’ attention.
Back then, newspapers and other printed materials such as books, magazines, and even journals does not have images. The history of graphic design dates back hundred years ago, and to better understand why there is a need for the graphic designs in the media industry. According to Craig, the newspapers dating from the mid-19th century only used similar type sizes and appearances for the document; however, it was during the start of the Civil War that publishers began to modify the existing norms in publishing. They had adopted large typeset especially meant for advertiser’s whose logo needs to fit on the newspaper line so that people can recognize the brand name. Later, as the business competition increased, newspapers and advertisers began to look for more ways in presenting their products to the public in manner that will capture not only their attention but also will retain the image inside their minds. Thus, the birth of graphic design started. The concept of graphic design is the successful combination of pictures and word captions for the better explanation of the picture. Or in some cases, graphic designs especially in the old times were used as marketing materials for product promotion. Advertisers may favor the use of fictional ink models to endorse their products and services.
“From the mid-1870s onward, the use of linecuts [sic] depicting products or a manufacturer's logo increased dramatically. By the end of the century, the new pictorial style of advertising, in large space and with large type and illustration, overwhelmed the news and editorial material in many publications.” (Craig 19).
The lasting repercussion of using illustrations with large texts printed boldly along or on top of the image was also used by the press as their technique in attracting businessmen, politicians, and ordinary people for the prime reason of increasing the sales. Hence, the more interesting the news and with beautiful or interesting pho or drawing will end up with an increase of magazine productions. (Craig 19).
Only by the early phase of the 20th century up to the modern period 21st century that the genre of image manipulation became a popular tool for information propagation. The role of the graphic designer is similar to an architect; these people are the key personnel responsible for the success or downfall of the paper. The strategic combination of text and images (e.g. photograph or a sketch) must be placed with the right design style in order to attract potential advertisers, investors, and readers. These three audience groups are the life and blood of the print and online media since the revenue of the mass media companies originate from the money paid to them by the companies and political entities. The graphic designer’s main goal is to ensure that the newspaper layout follows the style according to the proposed design.
Graphic Design as a Tool for Article Visibility
Holmqvist and Wartenberg conducted a research in 2005 regarding the people’s behaviors while reading newspapers. In their research, they noted that newspapers and magazines that have strong emphasis on layout, advertisements, and graphic images tend to be more popular compared to the traditional newspapers. They stated that readers have the ability to retain more of the information presented by the paper if the layout grants the audience a chance to breathe from the reading tightly typed letters. According to their study, participants were offered a chance to read articles they liked on several types of print media such as broadsheets and tabloid newspapers. The results are as follows:
“broadsheet spreads receive more attention in virtue of their size, but tabloid spreads get more attention per unit of paper surface. Tabloids in this sense make more efficient use of paper than broadsheet.” (Holmqvist and Wartenberg 7).
The tabloids are the less formal type of newspaper ever printed and this free-style design they adapt usually challenges the traditional and more serious layout of the broadsheet newspapers. The common feature of the tabloid newspapers are big catchy headlines often typed in large bold fonts printed with a flat single tone color sometimes in shades of red, black or green depending on the format of the newspaper company. Pictures dominate the entire first page; headlines and boilerplates were often included on the newspaper printing along with descriptive captions. In this article, the topic of the research explains the importance of manipulated images or graphically designed images in order to attract potential buyers and investors. The presence of images enhances reader’s retention of the details because people tend to associate the information they learned from the articles they have read with graphically altered design. Furthermore, the captions on the images provide a meaningful explanation which in terms of graphic designing, the images were typically revolutionary; in other words, letters written in big types and often printed in contrasting colors appear simultaneously together with the pictures on the paper.
Computers: The Essential Tool of a Graphic Designer
With the advent of modernity, the people from the 21st century enjoy the perks of the computer power. A computer lets the graphic designers to manipulate the common design elements such as width, height, angles, colors, etc. For instance, a tree-branch and the hill might remind the public of Timberland’s logo; some designers form the logo of the company they were trying to endorse. One of the pros of digital manipulation is the fact that digitally manipulated images costs less and does not need the service of the traditional arts. Software such as Adobe Photoshop and In-Design help graphic designers in drawing the plan or the layout of the design they want to make. Sometimes, this software provides them with additional templates which can be useful in creating new models for the newspaper layouts. The inclusion of graphic design images meant happy and dynamic newspaper content.
“New creative generations continue to expand the tools with which to engage idea, audience, and machine. The personal computer and related electronic devices have become powerful new tools with which to explore these complex relationships expressively.” (Cooper 16).
Despite the fact that graphic designs and graphic designers can be likened as the modern artists who use modern tools to enhance the images, a battle exists between the artistic community and the graphic designers especially whenever they argue that the art produced through graphic designs violates the artistry or the making of images that will closely resemble the reality; through the use of images derived from the camera, anyone can appreciate nor provide a negative feedback regarding the theme of the image. Scholars have argued and questioned whether graphically modified image can also be similar to the arts found on the Baroque period. Frascara reiterated that the graphics produced through manipulation of images combined from one picture to another does not suggest high art but rather a modern modification of the images or drawings with the inclusion of texts embedded onto its surface or around it to make it more meaningful and sensible. This is what Frascara’s argument explains about the lack of people’s understanding about the difference of fine arts and the graphic designing. Yes, graphic designing is also an art but not as a fine art; there is a line that sets the demarcation regarding the difference between the two. That, when fine arts were generally more refined, abstract, and elegant, the graphic designs usually follows the systematic way to attract the attention of the people through the use of different tactics such as enlarging the typeface or such as aligning the image within the text of the article and placing a pull quote and a caption. (18-29).
For many years, the graphic design has been in use by the newspaper industry to promote products as well as for public service announcements. Sometimes, there are still other advertisers who still prefer to use the old logo and design format used by their ancestors in product introduction; and it cannot be denied that even in the 21st century, the newspaper industry still rely on the graphic designers department in order to create a possible magazine or newspaper layout. In this era where competitiveness is always the main event, publishers needed new ways of getting the attention of the viewer’s away from other distractions such as Internet and the video games.
“Graphic design is first and foremost human communication. A graphic designer is a person who constructs a pattern in order to organize the communication link between the piece of design and the viewer.” (Frascara 28).
Therefore, the goal of graphic is to expose raw information without too much emphasis on symbolisms. This genre of art differs from fine arts since it does not use any fancy modification aside from digital image editing. It is important for the students of graphic design, journalism, as well as other art related courses to know the need for successful graphic design in order to make the article attract viewers, provide information, and provide an additional design for the publication. Altogether, the graphic design is the current trend of visual designing and therefore, needs to have more research to emphasize its importance.
WORKS CITED
Cooper, Muriel. "Computers and Design". Design Quarterly 142 (1989): 1+4-31. Web. JSTOR. 15 Apr. 2016.
Craig, Robert. "Ideological Aspects of Publication Design". Design Issues 6.2 (1990): 18-27. Web. JSTOR. 15 Apr. 2016.
Frascara, Jorge. "Graphic Design: Fine Art or Social Science". Design Issues 5.1 (1988): 18-29. Web. JSTOR. 15 Apr. 2016.
Holmqvist, Kenneth, and Constanze Wartenberg. "The Role of Local Design Factors for Newspaper Reading Behavior: An Eye-Tracking Perspective". Lund University Cognitive Studies 127 (2005): 1-21. Web. JSTOR. 15 Apr. 2016.
