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Here is a closer look at what was said in this posterzine:

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I come from a long line of artists, writers, bakers, laborers, and musicians. I’ve always known that I would end up creating for a living. Graphic design has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My father is a designer so I’ve grown up seeing how design is utilized in the real world. How you can use design to not only express yourself, but make a living off of it. It has led me to view design in a very technical way.

 

I believe graphic design is a trade. Like a traditional trade, you are learning a skill that allows you to make something. In regards to graphic design, this would be creating a logo or a visual system.

 

At its core, design is problem solving. You as the designer are creating a solution to a problem. One way to represent this is through logo design. Someone comes to you, the designer, and asks them to create them a logo. The problem is; “How do I visually represent this brand or idea?”

 

As the designer you must come up with the solution for this. This solution is not an easy thing to come up with. You must take into account different factors such as what the client wants, what the logo itself needs to do, how other people will view this logo, and what the logo looks like. All of these create a complicated problem and solution. 

 

You have to make sure you do not create something that is already there or something that would offend anyone. Designing a logo or a brand is a complex task that requires an immense amount of research to complete. 

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The idea of complex problems arises when designing for someone. These problems are also known as wicked problems. Meredith Davis wrote about complex designs for AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts). In this article Davis discusses what complex problems are and how they can be seen in different  areas of design such as visual systems, social systems, and technological systems. I want to highlight designing of visual systems. In this section Davis states that systems (logos, typefaces, etc.) “communicate how an organization is structured, its position with respect to competitors and the larger culture, and its perceptions of the people who provide and use its services. They reflect values and aspirations, and they guide decisions and accommodate variety in people’s behavior.”

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Designing visual systems is extremely complex. It takes an enormous amount of skill and knowledge to be able to effectively create them. Design is such a complicated thing to not only do, but to do well. This need for skill and knowledge is something that i believe separates design and art.

 

Many people group graphic design into art, but I believe that they are two separate things; however, they can overlap. You can create art with graphic design as a medium, but when it boils down to it they are two different things.

Art is the solution to visualizing ones expression.

Graphic design is the solution to visualizing a problem.