2.1 Introduction
Alex Hass
Learning Objectives
- Explain the role of communication design in print and media
- Describe how the creative process relates to strategic problem solving
- Contrast how the creative process relates to the design process
- Define critical phases of the design process
- Discover how project research helps to define a communication problem
- Give examples of brainstorming techniques that generate multiple concepts based on a common message
- Learn about metaphors and other rhetorical devices to generate concepts
- Explore how concepts translate into messages within a visual form
COMMUNICATION DESIGN AND THE DESIGN PROCESS
The practice of graphic or communication design is founded on crafting visual communications between clients and their audience. The communication must carry a specific message to a specific audience on behalf of the client, and do so effectively — usually within the container of a concept that creates context and builds interest for the project in the viewer.
See an illustrated model of the design process at http://www.dubberly.com/concept-maps/creative-process.html
Overview of the Design Process
The process of developing effective design is complex. It begins with research and the definition of project goals. Defining goals allows you to home in on precisely what to communicate and who the audience is. You can then appropriately craft the message you are trying to communicate to them. Additional information regarding how to deliver your message and why it’s necessary are also clarified in the research stage. Often the preferred medium becomes clear (i.e., web, social media, print, or advertising) as does the action you want your audience to take. Asking a millennial to donate to a cause is a good example. Research reveals that transparency of donation use, donor recognition, and ease of making the donation are vital to successfully engaging a millennial audience (Grossnickle, Feldmann, White, & Parkevich, 2010). Research also reveals that millennials resist negative advertising, so the message must be crafted in positive terms that are anchored to a realistic environment (Tanyel, Stuart, & Griffin, 2013). Knowing this information before the concept development begins is vital to crafting a message that will generate the response your client needs. Critiquing and analysis allow you to evaluate the effectiveness of the design approach as it develops through the stages of an iterative process.
In order to design visual materials that communicate effectively, designers must understand and work with the syntax of visual language. Meaning is expressed not only through content but through form as well, and will include both intellectual and emotional messages in varying degrees.
Developing Concepts into Design Solutions
Designers are responsible for the development of the creative concepts that express the message. A concept is an idea that supports and reinforces communication of key messages by presenting t