VISUAL GRAPHIC DESIGN: Advanced (Book with DVD) (Workbook Included)

Visual Graphic Design: Advanced combines many different practical and visual skills with knowledge of specialized materials and techniques. Graphic designers create visual concepts, by hand or using computer software, to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, or captivate consumers. They develop the overall layout and production design for advertisements, brochures, magazines, and corporate reports. This book will introduce the knowledge and skills for those studying and/or working in service sector industry.

About this Book

The information in this book covers basic to core competencies that a person must achieve to design and develop visual graphic designs for print media; electronic media; product packaging; and booth and product/window display.

About the Visual Graphic Design Industry

Graphic designers create visual concepts, by hand or using computer software, to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, or captivate consumers. They develop the overall layout and production design for advertisements, brochures, magazines, and corporate reports. Choosing between graphic design and visual communications can be particularly challenging for some learners, especially since these fields are often confused as nearly identical in nature. In reality, however, graphic design is actually quite a bit different than the visual communication field. Graphic design, by contrast is quite narrowly focused only on making a visual representation of key concepts within a visual method of communication, like advertising or web design. Before choosing between these fields, consider their key differences and professional responsibilities. The field is considered a subset of visual communication and communication design, but sometimes the term “graphic design” is used interchangeably with these due to overlapping skills involved. Graphic designers use various methods to create and combine words, symbols, and images to create a visual representation of ideas and messages. The visual communication field is focused on communicating with clients and customers through any visual means available. That means learners will learn graphic design, illustration, animation, photography, and even the modification, or airbrushing, of photographs to better illustrate a given point. These skills are considered broad and comprehensive, and they prepare graduates to enter a number of exciting fields within the communications industry. Available career paths include graphic design, professional photography or retouching, illustration and professional animation, advertising, website design, and visual marketing departments. Learners in a visual communication program are generally either encouraged or required to choose an area of concentration, which can help them target their skills more broadly. Concentrations do include graphic design, but also include digital animation, professional digital photography, animation, computer illustration, mixed visual media, and advertising. Employment of graphic designers is projected to grow 7 percent from 2012 to 2022. Graphic designers will continue to play important roles in the marketing of products.