Why the term Graphic Design should be changed to Graphic Solutions

I think in for the most part, people in general get the wrong impression of design and confuse it with art. Design is merely yet another tool that serves the purpose of communication. In its purest sense, design is visual communication.

"Design should never say, “Look at me.” It should always say, “Look at this."

- David Craib

This is what separates design from art. Art is created, and enjoyed for its aesthetic purposes alone, while design serves a function. Now this is where it can get confusing so bear with me. Design can also be art, but art cannot be design, but art can have a design to it, and yet serve no function, and art can also communicate a message without a target audience. Confused yet? Well, it’s this blurring of ideas; concepts, theories, and definitions that create misleading assumptions about design, designers, and what they actually do, which is identify “problems” and create solutions. A designer’s job is to analyze the many factors that will affect the outcome of a design, such as the purpose or goal, target audience, demographics, gender, emotions, geographic area, politics, religion, not to mention budget, time constraints, and sometimes other creative input. All of a sudden it seems there is much more to design than drawing pretty pictures or seeing who can design the most glossy web 2.0 logo.

Design can be a tricky term to define, but what always helps me remember is to think of it as something that fulfills a specific need for a specific purpose at a specific time in a specific way.

“It may be nice to look at, but if it fails to fulfill its purpose, the design becomes irrelevant.”

- Joshua R. Davis

So, if you are in need of a graphic solution, feel free to contact me, and together we will design for a purpose.