DiMarco J. Digital Design for Print and Web: An Introduction to Theory, Principles, and Techniques

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ChaPter 1 Communication Goals 23

Figure1-22 The Hillman Curtis Web site is a functional business promotion site as well as an

entertainment portal showcasing short lms shot and designed for both Web and broadcast

output. Design by designer and lmmaker Hillman Curtis.

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PART ONE Theory and Principles24

References

Benedetti, Paul, and Nancy deHart. 1997. On McLuhan: Forward through the

rearview mirror. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Berlo, David K. 1960. The process of communication: An introduction to theory and

practice. San Francisco: Rinehart.

Holtzschue, Linda. 2006. Understanding color: An introduction for designers.

Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Lidwell, Paul, Kritina Holden, and Jill Butler. 2003. Universal principles of design.

Gloucester, MA: Rockport.

Lester, Paul. 2006. Visual communication: Images with messages. Belmont, CA:

Thomson Wadsworth.

Meggs, Phillip. 1998. A history of graphic design. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Pramaggiore, Maria, and Tom Wallis. 2008. Film: A critical introduction. London:

Laurence King.

Tufte, Edward. 1990. Envisioning information. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press.

Wheeler, Alina. 2003. Designing brand identity: A complete guide to creating,

building, and maintaining strong brands. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

White, Alex W. 2007. Advertising design and typography. New York: Allworth

Press.

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ChaPter 1 Communication Goals 25

Notes

1. Holtzschue (2006, 30) writes that sensation is the body’s response to

stimulus.

2. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/entertainment

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Chapter Objectives

Dene design as a

problem-solving tool

for communication.

Introduce basic design types.

Identify modern, functional

inuences.

Identify and integrate mod-

ern, functional design

devices.

Explore exemplary and

inspirational images from

a variety of artists and

designers.

ChaptEr 2

Design: Denition

and Devices

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PART ONE Theory and Principles28

Design as a Problem-Solving Tool

What Is Design?

A noun and a verb, design has a variety of meanings. As a verb, design desig-

nates an activity. To design something is to conceive, invent, or create to solve a

problem. As a noun, design designates a visual or industrial composition. Con-

necting the two, we can dene design as a visual or industrial composition that

solves a problem.

Design is a process and a tool. We see the residual effects of design in new

and improved products and technological innovation. On the industrial side of

design, let’s use automobiles as an example. A major automobile safety prob-

lem is the head-on car crash. A head-on crash may cause a driver or passenger

to be catapulted out of the vehicle upon impact, causing serious or lethal injury.

To solve this problem, industrial designers rst invented lap-only seatbelts.

Lives were saved as time went on. However, research showed that injuries still

occurred, because passengers were getting injured from the whip of their upper

bodies into the dashboard. So the seatbelt was redesigned to add a shoulder

harness. The shoulder harness was better, but it still did not offer protection

if the vehicle crumpled into the occupants during a crash. Recognition of that

problem spawned the design of the airbag for drivers and front passengers. Still

not good enough. Passengers in the front and back seats can be injured or killed

when there is a side impact crash. Problems move design, and design moves

innovation forward. The latest innovation in automobile safety is the side curtain

airbag.

Can you see how design spirals through innovation and creation to solve

problems through iterations and process? The iterations, also known as ver-

sions, help the designer build on the notion that form follows function, meaning

that we must solve the problem at its core initially. This requires us to get the

function and purpose clear; only then can we think about form and the aesthetic

aspects of the project.

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ChaptEr 2 Design: Denition and Devices 29

Figure2-1A This cover for Creativity magazine shows how form is translated through clear,

functional type and image. Design by Michael Bierut.

Figure2-1B This Web site for Hillman Curtis Inc. shows how form is translated through clear,

functional layout. Design by Hillman Curtis.

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PART ONE Theory and Principles30

Design is not simply a nal result; design is a spiraling process that is used to

solve a problem and achieve a goal. So, what are the problems we work to solve

as digital designers? The problems we solve, through visual communication

and multimedia communication, are rooted in the communication goals of our

clients. The problem could be that more products need to be sold; we therefore

focus on design for persuasion. The problem could be that we need to tell the

story of a great event or person; we therefore focus on design for entertain-

ment. The problem could be that we need to guide people to a destination; we

therefore focus on design for information. The problem could be that we need to

transfer knowledge about how to do something; we therefore focus on design

for education. Remember, the problem exists in the communication goal we are

trying to achieve. We have to gure out who our audience is and how to inform,

persuade, educate, or entertain them using print or Web media. In many cases,

we must pursue multiple goals. We want the viewer to see the communication,

read the message, and act upon it.

Figure2-2 Milton Glaser’s classic logo I Heart (love) NY was initially created for the New

York State Department of Economic Development to promote tourism. After the September 11

attacks on New York City, the mark’s design was updated to communicate a message of hope

and unity. The logo is a cultural icon that is adored worldwide. Design by Milton Glaser.

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ChaptEr 2 Design: Denition and Devices 31

Figure2-3 Seattle design rm Turnstyle shows modern design inuence with clear commu-

nication and legibility in BrandScents, a series of self-promotion air fresheners that focus on

client brand awareness. Design by Turnstyle.

In Edward Tufte’s 2003 manifesto on the evils of bad presentation design,

The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint, he warns that “the tools are not the content…the

content is the content and those who create content must care how it is presented

in the form of quantity, style, pace, and most importantly, message” (Tufte 2003).

The tools of design are whatever you have. We use pencils, markers, and paper to

create two-dimensional designs on paper. We use cameras, scanners, comput-

ers, and digital design software to create computer graphics, printed page layouts,

animations, and Web pages that move into the realm of 3-D virtual design and

4-D time-based design. But the tools do not make the designs. The designer must

nd the solution through knowledge of the client, source materials, and calculated

methods. The next section provides broad information on modern styles.

Modern Inuence

The Industrial Revolution spawned innovations in manufacturing that created

an increased need for graphic communications. As the United States, England,

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PART ONE Theory and Principles32

and most of Europe began this shift toward mass production, technologies such

as photography and lithographic printing provided the production tools needed

to deliver information to mass audiences. The modernism in commerce was

fueled by modernism in the art and design disciplines. Modernism movements

in design gave birth to functional design and challenged designers to create

meaningful communications based on predetermined standards and formats,

including posters, brochures, book covers, magazine designs, and advertise-

ments (Meggs 2006).

Tools and techniques used by designers today were inuenced by modern-

ism; these techniques include montage, collage, symmetrical and asymmetrical

typography, geometrics, and most importantly, function before form. Many

modern movements, including futurism, Dada, and de Stijl, have inuenced art-

ists and designers. You can explore art history texts and archival Web sites to

get exposure to all the movements in modern and postmodern art.

To help you grasp the styles and their characteristics, I have briey sum-

marized (and provided some treatment examples for) several modern styles—

including cubism, constructivism, Bauhaus and New Typography, American late

modern, and Swiss International—that stand out as highly inuential in digital

design today. I suggest that you explore each style to build your composition

options. You can transfer and combine these characteristics into your design

projects to help nd your own approaches.

Cubism

Cubism has aesthetic connections to modern-day digital design as it is char- •

acterized by attened forms, overlapping and intersecting planes, and the

collage of abstract forms to create a visual whole.

The movement was pioneered by the artists Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) and •

Georges Braque (1882–1963) and occurred in two stages that included ana-

lytic and synthetic cubism (Golding 1994, 66–67).

Analytic cubism moved away from traditional gure modeling and perspec- •

tive-based techniques, focusing on using natural forms and then abstracting

the painting to attened shapes.

Synthetic cubism evolved as a visual language and was dened by the tech- •

nique of collage. Introduced by Picasso as a modernist approach to assem-

bling “non-art materials” into coherent synthesized images, collage (from

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