Welcome to Graphic Design Tips

Soy Ink Developed

The American Newspaper Publishers Association (ANPA)--now known as the Newspaper Association of America (NAA)--developed soy ink in 1987, after imported oil shortages threatened many industries dependent on petroleum-based products. This included the printing indusrtry, which relied solely on petroleum oils for its printing inks.

Put On a Skin and Draw!

Primitive? Not necessarily. The line drawings of primitive man are the essence of graphic design. If you´re bogged down and overwhelmed with the "new graphic" environment and have been computerized to death, take your images to the simplest forms possible. Break everything down to line images, and eliminate everything that doesn´t matter to your message.

The Book Preserved

In 1974, The Center for Book Arts was founded and incorporated in New York City. Today, the center thrives with seminars, competitions for designers and writers, and is a wonderful blend of history and avante garde.

Take a course in papermaking or book binding to develop a deeper feel for the history and possibilities of paper. Experiment with possibilities for new ideas in client projects or for your own graphic techniques. Begin to utilize the paper not only as a canvas, but also as an element in your design.

Dada Did It!

The graphic style of different styles and sizes of type across a page is defined as "Dada". This movement developed in Zurich in 1916 and was a reaction to the "absurdity and horror" of WWI.

Graphic design has always been susceptible - and often the precursor - to political awareness. Keep your eye on political environments and take note of any new design format that simultaneously hits the news. If you consider yourself conservative at heart, beware of jumping on a moving train unless you or your client is willing to take the risk.

Primal Urges

Our ancestors used graphics to depict stories and to mark territories. Tools were limited, and symbolism was tantamount in relaying information to others. A paw print represented an animal. A handprint might have been a welcome or a stop signal. Graphic images are signs; the context gives them a unique meaning, and positioning can lend them a new significance.

Lithography

At the end of the 1800s, Lithography allowed artists to print large solid areas, use color, and also gave them the freedom to draw their own lettering. Lithography is the art or process of putting designs or writing, with a greasy material, on stone, and of producing printed impressions from this process. The process depends, in the main, upon the antipathy between grease and water, which prevents a printing ink containing oil from adhering to wetted parts of the stone not covered by the design.

Global Concerns

In 1919, the first daily global airmail service began between New York and Chicago. International service for mail and for passengers soon followed. Company brand names and logos emblazoned on airplanes were possibly the first test of global design.

Symbolism and color often mean different things to different cultures. When you design for a web site or for a business that is global, test your design idea against other culture´s outlooks and beliefs. You may find your idea will go over big in the states, but it will bomb with terrible implications for your client in another country.