What is graphic design?

Here is my entry to Veerle’s What is Graphic Design Poster Competition. Needless to say, it’s best viewed at full size.

I was inspired by the idea, “graphic design speaks for itself.” What is graphic design? “I am graphic design,” speaks the design itself. I incorporated some very basic examples of graphic design, as well as references to measurement, placement, constraints, typography, and so forth.

For example, the “i” in the blue circle is a well-known product of graphic design, visually communicating the word information. The word graph in graphic was emphasized and altered to resemble a bar graph, which is another very basic example of graphic design. And, of course, there is the reference to a stop sign, with the red octagon surrounding the word sign in design. Sign, which has four letters and begins with an “s” just like the word stop, is not only a reference to a stop sign, but also an allusion to signs in general, for graphic design very often deals with the creation of signs and symbols that convey information or instructions.

Having used blue for the information sign and red for the stop sign, I chose green for the word graph. This completes the RGB color model, and helps convey the idea that graphic design is the combination of four essential elements — type, shapes, lines, and colors — to create complex and communicative art.

The design strictly adheres to a 50×50 pixel grid.

The competition ends on Friday, at which point Veerle will select twelve prize winners. So far, it has been great to see what other people have come up with. Best of luck to all!