{"id":31867,"date":"2012-09-01T14:44:23","date_gmt":"2012-09-01T21:44:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mehallo.com\/blog\/?p=31867"},"modified":"2012-09-01T14:58:11","modified_gmt":"2012-09-01T21:58:11","slug":"graphic-design-training-ones-eye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mehallo.com\/blog\/archives\/31867","title":{"rendered":"Graphic design: Training one’s eye"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nStill from Ingre Druckrey: Teaching to See<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

As an educator, I’ve broken graphic design into three components: Message, Typography, Layout. <\/p>\n

I’m not the first educator to do this \u2013 just happened to constantly notice these three elements staring back at me in all the student pieces I evaluate.<\/a> In my opinion, careful appreciation, understanding and implementation of the three can lead to beautiful work.<\/p>\n

message<\/strong>
\nGraphic design is a communication field, so Message should always drive the project. Today we are bombarded by thousands of Messages on a daily basis, so being on Message is critical. And yes, this usually involves language and writing \u2013 which is why I love when students take their written studies seriously.<\/p>\n

typography<\/strong>
\nI’ve seen<\/a> an (often not cited\/supported) statistic that graphic design is 95% typography.<\/a> Scientific or not, I agree with this. Type is important. I like comparing the exploration of lettering to that of music \u2013\u00a0there’s enough complexity for it to become a lifetime endeavor. And most of what I teach is type, from multiple angles.<\/p>\n

form<\/strong>
\nGraphic designers are taught to use grids for layout \u2013 though relying on ‘grid’ as a catch all way of handling form can be misleading. Grids provide support, a fallback position for dealing with massive amounts of information. Though important, grids have their limitations. Building structure using symmetry, asymmetry, balance, color \u2013\u00a0some elements obvious, some not \u2013 involves continuous practice, a trained eye, instinct.<\/p>\n

These three are not formulas, can’t be added together. They need to work in tandem, like cooking a great stew where the ingredients are based on what feels just right.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\nClick to view\/jump<\/em><\/p>\n

On a related note, the above film \u2013\u00a0Edward Tufte’s Ingre Druckrey: Teaching to See<\/em><\/a> \u2013\u00a0found its way into my Twitter feed.<\/a> It’s about graphic design and beauty. And much more.<\/p>\n

In January I’m going to be teaching my first non-type course on Form and Space. I’m starting prep now because I consider form so important \u2013 so powerful, so delicate. <\/p>\n

And beautiful when done right.<\/p>\n

Video found via ayana baltrip<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\r\n\t

\r\n\t\tTweet<\/a>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t