Writing in the Field of Graphic Design
Paige Terronez
University of Iowa
Writing in the Field of Graphic Design
As one goes through their daily life, they are often surrounded by advertisements. Television commercials, magazine covers, even the logos that people wear on their shirts become walking billboards for the brands they are wearing. The ever growing and influential world of advertisements are all surrounding in this day and age, and at the core of it all is graphic design. However, while graphic design is known for its visual components, writing is still a crucial part of the industry. Graphic design largely depends on communication within the field, from documents about the latest discovery in visual research and analysis to educational guides on what makes an effective design. Similarly, to most fields, there are certain types of writing styles, specifically academic and non-academic. Each one has certain conventions and commonalities that, when done effectively, create an extremely differing result. Through this paper, I will be evaluating three academic and three non-academic writings, showing the vast fundamental differences each one possesses and what roles they hold in the graphic design world.
Academic Writing
Academic writing within the graphic design field can often be found within conference papers or journals showcasing research and analysis of visual designs. While often not persuaded by the general public, these works are important to create and further the effectiveness of design within society. These pieces are often peer-reviewed, written by professionals within the field, and/or researched thoroughly in order to be factually correct and precise. Academic works uphold a professionality to them, using more complex language and topics than most mainstream media of design. Often, the audience of these papers are other professionals or knowledgeable individuals in the field, thus causing them to be structured and written to a higher standard than most other works seen by the general public.
Language
A large component that separates academic writing and non-academic writing is the language and tone it uses throughout the piece. Often because of the advance intended audience, academic works carry a very professional and formal way of writing. For example, in Review and Analysis of Color Coding Research for Visual Displays, Christ is discussing findings, both old and his own research, on color theory and how it affects identification performance. Christ writing style holds a professional air to it, as he goes into detail about tested theories and equations related to color while giving great explain actions for the graphs in the paper, such as “Figure 2 shows that, except for one deviant point, identification accuracy in unidimensional color displays was superior, relative to identification accuracy in unidimensional shape displays” (Christ, 1975, p.4) As clearly shown, Christ wording and the language he uses is not intended for the average audience member and holds far more complex subjects, such as unidimensional colors, that would generally not be seen in non-academic writings. This is because Christ is writing to an audience with well-equipped knowledge on the topic and is expected to go into such great detail in order for the journal to be seen as credible. As well, because of the higher education of the audience, Christ is able to give much more intricate analysis as the audience is well equipped to understand and interpret them.
Structure
When structuring an academic work, certain organizational steps are taken to ensure optimal understanding of the topic. For research papers, the audience must be told of the background and previous research of the topic. Then the author must give how they disagree with the past research and how their experiment diverges from other experiments. The production of the experiment, including equipment, third parties, etc., must be thoroughly detailed in order for anyone interested in recreating the experiment the ability to do so and check the data. Finally, the end results should be carefully documented with references and/or any recommendations for future tries of said experiment are added at the end.
An example of this can be seen in The Third Dimension for Apparel Designers Visual Assessment of Hat Designs for Sun Protection Using 3-D Body Scanning, where the writers introduce older research done on clothing designs and their incorporation of sun protection and where their ideas diverge from those past studies. They then go into detail about how the 3-D body scanning technology works and is incorporated with their experiment of different hat designs against sun rays. The paper ends with their result and future recommendations for anyone wanting to test this theory themselves (Ashdown, 2005).
This can also be seen in the article titled “Packing Design and Research and Analysis Based on Graphic Visual” published by IACSIT Coimbatore Conferences about the visual theory that goes into packing boxes. It begins with an introduction explaining the background of incorporating package design and culture to increase profits. Then the conference sheets go into the analysis of their own research of package design to get an understanding of the industry as a whole and what is being sold in what amounts. They explain the newly created MoonCake Packaging design, i.e. going into detail about color theory, significant texts, visual illustrations featured on the box, etc., all leading to the conclusion of how the “consumers psychology” was impacted by the new design and that directly impacted consumer purchases (Chen, 2012).
This structure of organization in academic papers allows for an easy to follow guide where the audience is able to find the information they need. Concise and complete retelling of the experiment is crucial in order for others to verify end results of the experiment. Without such retelling an academic paper would be much less formulated and more chaotic, which does not fit for its more professional nature.
Non-Academic Writing
On the opposite side of the coin, yet still as valuable to the graphic design world, is non-academic writing. Non-academic writing is the most common type of writing the average viewing audience comes across in their everyday life. Newspaper articles, blog posts, educational guides, and such are common types of non-academic writing the general public sees. This writing style is often simplified in language use and structure to be more accessible to a wider audience that may have little to no knowledge of the topic being presented to them. The main goal of these texts is to utilize the principles of writing in order to easily inform and intrigue the audience on the subject matter.
Language
A commonality throughout most non-academic writings is the simplified word choice and language used throughout. This is not to say that non-academic writing is duller but is instead written in a way that is best suitable for a wider audience to read and understand. For example, Design and Marketing is an educational guide for beginners in the design field or those interested in the topic to have a better understanding of what creates an effective design. Given its nature as an educational piece, it must use language that both usefully explains the topic at hand without becoming too complex for more casual readers. Within the book are examples of design used greatly to exemplify the points of each section. Located near almost all examples are one to two sentences that briefly and simply explain why this design exemplifies the given section, with clear examples being “This stylized illustration, in the vein of Matisse and Picssos, uses line to describe the subject and the color in slabs to indicate environment” (Swann, 1990, p.25). Or they give light tips that associate with the image next to it, such as “Borders can be used to contain the design, proving a shape or formula for other elements to follow” (Swann, 1990, p.37) These small bits of information are quick and digestible enough for the reader to understand clearly while also being educational enough to gain useful information about design.
However, word choice within non-academic writing is not always just simplified, sometimes the author uses more informal and casual language that would never be seen, let alone common in academic works. In Everyone's A Designer article published by Forbes, he holds a casual tone throughout the article. When beginning the article, the first sentences are a response to the title by stating “I mean it. Really” (Duffy, 2012), something that holds more personality and a loose nature that would not be used in academic writings. As well, throughout the article he constantly addresses the audience by asking questions and talking directly with them, putting himself on the same level as the viewer by using words such as “we” and “our” when addressing big picture ideas (Duffy, 2012).
Structure
When discussing the topic of design, one expects design fundamentals to come into play. Non-academic greatly uses the help of visual aids to not only inform the audience but attract their attention to the pages themselves. In Design and Marking, every page of the 143-page guide is filled with gripping color and intriguing shapes. Images ranging from bright pop art pieces to beer labels to Madonna album covers fill pages after page. These breaks of images help divide the texts within the book, allowing the audience visual rest and help avoid creating giant walls of text that would otherwise lose the reader’s attention. The addition of color compared to the dull repetition of black words on white paper makes the pages visual enticing and causes the audience's attention to remain longer on the texts. Swann’s book goes to an extreme by adding splashes of yellow, blue, and pink full colored pages (Swann, 1990, p.34-35 and p.94-95), creating an irregularity in its organization that catches the viewer's attention. An additional example of this is in The Sleek Curves that Reshaped Furniture Design. While discussing the various ways German designs have redefined design in furniture, Karasz divides his texts by adding pictures of various chair styles and close ups of detailed wooden carvings. This break in text allows for easy and manageable reading, while giving an image that allows the audiences a clearer picture of what visual changes are occurring in furniture (Karaz, 2019).
While writing a non-academic piece, an easy to follow and concise read is essentially given the audience. While all writings should strive to have at least a shred of organization and clarity in its writing, non-academic works especially need to focus on this. For example, at the beginning of Design and Marketing, there is a table of contents that neatly and clearly states the sections and subsections within the book. Each section is made up of a few pages that each hold brief paragraphs on the subjects. With the sections divided up into short groups, the audience can take in the information in small bursts that doesn’t drain their attention nor energy. As well, given how each section is divided into specific categories based on certain content, the reader is without the burden of having to scan through paragraph after paragraph for specific information (Swann, 1990).
Conclusion
Although some may favor certain types of writing better than others or see one style of writing as superior, the truth of the matter is that both academic and nonacademic works hold important roles in any industry. Within graphic design, academic writing is a formal and professional analytical writing style that allows for experts in the field to discuss and dissect founded research. While non-academic writing is a more casual, easily digestible form of writing that allows a wider audience with little to no knowledge on the topic to be introduced and hopefully educated on the topic. Each one holds a certain space within its own circles and follows differing conventions that allow for effective writing on opposite sides of the spectrum.
References
Ashdown, P. S. (2005) The third dimension for apparel designers: visual assessment
of hat designs for sun protection using 3-D body scanning, International Textile &
Apparel Association, 23 (3), 1-14
Chen, M. (2012) Packaging design research and analysis based on graphic visual, IACSIT
Coimbatore Conferences, 1-6
Christ, E. R. (1975) Review and analysis of color coding research for visual displays, Human
Factors, 1-4
Duffy, J. (2019, May 13) Everyone’s a designer. Forbes, retrieved from forbes.com
Karasz, P. (2019, December 24) The sleek curves that reshaped furniture design. New York
Times, retrieved from nytimes.com
Swann, A. (1990) Design and marketing. Musterlin house, Jorden Hill Road, Phaidon Press
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