Every Artist must, in my opinion, have a definition of art. To begin with, their personal opinion of their specific type of art must be defined. Because my particular art emphasis I have chosen to study is Graphic Design, I must ask myself, "What is Graphic Design?" As an artist, I feel it is necessary to first clarify that, in my mind, there is no distinction between "Graphic Design" and "Fine Art." Graphic Design is art and usually provides a service to a client. It has a purpose. Because of this, it is argued by some, to be craft instead of "Fine Art." I believe that art can be called "art" when it is created to visually communicate a message that evokes an emotional response from the viewer. Visual expression defines "art." It is a means of visual communication. Likewise, Graphic Design is a means of visual communication. Whether expressing myself, or interpreting a message for a viewer, given by a client, the design itself is a form of visual expression. Graphic Design encompasses the best of both worlds, with form and function.
After reading the introduction of "The Story of Graphic Design," I found the statement, "Graphic forms have played a significant role in all large and complex societies." This intrigued me because everything we do depends upon our eyes. Our individual and collective social point of view, blind or not, has been built upon graphics. Graphics have social foundations in trade, laws and religion with beginnings dating back to cave dwellings. This was a time when visual communication was perhaps the only communication.
My favorite example of this being "The Dead Man" found in the bowels of Lascaux Cave in France, c. 18,000-10,000 BC. A story is clearly scratched into the wall. The artist is communicating something visually.
The term "Graphic Design" compared to the designs of Lascaux Cave, is relatively new. The term was used in an article of the Boston Evening Transcript, by W.A. Dwiggins. He stated, "Advertising design is the only form of graphic design that gets home to everybody." This appeared in August of 1922. Since that time Graphic Design grew from something carved in stone, to something ephemeral in nature. Its characteristics, generally being the two dimensional combination of pictures and words and the the ability to be mass produced, defined it. The actual term Graphic Design wasn't truly established until the 1980's, though much of the credit for its development came from the "Bauhaus" a school in Germany that combined crafts and fine arts.
It bothered me to recognize that much of graphic design is ephemeral. Perhaps what bothered me the most was the thought that anything ephemeral (with the exception of Andy Goldsworthy's work and others' like him) populates the landfills. It states in the introduction of the book that fine artists are normally successful if they make a single object that is highly prized, while designers base their success on the number of times their image has been reproduced. I disagree. Because I believe there is no distinction between "Fine artists" and great Designers, I believe that success comes only from the worth of the message delivered visually.
I look eagerly forward to learning more about the history of Graphic Design. I feel it is important in every aspect of my life to look back at where we've been before moving forward. Questions like, "What worked?" and more importantly, "What didn't?" seem to always be relevant. The answers to these two questions along with my own life experiences will help make my designs more impactful. It is this impact on the viewer that determines whether or not a Fine artist working as a Great Designer is successful.
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