Abstract
Graphics involves presentation of ideas on a surface in a traditional or digital format. In either the case, the presentation must meet the requirements of the audience. This essay investigates the importance of the audience in graphics work and the strategies of ensuring that the work meets the expectations of the audience.
This essay therefore emphasis on themes and standards. For graphic designers to produce quality work training is an important aspect and on this issue, the essay will look at the essential facilities required in a graphic school as well as their characteristics and qualities for them to meet the requirements of the audience.
Rationale Statement
Graphics
The main objective of any work of graphic is to make a presentation that is visible on some form of surface. For the designer to meet his or her goal there must be an audience and the only way to capture the attention of the audience is to make a representation that reflects their expectation. One of the factors for consideration is the issue of themes. In any work of art, a theme will represent the moral lesson or teachings from that work of art.
Therefore, a theme is supposed to teach or pass a certain message to the audience. The message could be a warning, comment, or encouragement. As stated by Weverker (2006), “the audience judges your presentation right away from the first slide it sees.” It is therefore important to make a graphical presentation that is in line with what the audience expects. Weverker (2006) continues to say, “When you fashion a look for your presentation, what you are really doing is declaring what you want to communicate with your audience.
A theme is a very important part of any graphical presentation in fact a theme can be looked at as a presentation overall design. In a theme, one is able to present preset colors, the graphic front, and all other important elements of design. In the presentation theme, In the presentation theme, there is use of colors on the background of the presentation, title, body text, accents and language styles and on text formats.
There are two different types of themes used in a presentation, the first type is on titles and headings, and the second type is in the body text. When using graphics it is always important to note that graphics present or communicate information in situations where there is no use of words.
The next point to consider is the audience and in this case, the presenter should consider their occupation, culture, education, and experience. The third point to consider is the passing of the message, which is important in determining the type of graphic. The fourth point for consideration is the size of the graphic.
In any work where presentation and audience are key factors then there must be some set standards. The graphic design standards we have today are because of many written and verbal exchanges that have taken place in the past. “Graphic standards are documented guidelines that explain the methodology behind the design” (Jacko & Sears, 2003).
The main purpose of graphic standards is to provide some form of guidelines in the graphic industry to the incoming and practicing members. These standards help to enhance efficiency and accuracy in the communication of a graphic.
For any graphic to meet its objective then it should be able to communicate the intended message to the audience and this can only be possible if it is of the right standard. These standards however are not constant and are subject of constant revisions. The revision of the standards bases on the fact that most scenes are different.
In a graphic design, school facilities and equipments are very important because they play a role in learning and practice by the students. A typical graphic school will have both the traditional and modern facilities and technology to encourage creativity on a wider scope.
One of the most common facilities found in such school is the graphic lab, which the students use for practical lessons. They are also useful in giving the students a chance to practice on how to do their presentation especially on matters relating to how to meet the expectations of the audience.
The other important facility is a studio, where design of a studio of a modern school is in a way that each student has an individual desk with an internet-connected computer. For a graduate school the studio gets natural light and it will have sufficient storage facilities for the students.
A Mac Lab is also another important facility that is available in a graphic school. This facility help to create digital images and perform other print-based duties such as printing, drawing, photograph manipulation, painting, type design and motion graphics. A modern Mac Lab should be equipped with Macintosh working station with connection to high-speed internet, high-resolution printers, scanners, DVD and CD burners, and digital video cameras.
A photo lab is also an important facility in a graphic school, where this facility falls under the category of traditional graphic facilities. The main equipments found in this lab will include dark rooms, film recorders, printing bays, a copy room, and a film-processing studio. In this lab, the students can process digital images into slides and develop negatives. The students can also practice the use and handling of various cameras.
A design school will not be complete without a media and print lab, which is a unique facility since it supports both the digital and traditional graphic process. The print lab is used in the production of multiples through etching, silk-screening, or letterpress and the lab will contain equipments such as tables, exposure units, paper cutters, and presses.
In a graphic classroom, space and storage facilities are very important requirements. For a graphic school to function effectively then it is important that the authorities ensure that the school has sufficient working space and storage facilities.
The storage facilities should take care of all storage needs of the students as well as cater for both the digital and the traditional graphics. For the digital graphics, the students will require DVDs, CDs, flash disks and computers with a good memory on the other hand the traditional graphics will require storage equipments such as shelves, boxes, tapes.
The graphic should also have working space that can accommodate the working needs of all the students and the space should be such that each student can have enough working space. As stated by Kowalski (2002) the school should have working facilities that ensure that each student can display his or her work well.
Graphic design has been one of the most under-paid and underestimated career in the today’s world. However, design is a very important field, which has great influences in our lives. Design will actually have a great influence on our intelligence, beauty perception and our emotion and can therefore influence everything that affects our lives.
With all this significance, people will always seem to assume it even if Graphic design is not an easy profession as people will tend to think and therefore any student wishing to follow this career path should be prepared to face all that it takes to be a graphic designer. However, this is not as difficult as a beginner may think that the students only need to learn how to put the ideas in their minds on paper.
Graphic students will however have unique characteristics, where a good design student will be the kind of students who aim for excellence at all times. Design is not an essay course, and therefore a student should be prepared to work hard. The student should also carry out personal and group assignments with ease. Secondly, the student should be able to carry out presentations. The student should therefore have a good knowledge on the audience.
Thirdly, a good student should have artistic values such as good vocal abilities, sense of humor, and creativity. This is important since design will be concerned with thinking about a product or work of art. Fourthly, a design student should be the kind who values reading and research, which is necessary since this field keeps on evolving. Finally, a good student should be self-driven and self motivated.
The community will form a good recourse for graphic designer. From the communities cultures a designer can get new ideas on graphics. The community also judges our work as designers through their criticism, comments, and advice designers can make improvements on their work. Designers also have their role to play in the community just like other professionals and their performance should effective.
References
Jacko, J., & Sears, A. (2003). The human-computer interaction handbook: fundamentals, evolving technologies, and emerging applications. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associate, Inc.
Kowalski, T. (2002). Planning and managing school facilities. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Weverka, P. (2006) Office 2007 all-in-one desk reference for dummies. New Jersey: Wiley Publishing, Inc.