Graphic Designer's Essential Reference

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GRAPHIC DESIGNER’S ESSENTIAL REFERENCE

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How to Use This Book

The majority of this book catalogs a varied

collection of graphical elements to which

a graphic designer can turn in developing

unique, engaging visual solutions on behalf

of his or her clients

—

a breadth of composi-

tional devices that can be used as is, or

combined as needed for more intriguing

results. This section, “Graphic Elements,”

presents fi fty-seven categories of such

elements, divided into four distinct groups:

“Pictorial Staples” (icons, abstract languages,

textures, and patterns); “Chromatic Con-

cepts” (formal and conceptual color palettes);

“Typographic Stylings” (typeface com-

binations, form manipulations, editorial

confi gurations, and ornamental devices);

and “Layout Strategies” (methods for

dividing pages, cropping, and grid structures).

Each category fi lls two pages and has been

assigned a number; within those pages, the

individual elements are also numbered. The

category number, plus the individual element

number, create a reference code for that

particular combination. For example, the

pictorial category Textures: Representational

is numbered

10. The last element in that cat-

egory (in the lower-right corner) is numbered

072, so that element’s reference code is 10072.

Once a designer has established the

elements to be mixed, he or she must then be

able to consider what possibilities exist for

these combinations in practical application

—

and how different elements may combine to

create appropriate communications. In the

second major section, “Project Strategies,”

the elements are used in hypothetical layouts

for a range of project types

—

design strategies

formulated to illustrate specifi c composi-

tional and conceptual goals. Each project

strategy begins with a Project Communication

Brief

—

a design brief that outlines the project’s

conceptual and visual communication goals

to provide readers a context for the approach-

es being demonstrated. Translation of the

English language typography that appears in

the design solutions is also provided in

this introduction. All of the elements used

are listed by their reference codes and a

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Category

and

Number

Individual

Elements

Element

Reference Code

CATEGORY PAGE SPREAD

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brief Visual Profi le describes how those

elements interact, both visually and with

regard to the meanings they evoke. Further-

more, the effect of substituting one or more

elements in the same strategy is shown as a

series of variations, so designers may under-

stand both the visual and the evocative results

of mixing different elements in similar kinds

of layouts. Scattered among the strategy

pages are real-world examples of related

projects

—

prepared by some of the world’s

top designers.

While the catalog of elements is com-

prehensive, and the strategies offer broad

approaches that will help a designer start

conceptualizing a project, it’s important to

note that no formula is offered here, only

a mindset

—

an excursion into some of the

limitless possibilities of bringing image, type,

and layout together. It will always be the

designer’s task to determine not just which

elements go together, but also what

modifi cations an element will need to

work best. It’s the idea of using an archetypal

icon, rather than a photograph, embodied

in that element; what the icon shows,

and its specifi c drawing quality, are other

questions to be pondered.

Similarly, the strategies present method-

ologies, rather than set procedures, for

using the graphic elements

—

just as cooking

recipes do for the chef. A good cook knows

that Chicken Milanese is a recipe for a breaded

cutlet in a white wine and butter sauce;

but the thickness of the cutlet, the amount

of fl our and egg, the proportion of wine to

butter, and the duration of cooking are all

variables the cook is free to change to accom-

plish his or her own vision of the dish. So,

too, graphic designers must look beyond the

hard-and-fast strategy presentation to deter-

mine which aspects of the strategy are most

appropriate, which need modifi cation for his

or her particular purposes, and which must

be discarded or combined with other strategy

concepts to resolve the project in the most

compelling and satisfying manner.

Elements used in a given recipe

are listed by their reference codes,

categorized by section, and

supplemented by their respective

page numbers.

PROJECT STRATEGY OPENING PAGE SPREAD

Each recipe is accompanied by a

Project Communication Brief that describes the

reasoning behind ingredient selection

and layout decisions.

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