Internet ruin graphic designers?

The rise of technologies like Internet, mobile web and mobile apps. Some research I found that, it ruin the graphic designers in some way, on the other hand, there's also people said that Internet doesn't ruin graphic designers, its a new way to let graphic designers explore and discover more freshness inspirations.

So, a video by Milton Glaser ( at the bottom ). He is an American graphic designer. His famous artwork is I love NY logo ( I can't imagine if you don't know this logo ).

 Video by Milton Glaser, American graphic designer.

He pointed out some useful points. Yes, the advance of technology now, they still can produce great work, but according to Milton Glaser, he worried about technologies is kicking the most powerful instruments of art from the equation which is the pencil and paper. Today, most people (designers) start right from using a canvas on Adobe software such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Indesign and etc. But, there's also some people out there said that Internet is a media, it doesn't ruin everyone, means graphic designer because Internet does not limit anything as they watched this video says about limitation of design potential.

References

Glaser, M. (2009) 'Is the Internet Ruining Design?', 3 September, YouTube [Online] Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2SccqDvVCg (Accessed : 15 January 2016)

Online communities

Online communities is to share resources and satisfy each others' needs. Online communities discussed in relation to synchronous and asynchronous software (Preece, 2000). So what are these mean? Synchronous software supports communication in real time whereby asynchronous software does not require participants to be present at the same time (Preece, 2000). Synchronous software simple put as web site or instant messaging meanwhile asynchronous software is like email or bulletin boards as known as discussion boards. 

Well, every community group have make some of free and cheap computer software. To show those general software which are:

• GIMP- Gimp is the most widely used free image manipulation and editing software.  

• Picasa - Google's graphics and photo software.

 

 

• Photo Filtre - A free image editor that is a reasonable alternative to the expensive Photoshop. Only available on Windows.

 

These are about the graphics and photos' softwares, it actually related to the online community. It's because these few software must use Internet to access it and some of it are free software, free images and free editing software.  

There's some example of the general software above. But, mostly every graphic designers know an online community, it called Behance. To be honest, I also have an ID at Behance, becaus Behance is a place to share your artworks, to let people discover your creative work. It's a platform where people communicate with each other using their own works. Some of designers may get to know each other from different countries too. Same goes to Pinterest, it's also another leading online platform to showcase and discover some inspirations. 

References

Preece, J. (2000) 'Software', Online communities: designing usability, supporting sociability, p. 133. (Accessed : 13 January 2016)

Main focus

After a brief with my lecturer, Daniel. He gave a lot of suggestions on ways that how is the Internet affect graphic designer? In terms of, news print, software, production and others. Its just based on what is the role of graphic designer, what duties they take and what ways to create something.

So, my main subject will be focus on SOFTWARE. It separate to three categories.

• Web 1.0 - Internet still not effect on software, because designers' used those software were selling in product boxes and installer discs, even there's online software (GIMP) but the effect still not much changes.

• Web 2.0 - The rise of these technologies (internet, mobile web, mobile apps), it start to affect graphic designers in fact of the good and bad.

• Today - The advance of technologies, many people start to use smartphones, tablets and other electronic gadgets. It can use these electronic gadgets like tablets connect to computer, use for the purpose of the software. 

About the Internet change the way we design in 20th century

I found a video from a popular graphic designer Michael Bierut says how is the internet has changed graphic designer/ how is the internet changed the way we design?

 YouTube video 

A bit of the background of Michael Bierut
Michael Bierut has been a partner in New York office of Pentagram. According to his Pentagram online biography, he is responsible for leading a team of graphic designers who create identity design, environment graphic design and editorial design solutions.

Based on what I see in their (Pentagram)'s website. They design architecture and interiors, books, branding and identities, digital installations, exhibitions, film and video, interiors, products, posters, and websites. So almost every designers can try to get there for their careers.
                                                                                                                                                                    

Back to the first decade of 20th century, research shown that the experiment with pure form was begun in year 1890s. Designers in Austria and Germany were inspired by their move toward geometric structure and simplicity of form (Meggs, 2014). (picture 1.0) As you can see the picture below, they used geometric structure and the pure form to create a new piece of artwork.

 

 picture 1.0 

Move to 1905s - 1907s, they also used the geometric form but added some thing new which is the roman typeface styles (picture 2.0) to create logo, printed catalog, magazines, books and those based in printing styles.

 

picture 2.0

Thus, in commercial or corporate purpose, graphic design also played an important political role in the early 20th century, as seen in posters (picture 3.0) and other graphic propaganda produced during World War I. The governments used poster designs to raise funds for the war effort, encourage productivity at home (Meggs, 2014). You can see that in commercial or corporate purpose or aesthetic , they don't use geometric form but a figures and advance colours to portray the message to people. They also started to use san serif fonts to make it looks simple and relaxant instead of the roman typeface styles, as roman typeface quite a bit serious, formal and vintage kind of feel.

 

picture 3.0

But come to 1960s and 70s .... graphic design tends to improve more than using the pure form, they started to explore more in typographic styles. 

Of course graphic design still improving and upgrading year by year, inspired by many designers from different country. Late in the 20th century, more and more versatile graphic design activities began to appear in developing countries. There's some factors, including expanded access to professional education at local schools and abroad, the increased availability of computer and printing technology, and a growing base of industrial, cultural, and communications-industry clients (Meggs, 2014). Because of the technology, graphic designers started applied new technology to describe traditional subject matter and iconography (Meggs, 2014). 

Slowly come to the digital revolution, as the advance of technology and internet exist. It seems like everything has changed in one second. Graphic design was followed quickly by public access to the Internet. graphic-design activity mushroomed in the mid-1990s when Internet commerce became a growing sector of the global economy, causing organizations and businesses to scramble to establish Web sites (Meggs, 2014). Besides, integration of motion graphics, animation, video feeds, and music into Web-site design has brought about the merging of traditional print and broadcast media (Meggs, 2014). Therefore, you get to have mobile web and mobile apps in these days because the Internet and design merging together to develop more new thing. 

So far, whats still remain the same as a graphic designer are the expressive form and the artwork able to communicate to the audiences. Its still important because graphic design is a visual communications.

References

Escobar, R. (2014) 'Michael Bierut Graphic Designer- The Creative Influence Ep.13' YouTube [Video] Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4qX6Lzojyc (Accessed : 10 January 2016)

Meggs, P. (2014) 'Graphic design in the 20th century', encyclopeadia britannica, 3 May, [Online] Available at : http://www.britannica.com/art/graphic-design/Graphic-design-in-the-20th-century (Accessed : 10 January 2016)

Pentagram (2016) Available at : http://www.pentagram.com/#/home (Accessed : 10 January 2016)

Mobile web and mobile apps started to affect print publications

As the previous post talked about the Adobe software had evolved with computing technology, also, the mobile web and mobile apps had affected print publications.

The development of mobile web and mobile apps are keep increasing rapidly. The advance of mobile era intimidate the whole new life. This is the reason why the mobile web and mobile apps affect print publication. Newspaper and magazine are under the print publications. Yet, the advance the mobile growth, the pressure the printing publication facing.

Lets talk about newspaper industry, as newspapers is under printing, nowadays, people tend to less buy newspaper as the mobile web and apps had done the job. These days, 'mobile always follow the owner', that's why people easily get news from mobile web and apps. People rather online to get news more than they have to walk all the way to a place to get the newspaper.

This is the power of internet.

Due to this reason, many businesses start to focus in online but not in printing area simultaneously news organizations are increasingly dependent on Google and platforms needed to reach their audience. Lets see the graph below and you may understand the fear of print publications towards the digital.

Graph of the platforms ( Sasseen, Olmstead and Mitchell, 2013)

As seen in this graph, in the platform of online from year 2004 keep increasing until year 2012 and also the digital news also increasing. But, others platform like TV, radio and newspaper are decreasing. From this graph, we may know that the mobile web and mobile apps are hitting strong in these industry. 

In research of survey,an graphic designer said ''before the web hit in, they were centered around news gathering and research via telnet and Anarchie. After the web intruder, the first "web" browser that really took advantage of Tim Berners-Lee's Hypertext Transfer Protocol. No exaggeration, but within, probably, ten minutes I could see that the entire world was about to change (GDF, 2011)."  They have to force themselves to touch computer and get to know all the software which is launched. From 0 knowledge on the software to nowadays. Of course, the convenient of software do really helped a lot of graphic designers.

Well, of course the web has changed how we look for jobs, interact with clients and others but it's affected the whole society.

References

GDF (2011) 'When did the internet start to affect Graphic Designers?', survey [Online] Available at : http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum/forum/graphic-design/resources/1528595-when-did-the-internet-start-to-affect-graphic-designers (Accessed 8 January 2016)

Sasseen, J. Olmstead, K. and Mitchell, A. (2013) ' Digital: As Mobile Grows Rapidly, the Pressures on New Intensify', state of the media [Online] Available at : http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2013/digital-as-mobile-grows-rapidly-the-pressures-on-news-intensify/ (Accessed : 8 January 2016)

Historical on Adobe Software - Adobe Photoshop

Culture keeps up with growth, technology is growing as well. Nowadays, technology being used in social work. There are all databases and apps in agency setting, like those cases planning, communication between one and other on an apps, these are all done by electronically. Everyone seems like using technology to done a thing. So, from what I found in the internet, the history of Adobe software start to evolved with the computing technology too.

I found that, Adobe software most used by designers is Photoshop. Photoshop is a part of designers' life, because it most widely used, most powerful editing software that designers can found and used Photoshop to complete their work with nice works.

Let us see Adobe Photoshop, in year 1987, John Knoll and Thomas Knoll are the founder of Photoshop, they succeed to create more photographic effects on digital images and develop more processes and improve the initial application. So in year 1987, Adobe Photoshop formed a disk, it looks a bit bulky and super expensive as this is the first editing software. Within six months, they sold in boxes.

First version of Photoshop

Years later, in 1990, the version of Photoshop changed. Of course they want it to be better. The first version of Photoshop just features by four Photoshop programmers and it looks like this.

  

Photoshop 1.0

Then one year later, Photoshop 2.0, they start adding more functions in it. Like the Path features, this feature was added by another engineer. Slowly they got into Photoshop 2.1, 2,5.

Photoshop 2.0

In year 1994, Photoshop 3.0 comes out. They added layers. Yes, the layers are helpful, designer would have different version of design so that they can go back and grab it if they need it. The function of layer made their life easier. Besides, tabbed palettes were added in too.

Photoshop 3.0

Coming up in year 1996, Photoshop upgraded again from 3.0 to 4.0

Adjustment layers and macro were been added in. 

Slowly to year 2003. Photoshop had change the name to Photoshop CS.

Scripting support for various web languages, including JavaScript.

As the Photoshop keeps upgrading, right now, we can easily download for free trial in the internet.

We can see that, the evolution of Adobe software are strong enough to change from a bulky and expensive stuff to a convenient and easily can get a software in the internet. This is the evolution, also the internet culture changes.

That's why designers get to improve their works by using convenient and upgraded software, because everything are still improving, its unlimited. Perhaps, it will upgraded to mobile apps or applications?

References

Capella University (2015) 'The Growing Use of Technology in Social Work' [Blog] Available at :http://www.capella.edu/blogs/cublog/growing-use-of-technology-in-social-work/ (Accessed : 5 January 2016)

webdesign (2010) ' 20 YEARS OF ADOBE PHOTOSHOP' [Online] Available at : http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2010/02/20-years-of-adobe-photoshop/ (Accessed : 5 January 2016)
 

What does graphic designers do?

To be honest, many people out there didn't know about what graphic designers do, what is graphic design?

So, let's start to the basic. What is graphic design? In simple terms, graphic design is the skill and art of combining text and pictures in advertisement, magazine or book, it's also a visual communication and problem-solving through the use of text, colours and images (Wikipedia, 2015).

Well, we had roughly understand about what is graphic design. So, what are the duties of graphic designers ? Graphic designers are following the information of the brief, and create distinctive of great advertising, photography, illustrations, typography and more. Besides, they may major in design for marketing communications, digital media, corporate identity, publishing or packaging (Linton, 2016). They have many job scopes to exert their skills. They also need a good computer skills which have to use graphic design software to continue their works. In that case, how is the internet, mobile web and mobile apps affect graphic designers' works?

References

Chron (2015) ' What Are the Duties of Graphic Designers?' [Online] Available at : http://work.chron.com/duties-graphic-designers-12873.html ( Accessed : 5 January 2016)

Wikipedia (2015) ' Graphic design' [Online] Available at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphic_design (Accessed : 5 January 2016)