Yes, it has been a while, but believe me what I have been up to, was worth the wait!-I was mourning the dying(if not dead) of what I knew as graphic design.There comes a time when you swallow the pride and talk of the reality at hand!
Of recent, my interest has been heavily focusing on the existence of graphic design since its inception.
In the beginning business people created products and services, but unfortunately, on the seventh day they couldn't rest.
They had to find means to sell their products.
And at the core of the tools employed to move their products off the shelves,lied the expertise to;attract attention,present content and persuade,using visuals -the bread-and-the butter of graphic designer.
Amongst other disciplines, design was used and products moved!
As times progressed, the number of businesses competing for the same customers increased, immensely. Prior to that, a company would win a sale purely based on proximity or price. Until these two lost their effectiveness, as more and more businesses got easily accessible and a lot cheaper.
It then became very hard for companies to preach a valid reason as to why a customer’s sale should fall on their side of the fence. Out of that inevitable business challenge was born a discipline that now rewards those that invest in it, branding.
Branding gives people reasons other than price and proximity, to buy from company x instead of company y and company z.
Graphic design played, and still do, a critical role in moving products off the shelves. Through their expertise, graphic designers created things like logos for products identification, packaging and marketing materials to help sell the products.
Before branding gained momentum as a discipline, graphic designers were only required to focus solely on layout, typography, colour reproduction etc. But things have changed and approaching graphic design with a mindset of yesteryear's prove futile.
Today,people’s purchasing and choice of brands are driven more by branding than design.
Though, thingss like a product’s packaging can attract a prospect buyer’s attention, it’s rare that the person would buy the product because of the great use and choice of typography and colour on the package.
Graphic design that is solely focused on the beauty of the layout is becoming more and more useless for businesses, especially those whose competitors have a sound branding strategy in place.
This only means one thing, the creators of such pretty pictures’ (designs) days are numbered. Not that I’m trying to play prophet, but, in this day and age markets dictates that graphic design be driven by a branding strategy.
Graphic design is not only required to communicate and present content, it is now also expected, through branding know-how, to articulate brands.
Without branding and a brand strategy at the core of a business/plan, graphic design is nothing but meaningless decoration.
In the context of consumer goods, graphic design that isn’t backed with a solid brand strategy is fruitless.
-By the way, rebranding goes way deeper than just redesigning a logo.
But again,once its in you,till you die,you will forever live a graphic designer!!BRAVO!
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| Till death do us apart_Graphic design |
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