impacted on graphic design.Introduction In my essay I will be Examining how digital technology has impacted on graphic design. I will be looking back in the days where it all began starting with firstly the tools that technology came together to create, to the tools that are being used now and how they are used.
I will be including research on the early days of graphic design to now, the positive and also the negative impacts that digital technology has on graphic design. I will learn about the changes with graphic design as technology had progressed.Digital Technology basically means that devices are more compact, flexible, faster, lighter, and more versatile.
Digital technology has transformed nearly every aspect for modern life that is travelling,working, entertainment and shopping.The day to day uses of Digital Technology include mobile phones, computer, laptops and other such machinesHow digital Technology startedFirstly digital technology was witnessed with the introduction of Internet, giving a variety access to information. Secondly the transformation came in with mobile internet, with the advancement of mobile phones having operating systems from Google, Apple, and other such companies. Thirdly digital technology is the present day application of internet of things(IOT) where as in machines and equipment are embedded with tiny sensors, linked to virtual devices (cloud), creating value on a global level.Lastly, the approaching fourth wave of digital technology refers to the involvement of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), aimed at assisting with decision making and creating knowledge with help of machine.
Digital Technology has enhanced Graphic design by empowering creative ideas and bringing them to life, without digital technology graphic design would not be what it is today, It is exciting to see thought processes expressed into imagery or layouts and the use of interactivity and motion graphics with Programs such as ‘Adobe After Effects’ have increased productivity in the motion industry as it allows designers to create animations in an extremely short amount of time compared to when they were traditionally analogue created. Whereas before the digital revolution, many hours were spent with pencils arranging compositions, design mocks can now be created in a very short amount of time by sketching straight onto a computer using a tablet input alongside an image program like Adobe Photoshop.Back in the days Graphic Designers used simple tools and equipment such as rubber, cement, kneaded erasers, proportion wheels and the broad tape to create graphic designs like posters, logo and simple adverts, In nowadays Digital Technology has made a graphic designers job more far easy moving from Cow Gum, pic scales and mechanical layouts taking days from compiling to creating something quick in photoshop and Indesign as it allows designers to try many different things, especially with fonts and textures and masks on images, stuff that would have been nearly impossible without expensive custom prepress was simply a Photoshop session away, having it approved and printed in an hour,that means that Digital Technology allows designers to quickly and easily detour process that once took hours to finish enabling designers to focus on creativity and innovation.The internet made it possible for Graphic Designers to communicate between clients, to search for new ideas for their projects, send their projects to friends or put them up on a blog for opinions. This why a designer can alter any mistakes there may be in their designs that other people could spot and fix in any minute.
Also Computers simplified the whole process, more work could be completed at work or at home, the computer applications included fonts, font sizes and leading options meaning there were no need for a typesetter. The flexibility of the computer made it so that clients could approve designer’s designs faster because you could now send the items electronically. Computers now make it so that one person can answer a client brief in a quarter of the time it would usually take a whole team of designers to create.The positive impact digital technology has on graphic designGraphic designers should be feel thankful for digital technology as they can make their clients happy in moments of time, thanks to the arrival of faster, powerful computers and faster internet connection as we expert graphic designers to to bring us high quality , we expect more colors, more detailed designs,patterns,motions,textures to give us a feeling and convey a meaning as well, As we fully expect art and design that seem to jump right out of our computer monitors, signage, or product packaging.
Thanks to graphic tablets, new design software, and advances in printing, designers can really get creative and design.And of course with design suites like Adobe Creative Suite releasing new, updated software consistently every few years, the programs feature robust options for designers to utilize in new and often unexpected ways,Even Printers now have the ability to print high resolution images, blending inks together to create true-to-life representations of what you see on a computer monitor, allowing for bolder designs on more materials than ever before.Also the availability of courses, software tutorials and training videos has impacted the field in a significant way, The use of Youtube and Vimeo allows anyone to share design software practises and allows anyone who wants to develop their skills in digital painting, video production, and web development to develop that specific software Keeping up with trends is easy too back in the days one had to spend money for colleges to use the proper tools and now because of digital Technology anyone can start with the basics online and learn a few things about photoshop,indesign and motion graphics without having to pay colleges, The design industry enhanced with digital technology is a stunning institute that has no boundaries only unexplored terrains”With a traditional paper portfolio, it is rarely possible to accommodate all our work .with a laptop we can take everything” (Shaughnessy 2010)And lastly digital technology has saved money in the graphic design field as things like posters had to be painted by hand meaning paints needed to be purchased, brushes, inks, glues which where also a health hazard, spray mount, tools and so on.The negative impacts digital technology has on graphic designDigital Technology killed creativity with applications such as photoshop which now replacing the old tradition of originality,skills and ideas and making designers lazy, Designers now have too much dependence on technology in such that it has made them slaves to technology and many are now concerned about originality,good judgement and hands-on experience.
And I agree with B Burgers when he said “a bit of both, I like the technology and ease of now but prefer the older days when skill and ideas were appreciated more. Photoshop and computers do not make you a designer, ideas and thought do. You can not purchase that in a box” (burgess B,2012)Digital Technology has made some people lose their jobs as now we no longer have to buy brushes,paints,rulers,scales and pencil as the adobe suite comes with Also another negative impact digital of technology on the graphic design field would be plagiarism many users are unaware of copyright laws and that they are violating by using a designers work, they wouldn’t know that someone is doing this unless you were searching online all the time,In conclusion I feel that the impact digital technologies have had on Graphic design is both good and bad, And I agree with each different opinion to some extent.
I feel technology has made the job a whole lot easier than how it used to be back in the days as you can now get inspirations and tutorials to develop more skills, get similar designs online and modify them, answer a clients brief easily within a few hours as the designer and client can communicate by email its much more flexible this way. But on the other hand I have discovered a downfall of the impact of digital technology on lack of creativity as the work isn’t appreciated as much as it used to be back when everything was carefully thought out. Now People can easily access the design software graphic designers use, making it easy for any untrained designer to become a graphic designer by creating their own documents, etc. Most people don’t see the hard work behind the designs created anymore.Philip B.
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