What exactly is graphic design? Wikipedia defines it as “the process of communicating visually using typography and images to present information. Graphic design practice embraces a range of cognitive skills, aesthetics and crafts, including typography, visual arts and page layout. Like other forms of design, graphic design often refers to both the process (designing) by which the communication is created and the products (designs) which are generated.” That’s an official definition and a pretty broad if you ask me.

If someone tells you they do graphic design work or they are a “graphic designer” can you pin down exactly what it is they do? I thought I was breaking down what design meant by specifically reserving on article for “graphic design” but even that can be broken down into areas of advertising, web work, photo editing, journalism, sign makers and professional typographers.

Why would someone tell you they are a “graphic designer” when they are so many specific jobs and services out there? I can tell you from experience one big reason. The personal computer and the variety of software (especially from companies like Adobe) which allows and makes it easy create various types of products in the graphic design field. I personally use and am very experienced with the Adobe Suite of products, specifically Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat and Flash. I do my designing on a Mac but Adobe also sells the same suite for Windows based computers. I love how easy it is to work on a variety of graphic design projects but I admit I do have my favorites. I love using Photoshop to restore old photos and optimize new ones. I also love being about to take a hand drawn sketch and using a program like Illustrator to convert those ideas to clean files that can be used in professional documents and presentations.

I tried to use my graphic design skills to create the header graphic of this web site to not only “brand” our company but also to represent what our particular niches are; logo design, photography, print media (notice the little business card) and the header file itself uses design considerations optimized for the web.

What do you think of when you hear the term, “graphic design” or someone says they are a graphic designer?

Earlier today I mentioned we run our business in Greenville, SC. One of the services we offer is web design and development but we are one of many companies of various sizes who offer this service in our market. You will find web design services being performed by small one person businesses to large advertising and marketing agencies with many locations and employees. Just as you will find many different sized companies offering this service you will also discover that they are many different niches of web design.

When the technology of web design first came about you did not see many companies or individual designers/developers focusing on particular niches but the industry has been maturing and it’s better for everyone when web designers specializes in certain niches if possible. Not only do they not have to try to be an expert at “everything” put it also creates a friendlier business climate where companies who provide the same “general service” can partner and refer clients to respected designers and developers who specialize in particular niches. If at all possible I’d rather be friends and “talk shop” with fellow designers and developers out there that feel any hostility.

What are some of the web design niches out there? Some companies focus on e-commerce sites, others on blogging, some companies are experts with Adobe Flash which is great for sites that need to showcase animations, photos or product demonstrations. Some companies will specialize in the programming languages the run the databases and displaying for the pages. Some companies will only work with a select demographic of clients or design for a particular industry or group. Also a new niche developing and one we are exploring is developing optimized web sites for small portable devices like the iPhone, Palm Devices and other Internet enabled devices. They are many more niches but who is work on the ones that match you and your business?

On of the greatest temptations of any company is to get excited and cater to anyone will to pay for your services but in reality it’s better for both the client and developer to be a good match for each other. What are the niches SpinningSilk Multimedia focuses on? We believe our all our clients should access to their web sites to make updates and even our current smaller projects are using a basic content management system that helps clients add content, their customers subscribe to updates. We are big advocates of open source software and thus make use of Linux servers, programming languages like php, Ruby, Python, MySQL. As far as content we have heavily specialized in our SEO optimized writing services and well as quality photography that showcase you, your business and product line. Finally we have had experience with the following industries home improvement, Christian ministries (In particular churches within our own denomination - Associate Reformed Presbyterians) - So yes, we would love to do more work with ARP Churches, agencies and presbyteries. Finally we have done work with independent consultants and coaches who work to help individuals and companies succeed in their business.

This is the first of a series of articles called the Design of Content. In fact if their is anything I have an overwhelming passion for in my career is organizing compelling content so people can find what they are looking for quickly.

When I first got online I tried out several of the free web page programs like Tripod, Geocities, Homestead and Angelfire. The biggest advantage of those programs was it was easy for someone to set up a basic web site without having to learn everything about web design. The biggest disadvantage was they did and still provide limited control over what you can do in terms layout, navigation and extra features.  Thankfully the most popular “free web sites” people are setting up these days are blogging services like Blogspot, Wordpress.com, Livejournal, etc.  I’m thankful because they pretty much adhere to good standards like consistent navigation, a good use of white space and templates provided are usually eye pleasing color schemes.

One of the mistakes I made in the early days of learning web design was trying to create typical print design layouts on the web. I actually wanted to make web sites look like the newspapers or books. It didn’t take me long to learn each medium has it’s own set of rules. A newspaper for example doesn’t have hyper links or a call to click on anything other than to say turn to such and such page.  Print material like books, newspapers and magazine are usually easier to red at longer stretches of time whereas a web site is usually designed to grab quick snippets of information and get the job done quickly.

If their is anything we can learn from the print world it is the aspect of consistency. When people are looking for information they are not looking to solve a puzzle or play a game. They want to know how to contact someone, find a product or other piece of information quickly. Web designers have put a lot of energy into optimizing graphic file sizes and web code to insure a web site loads fast, yes even on so called, high speed connections this practice is still done however the greatest bottleneck and frustration often turns out to be the inability of site visitors to find what they are looking for.  I think some people can be forgiving on a slow connection to a point but you will never see someone as frustrated as they are when they don’t understand how to find something once they are there.  If their is a problem with a web site visitor finding something it is not their fault and they are not stupid. All too often “designers” will design based on what they know and what they think looks good.  A good analogy is in the “real world” is a traveler visiting a small town, stopping to ask for directions (which the traveler shouldn’t have to do) and having a local say, “Oh yeah, just go about half a mile and turn where the old red barn used to be!”

My personal philosophy of design is part of the word itself. Design should have signs that guides the user to where they want to go without having to think.  In 2008 SpinningSilk Multimedia plans on concentrating and offering a limited set of proven and usable web layouts. One of the best books on the subject is Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug. Think about your favorite web sites, the ones you visit daily and really enjoy.  Do you enjoy them because the navigation is easy and the layout directs you to the bits of information you are looking for? Consider one of the most successful companies in the world, Google has one of the most simple yet easy to navigate web sites.  Besides it’s great search results it was it’s simple clean looking web site that got everyone’s attention when other search engine sites were adding more and more features and losing white space.

Beginning January 1st, 2008 we will present a series of articles called, The Aspect of Design. I will share the many aspects of design beyond the obvious topics of graphic and web design and what all the aspects mean and how they fit into our work flow. The more I work in this field and communicate with friends, family and potential clients the more I am aware of the misconceptions as well as the limited view of the different aspects of design. The following is a list of the articles we will be presenting on this blog in the next few days;

• The Aspects of Design - Part 1: Layout & Navigation - probably the aspect of the design that most people associate with design but even with that their is more than meets the eye.
• The Aspects of Design - Part 2: Graphic Design - probably tied with layout and navigation as what design work is perceived as. Even so it’s more that “pretty pictures.”
• The Aspects of Design - Part 3: Photography - Often perceived as easy and all you have to do is “point and shoot” but so much “design work” is needed in the set up and often in post processing.
• The Aspects of Design - Part 4: The right fonts for the job - You would think their wouldn’t be much of an issue in “just displaying words” You will be surprised.
• The Aspects of Design - Part 5: Clean and Documented Code - computer programmers/web developers and not usually thought of as “designers” but learn and share what it means to write, “beautiful code.”
• The Aspects of Design - Part 6: The Design of Content - The content (articles and other textual information) is not often associated with design but come and learn how designing with words is crucial to blogging, Search Engine Optimization, a positive response to various print publications, etc.
• The Aspects of Design - Part 7: Conversation - How can you craft your content, images and questions in such away to foster conversation about your product?
• The Aspects of Design - Part 8: Sound Design - Learn and share the aspects of sound design from clear recordings, music tracks and times of silence
• The Aspects of Design - Part 9: Interactive Design - How can the right design make the difference between total confusion and falling in love with the product?
• The Aspects of Design - Part 10: Preservation - When all is said and done is the creations of communications preserved for future generations and protected from theft?

I look forward to starting off 2008 with this series. It’s a series I have been wanting to do for a while not only to provide information but also to engage in a conversation where we can learn the many dimensions of design beyond the perceived views. I have now finished the series and added a “Part 11.”