What does Graphic Design do?

Written by: Peter Goulding | October 2, 2009

What does Graphic Design actually do? So, we have an idea where it came from, what it is (see my previous posts) and now the big question is ¨WHAT DOES IT DO?¨. I could rattle off a few more definitions or write some more ¨Industry talk¨ about what it does but for the sake of common understanding, lets have a look at a real world example of the power of Graphic Design and what it can help achieve.

The 2008 American Presidential Election.

Really, this was one enormous marketing campaign with a budget in the millions and graphic design not only supported the democratic victory, it laid the foundation for change. Never before has an American presidential candidate understood so fully the power of Graphic Design and used it so effectively. Ask yourself, what do you remember most about the election, what message stands out?

Was it Hilary Clinton´s Brand?

Kinda says more of the same to me, the serif used is an old style font which could be interperted as established, conservative or traditional. The logo doesn´t exactly flow, I´m drawn first to her name and then up the right to the italics and then back down the bottom for the graphic.

Was it John McCann´s Brand?

The way the star and the stripes are rendered gives this logo and almost military feel to it. Everything is square and symmetrical, it communicates order to me. The use of yellow is interesting, the color used sparingly can be an attention grabber but in this instance, and don´t quote me, I think it has something to do with the way a yellow ribbon is said to be a sign of support for soldiers at the front. To be honest, I wouldn’t`t be 100% comfortable with a military man running the most powerful country in the world, no offence John.

Or and I´ll bet my banged up Seat Ibiza on it, it was Barrack Obama´s effective and appealing branding.

His campaign showed great ingenuity in crafting a brand that represented visually what he stood for and the values he wished to communicate to the American people. In a branding strategy straight out of corporate America, the president developed a logo that communicated clearly his message, connected with his country men and their desire for change while at the same time promoting loyalty to his campaign. The circle in the logo represents many things,

• Equality and unity (two axes of equal length)
• Strength (distributes weight perfectly)
• Oneness (no end, no beginning)
• Loyalty and security (similar to the meaning of a wedding ring)
• And finally, ¨O¨ for Obama

The colors red and blue obviously represent America but cleverly the color red (normally an aggressive color) is curved away from us (less threatening) over a horizon symbolic with a new horizon/new day/new beginning/change. The white in the logo represents purity, light and hope. Whether or not consciously you are aware of these associations, believe me subconsciously, you are. This symbol represented and signified everything Obama´s campaign stood for and obviously having won the election, it had the desired effect.

I´m not saying brand Obama won him the presidency single handedly, but it was an extremely important cog in the campaign wheel. Put simply, they identified what the people wanted ¨CHANGE¨ and then based their whole campaign on this simple message. This message was then converted into visual form to communicate with the masses. His message of change, was repeated consistently over and over again, (repetition is one of the ways the mind learns) and communicated through practically every medium available: television, printed material, online, mobile devices and billboards. In this instance, Graphic Design facilitated Obama´s victory, helped him to successfully communicate with his target market, and ensured his message was understood, in part resulting in the majority voting  for him and electing him president.

What does Graphic Design do?

Well, as you can see by the above example, Graphic Design has enormous power to influence, it helps attract attention and arouse interest within an audience, it helps break down information to make it accessible, ensures uniqueness of message, helps craft a preferred response, and makes communication effective and memorable.

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