Dear class,
Please read the articles linked in this week on the schedule. Reflect on the difference between graphic design and desktop publishing by reading the relevant articles. There are two more articles listed in the syllabus. You can also search online to find more articles. The purpose of this reflection assignment is to understand the difference between graphic design and desktop publishing. Your reflection will be evaluated by its quality and quantity.
Click Comments button under this message and provide your reflection so that your classmates can read your reflections. I would appreciate it if you can provide some comments on your classmates reflection after your reading. Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a nice weekend.
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The Difference between Graphic Design and Desktop Publishing
ReplyDeleteBy Rongfei Geng
Desktop publishing (also known as DTP) combines a personal computer and WYSIWYG (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get) page layout software to create publication documents on a computer for either large scale publishing or small scale local multifunction peripheral output & distribution (Wikipedia, 2007).
While the main focus of DTP is to publish and the page’s layout design, lets take a look at how Graphic Design is defined:
The term graphic design can refer to a number of artistic and professional disciplines which focus on visual communication and presentation. Various methods are used to create and combine symbols, images and/or words to create a visual representation of ideas and messages. A graphic designer may use typography, visual arts and page layout techniques to produce the final result. Graphic design often refers to both the process (designing) by which the communication is created and the products (designs) which are generated (Wikipedia, 2007).
Despite some overlapping key words like “page layout”, “typography”, “design”, it is still not hard to discern that DTP focus on combine information together using computer softwares, serving the final purpose to print; yet graphic is to communicate with visual designs, which does not necessarily serve printing purpose. I generalize the main difference as the following points:
1. Importance attached on the word “publish” and “desktop”: Although graphic design do include the skills and the producing-process for create a publication, its main focus and function is not limited within it. It also covers some non-publishing products like a web-age banner design or a illustration design. DTP use skills that have also been covered by the Graphic Design area to generate publications and focus on how these publications would look like after PRINTING. Also, DTP contains the key words “desktop”, which mean using computer softwares like InDesign, Pagemaker, Photoshop etc. Yet there could surely be some possibility that a graphic design is executed manually.
2. Extent to which the artistic competence are needed: Although skills like typography and using color are needed in both fields, DTP focus on how to deal with different elements (text, images, solid color shapes, lines) and arrange them in a page’s layout, while graphic design may delve into a specific shape, the color of a icon, how the meaning are conveyed through a concrete pattern, how to use lines to compose a logo, or even more abstract expressions using visuals. To put it simply, the former requires less artistic competence than the latter.
3. Different practitioners and different products these two filed yield: DTP is being practiced by designers and non-designers, this fact is consistent with what point 2 illustrates. While graphic designers are undertaken by those who had received professional fine art training, DTP is available for all the publishing practitioners like a newspaper editor, a teacher, a military officer who want to provide some information to his soldiers, a restaurant manager, and so forth. And the products what DTP yields are primarily “newsletters, brochures, ads, posters, greeting cards, and other projects into digital files for desktop or commercial printing” (About.com). The graphic design, however, produce patterns and logos(that could be used in an ad or a poster), color themes, font-type designs, PowerPoint templates, user-interface, or the covers of magazines and journals.
References
[1] Desktop publishing, Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_Publishing
[2] Graphic design, Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphic_design
[3] About.com, Jacci Howard Bear: What is the Difference Between Graphic Design and Desktop Publishing? http://desktoppub.about.com/od/professional/f/gd_vs_dtp.htm
Desktop Publishing and Graphic Design
ReplyDeleteReading the assigned articles about the graphic design versus desktop publishing caused me to think for the first time about the differences and similarities between these two activities. I now understand that desktop publishing is the process of using computers, software, and digital files to manipulate and arrange text, images, and graphical elements to produce various forms of media for print such as brochures, flyers, pamphlets, and posters. Desktop publishing software can be used by people of a variety of skill levels from the hobbyist-dabbler to the professional designer. I can relate this to my own use of Adobe Photoshop for simple projects such as photo scrapbooks. I know enough about Photoshop to do what I want to do, which admittedly is very crude. But, I understand that for my purposes I tapped into only a tiny fraction of the power Photoshop offers to a true graphic artist. Similarly, desktop publishing can be done by people who have training in graphic design as well as people who have no sense of design at all. The difference will be in the design quality of the finished product and in how extensively the features of the application are used. User-friendly applications extend the practice of desktop publishing to great numbers of people, but without training in graphic design, their work will probably lack design principles and professional flair.
Therefore, I am glad that in this course we will look at the fundamentals of graphic design in addition to learning how to use a popular desktop publishing application. I hope to learn to incorporate these principles into many creative activities at home and at work.
The article contrasting digital and traditional processes for creating printed media was very interesting because it is an excellent example of how certain skill trades such as typesetter and paste-up have been made obsolete in a relatively short period of time through the advance of computer technology. The ramifications of this phenomenon have been a frequent topic of lively debate in my technical/occupational education courses.
Differences Between Graphic Design and Desktop Publishing
ReplyDeleteMichael Mitchell
I had always assumed there was a difference between what's called graphic Design and what's called desktop publishing, but it wasn't until I read these articles that I realized how different, and how connected, the two actually are.
Rather than being two seperate enterprises, graphic design and desktop publishing share connections. Both involve the combining of text and graphics to tell a message, and both are now most often connected with digital age creativity such as in websites and multimedia files. In a way, desktop publishing may be described as part of graphic design, as desktop publishing can be summarized very shortly as the physical means of creating the actual products of graphic design. Graphic design is concerned with the creative act of generating the art (including layout, text, pictures, etc) used in spreading a message, while desktop publishing is more centered on producing these designs in physical form.
But this definition is not completely true. There is more to both graphic design and desktop publishing than these definitions allow. First, desktop publishing is not necesarrily just a part of the graphic design process (though it can be). Desktop publishing can be an independent act of its own, done by amateurs and hobbyists with home based software and equipment for the small scale generation of things like newsletters, pamphlets, and brochures, as opposed to the large scale, high end, professional production suggested by graphic design. This has led to desktop publishing having negative connotations of unprofessionalism attached to it.
Desktop publishing is also a fully digital occupation, whereas graphic design can be both digital and traditional. The article detailing the differences between digital and traditional printing was very interesting, and shows how graphic design is not a field invented by computers, but an occupation old as paper.
The articles showed me that desktop publishing and graphic design are both connected and seperate entities. While desktop publishing can be considered a part of graphic design, it has in recent years, with the production of newer and better home equipment and software, become a field in its own right.
I'm interesting in learning more of the concepts used for the spread of information in the field of desktop publishing as I've never realized just how much work goes into making something like a book ready for presentation to an audience.
The animosity between graphic design and desktop publishing purported in the “Graphic Design vs. Desktop Publishing” article was an interesting read. The architectural industry went through a similar set of circumstances with the advent of computer aided drafting (CAD).
ReplyDeleteArchitects and designers were afraid they would become obsolete, and viewed new tools with disdain. What once took years of training and innate drawing abilities skill could be accomplished by anyone with a computer. This was of course untrue, and it didn’t take long for professionals to see the benefits that going digital had to offer. These benefits are pretty huge. Eliminating the need for costly, specialized tools and hardware and consolidating multiple worker positions into fewer posts (or possibly one) can save companies a lot of money. Also, with digital desktop publishing, designers can create pdf’s with interactive content, bookmarks, hyperlinks, etc.
The idea that all one needs to create a successful design is a piece of software is also untrue. Even if one totally masters the software, if they don’t have at least a basic understanding of what makes a design successful, their work will fail. Design still requires training and skills to be efficient and to create a pleasing, buildable design.
I would imagine it would be helpful for me to start this post by addressing how I would’ve contrasted these terms before doing any research. Desktop Publishing, to me, has always involved a non-expert computer user using general purpose software, such as Word, to create newsletters, flyers and the like. Graphic Design would involve a person trained in the art of arranging text and graphics putting together professional quality publications such as a magazine, book cover, or newspaper.
ReplyDeleteThe first article (http://www.graphic-design-schools.net/articles/graphic-design-vs-desktop-publishing.htm) upsets my previously held definitions by leading one to believe that Graphic Design is simply a tool used by Desktop Publishers to make their publications better. It brings up the advantages to non-designers of new well-designed and easily accessible software and templates and how this is a disadvantage to professional desktop publishers (trained Graphic Designers), who once had a clear-cut advantage over the novice.
The second article ( http://desktoppub.about.com/od/traditional/ss/prepress.htm) highlights how the publishing industry has seen a dramatic decrease in required personnel since designing publications is now done almost completely with a computer. For instance, a graphic designer no longer needs someone else to paste the elements together, or resize pictures, he simply does it himself with software readily available to him.
In the third article (http://desktoppub.about.com/od/professional/f/gd_vs_dtp.htm) my original definitions are somewhat supported. The author is quick to point out that while Graphic Design might not be something every desktop publisher is thinking of, desktop publishing is certainly an integral part of Graphic Design.
These articles all lead me to revise my original beliefs about Graphic Design and Desktop Publishing. Though the definitions may have varied in the past, today the trends of more widespread good design and pervasive software with professionally designed templates have forced Graphic Design to be a skill which every desktop publisher must strive to learn (at least a little) otherwise it will be forced upon him by the very templates he uses to create his garage sale flyers, or sunday school newsletters.
Week 1 Reflection: The difference between Graphic Design and Desktop Publishing.
ReplyDeleteBy: Stacy Reese
Like my peers, my first impression of graphic design and desktop publishing had little validity after reading the three assigned articles. I originally perceived desktop publishing software as a user friendly, “for dummies” version of specialized graphic design tools. Desktop publishing can be attempted by non-design users with a certain amount of success, however, for truly professional results; one should apply design rules which are second nature to Graphic Design Artist. The terms graphic design and desktop publishing intertwine in many ways such as key terms for methods, tools, and process steps. Graphic Design Artist can benefit from the use of desktop publishing software in their design process; as well as a desktop publishing user employing graphic design feature within a project. The main contrast between the two can be generalized with the required “user skill level” and the focus of the “end results”. The end result of graphic design could include the design of an icon, user-interface, logo, and web page banner. The end results of desktop publishing tend to be more “one dimensional” printing or created for one time usage such as posters, flyers, newsletters, and other printing requiring simplified digital formats. Graphic design involves the “study” of what attacks the eye, as well as, important design placement and color rules to ensure ease in mental retention. The rules of design should also be followed by desktop publishing, and will result in a more professional printed product.
I am a mother who produces simple birthday invitations, newsletters, and posters via desktop publishing software. I am excited about this course, and look forward to learning the correct methods which will result in producing more professional looking products. My mind races with the possibilities of products which can be used in our business and hopefully, in my future classroom.
References:
http://graphicdesign.about.com/od/career/a/designvspublish.htm
http://desktoppub.about.com/od/tradional/ss/prepress.htm
http://desktoppub.about.com/od/professional/f/gd_vs_dtp.htm
Before enrolling in IT 467, I had not given much thought to desktop publishing or graphic design. It is interesting to note that desktop publishing software is a common denominator for both.
ReplyDeleteGraphic design is the process of designing the layout and the use of graphics and text to convey a message or information when designing a newsletter, poster, sign, brochure, etc. Graphic designers are the “creative” individuals who can “see” the end product and message.
Desktop publishing is a specific type of computer software used to produce a newsletter, poster, sign, brochure, etc., after it has been designed. Desktop publishers are the individuals who take the creative process from the graphic designers; and with the aid of computer software, bring the project to life.
Reference:
"What is the difference between graphic design and desktop publishing?" http://desktoppub.about.com/od/professional/f/gd_vs_dtp.htm Retrieved January 25, 2010
The Difference between Graphic Design and Desktop Publishing
ReplyDeleteIn reading this article it became clearer to me the difference between Graphic Design and Desktop Publishing. First I learned that graphic design is the creative process of coming up with concepts and ideas and arrangements for visually communicating a specific message. Desktop publishing is the mechanical process that the designer and the non-designer use to turn their ideas for newsletters, brochures, ads, posters, greeting cards, and other projects into digital files for desktop or commercial printing.
Graphic design is the process and art of combining text and graphics and communicating an effective message in the design of logo’s, graphics, brochures, newsletters, posters, signs, and any other type of visual communication.
Desktop publishing is the process of using the computer and specific types of software to combine text and graphics to produce documents such as newsletters, brochures, books, etc.
Source: http://desktoppub.about.com/od/professional/f/gd_vs_dtp.htm
Tina Gavin
I now understand the difference between desktop publishing and graphic design to be the key word "graphic". Desktop publishing is keyed more toward quick messages/information. I believe graphic design is set to provide information just by looking at it, and not having to "read" every word to get the general idea.
ReplyDeleteNike has done a great job with the logo; it looks like a giant check mark to me. Once that piece of graphic information becomes recognized, viewers/readers, have a good understanding of what will be contained in the message.
The strong graphic design gives visual support to the written information. The consistency of the layout is not a distraction to the viewer; oftentimes, desktop publishing gives too many varying messages with all the graphics.
Graphic design is pleasing to the viewer, and does not cause the viewer/reader to spend time subconsciously "critiquing" the pages. Instead, the viewer/reader is comfortable with the total design of the information.
I love it
ReplyDeletenice and educative blog
ReplyDeletenice and educative blog
ReplyDelete