Innovations among Graphic Design

Graphic design has become popular among business and the likes of photo shop wizards and is described as being "Halfway between art and technology" (Nielsen & Maria Trias, 2000) . Graphic design communicates a message in a creative and distinct way, that often relies on important choices such as font, colours and spacing to effectively communicate the message. Advertising has been around for many years and has strong links with business art form of graphic design. Many innovations such as the computer, photoshop, Internet and tablets have allowed for a rapid increase in clever creativity which has allowed messages to consumed by the engaged. The rate of adoption among the industry of graphic design can be seen through the diffusion of innovations model.

Example of Graphic Design. Figure 1.1

Through the introduction of computers, designers could move from using the hands and use computers where mistakes are a simple fix. The role of the computer has become an important factor in the sector of graphic design, it is hard to imagine how the role of graphic design could of been done without a computer and the latest edition of photoshop. The rate of adoption among business's to use computers to aid with their designs would of been at the stage we know as early adopters, this is the stage after the innovators. This would of been done due to the fact that the design sector has always been seen as "trendy" and up to date and would want to keep up that image.

Example of Graphic Design. Figure 1.2

The introduction of photoshop into the home computer allowed people to create their own designs just as easily as the professionals could, this coupled with the Internet allowed many people to share and exchange ideas, as well as showing people how to accomplish certain things within the program. "Thanks to the advent of faster, more powerful computers and faster Internet, we expect our graphics to be higher quality. We as viewers expect more colours, higher resolutions, and more detailed designs..... whereas even as little as five years ago, designers had to be mindful of what they could unload onto us" (Neely, 2012)

It does not take much looking around the Internet to see an influence of graphic design, through the introduction of computers, photoshop and Internet advertisements are no longer physical but more intangible. Figures such as the revenue after the introduction of the creative suite 5 "The outfit's revenue rose 34 percent from a year earlier to $943 million during the fiscal second quarter" (Farrell, 2010), just goes to show how popular the program is and how many people are using the program for design aspects. The majority of people who use this product would fall into the category of early majority, they would fit into this category because the programs popularity came after the product had already been out for awhile and many had seen its capabilities.

Timeline of Photoshops History. Figure 1.3

The graphic design industry is reliant on new technologies and the latest version of software in order to keep up with the rise of advertising that is taking place. The introduction of the personal computer, Internet and photoshop allowed the mass sharing of ideas and creativity, especially among those previously deemed un-creative. These innovations have been proven to widely popular and through the use of the diffusion's of innovations it is possible to see were each persons places among the "s" curve on the diffusion of innovations model. 

By Bradley Jones

2013 

References:


Diaz, J. (2010). Adobe Photoshop The 20th anniversary. [image online] Available at: http://www.anhosting.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ahimage22.jpg [Accessed: 25 Sep 2013].


Farrell, N. (2013). Adobe sales give Apple a taste of reality. [online] Retrieved from: http://news.techeye.net/software/adobe-sales-give-apple-a-taste-of-reality [Accessed: 25 Sep 2013].


Neely, A. (2013). The Influence of Technology on Graphic Design. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.brighthub.com/multimedia/publishing/articles/121403.aspx [Accessed: 25 Sep 2013].


Nielson, J. and Maria Trias, J. (2000). From the times of the first scribes: innovation and technology within graphic design. Digital Creativity, 11 (2), pp. 89 - 98. [Accessed: 25 Sep 2013].