I think and this just me: graphic design is an ad full with stuff in it. i.e. crampped with products, etc, etc, whereas advertising is an ad with lots of white space or you let your mind do the walking. focusing on (1) image alone.
graphics design - making products,fonts, look good trying to sell bunch of stuff (retail style).
advertising- classy style, bmw, mercedes benz and so on.
I say you need a graphic designer to advertise in any advertising outlet.
Graphic design is more than that. When you look at posters for dance events with all those WOW graphics on them, somebody has made those and tought of the composition. The font used somewhere, the colours in an advert. The look and feel of a flyer/leaflet/poster is something a graphic designer handles.
I would say that the Graphic designers handles a lot of stuff
Graphic Design - the art of graphic representation. The design of elements. The composition. The style. The artistic craft.
Advertising - Concepts. A message to the consumer positioned as a BENEFIT of the service or product. The concept is derived from marketing objectives and communication strategies. It is an idea conceived between an art director and copywriter who brainstorm clever ways in which to make us feel a certain way. Once the idea is approved it is handed over to a graphic designer to execute the design. Unless the graphic designer can develop message driven CONCEPTS, then no amount of experience or pretty designs will make him/her an art director.
Example : The ads are for SunSmart.
An art director has an idea of shaping moles on human skin into leisure equipment (fishing hook, airplane).
The copywriter puts lines to this visual idea - (Going Fishing? Taking a trip?) The tagline - Be Sunsmart.
The concepts are roughly drawn to communicate the idea to the account service team, client and finally the graphic designer.
The graphic designer's job is to turn the sketched concept into a graphic masterpiece.
There is difference, but it's not black and white. From my perspective the main difference is that at design studios you go home at 5pm. At advertising agencies you stay late.
Graphic Design is the practice or profession of designing print or electronic forms of visual information, as for an advertisement, publication, or website.
Advertising is the nonpersonal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media. Advertising often uses graphic design in its final communications.
Typically Advertising answers foremost to the idea/ communication where as Graphic Design answers to the visual appearance/ art of a piece.
Thank you for your answers...
Well I don't know if my own definition is accurate...but I think that:
Where there is a need to design information, it's Graphic Design. (brochure, flyer, poster, catalogue)
Where there is a need to communicate a message or persuade people to buy a product, it's Advertising. (tv, billboard, ambient, advergame)
And no this is not an assignment :) , just trying to understand the difference between the two majors, before going back to school.
brochure + flyer + poster + catalogue - they all involve a copywriter too. I can't count the number of flyers, brochures, and catalogues I made. I can't say I really enjoyed it. Posters, on the other hand, are absolutely great to work on.
There is always a need to communicate a message. Flyers do that. Posters do that. Brochures do that.
can't we all just get a long. one thing i can say.. we as creative people make so much difference in this world for better or worse we have a responsiblity to convey the message thru visual communication. remember there is no I in team. but there are 2 "I" in advertising and graphic design.
I'm sorry, but graphic design/er are two titles in which are overused. Just how you define yourself is upto you. I would generally be called a Graphic designer, but to myself i am a visual communicator.
This is what we all are, we all advertise and we all communicate via imagery of any kind. we are as a whole.
Advertiser or Designer we are Visual communicators, some just have better skills with language and can therefore be called a copywriter. so on and so forth. if you ask me it is important that we all be generalists, being able to branch out into different areas of conceptual development.
Someone who knew how to draw was poison. A guy who was too good a typographer-we didn't want him. We knew about the Bauhaus, but we weren't after design. We were after advertising.
Yo digo, un aviso con una muy buena idea, pero sin un buen diseño grafico, es como un Porsche Carrera con neumáticos de madera. Obviamente remitiendonos a aquel aviso de Pirelli: Potencia sin control, no sirve de nada.
Estudie diseño gráfico, ahora estoy estudiando dirección de arte. Ambas cosas estan totalmente ligadas y una necesita a la otra.-
graphic design/viusal communication is fluid... can change and be molded to fit any type of situation while adevertising on the other hand has a structure that has it's origins in marketing, you can't do that change is bad we fear it. this is true few advertising agencies fear to change methods style or even originality. from my experience a design studio creates all it's own art work while an adevertising studio uses istock for all it's imagery needs... personally it is something i despise.
if you can make heads or tales from that good, but if you can not what i am getting at is adevertising is too rigid and fails to create anything of worth while graphic design does, more often than not.
bottom line is you can't have one with out the other. design for the sake of design, with no thought will fall on def ears, or eyes in this case. The smartest idea poorly executed (lack of good design) be it simple or heavy design will have the same effect. Is there a difference between an art director and a design purist, without a doubt. but what comes first, the chicken or the egg.
There is definitely snobbery on both sides, but conceptual-eyes's definitions come the closest to being accurate and objective.
I think that the mistake most people here are making is thinking of graphic design only in the context of advertising. Just like how advertising is a field comprised of many different professions that come together to work towards a common goal (producing advertisement in its many forms), Graphic design is an extremely broad field with numerous related and separate professions, only a fraction of which falls under the "advertising" category. At its highest levels, design intersects with a number of other fields, from the obvious (communication and marketing) to the obscure or unapparent (psychology, anthropology and so on).
Indeed, graphic designers are visual communicators, but to focus only on the end product is to ignore 90% of the job. If you define graphic designers solely as visual communicators, whether you are one or not, you betray a monumental ignorance of the profession.
Advertising is design with a purpose of selling. WIth the exception of Radio.
Graphic Design is about the relationship between colors, textures and typography.
It's like art, and could be completely subjective.
GD doesn't have to sell a product in order to be qualified as being a good design.
Not so with advertising...
Okay...but what about Graphic Designer vs. Art Director?
I've always had trouble trying to define the role of an "art director". To me, an art director is practically the same as a graphic designer, except he is working in an ad agency. Both graphic designers and art directors can think conceptually and both are responsible for visually portraying that idea...whether it be for a poster or an ad or a brochure etc.
But in my point of view is totally different between graphic designer and an art director. The functionality is totally have similarity, a graphic designer can art direct his own design and an art director can also design his own concept. Now for me the different is, the real function of an art director is to give the soul of your design the color mode the spirit and the ambience even. Which graphic designer sometimes can't see the difference. But you as a designer can be an art director if you want to and if you are qualified in doing this such things. But if you are a poor art director then you can be a good graphic designer.
ofcourse when we r about to start working on a new campaign AD and GD should do a brain storme together for generate the most fit and new ideas.
but...after all the AD should be busy in the consistency of his art direction, conceptually he should fill the campaign by his chosen art direction to insure it will gain the full attention and to be memorable as well. he should be more involved than the GD in the big vision.
when it comes to campaign he goes unconsciously to imagine the applicability of the design or the art direction on all the media channels.
in the same time we could see the same campaign and say it looks awful or it looks niceee..how is that
by using bad font-bad tone of colors-bad measurements-image doesn't glow or sparkle...no sense of art at all, her it comes to the graphic designer,without good GD we won't even give a look on this campaign .
may sometimes the AD could do the GD's work and vice versa...but it never be excellent as like every body focusing in his part which he could give more on it.
ad is more about the ideas and graphics is about the visual.
graphic design encourages adding more things while ad encourages simplifying.
I find the difference also to be hierarchy....Art directors HIRE graphic designers.(as well as photogs, illustrators, fine artists etc)
I was an graphic major ad minor for two years, and now I'm an ad major graphics minor....
I personally prefer ad.....ANYONE can learn how to use adobe suite, and anyone can be taught the rules of desing, but great ideas aren't in everyone....
bkeeler1 seriously, you can't just generalize this way.
I've seen a lot of designers doing more rational/conceptional/strategical works and this isn't rare - Actually designers are known more like projectists than artists.
Designers tend to simplify and clear projects and i really don't know where did you take that ideia of "adding things".
That's why stereotypes sux and thats why portifolio>curriculum always - Analysis someone not for what he says but for what he does
I am not big on anonymous/guest comments, but I am somewhat embarrassed yet had a question of my own. Going back to what johnny_corvair asked, what is the difference between a graphic designer and art director?
I graduated from college about a year ago and have since been working at an apparel company. It was fun to learn the ins and outs of the industry, but I want to move on. I want to go back to designing brochures, ads, posters, and other collateral for companies and I am not talking about working at a rinky-dink gang run printing firm. I have been fascinated with one day building my way up—before of course opening my own business—to working for a BBDO or Crispin Porter or maybe even a smaller agency.
Where should I start? What should my portfolio showcase? Is there room for a “graphic designer” such as myself in one of these agencies or should I poses the skills of an art director in which I am knowledgeable (and hopefully skilled) in the creative and business side of advertising. Do art directors create the concept, illustrate, and handle the photo manipulating or do they simply do the work of an account manager or copywriter? I appreciate all answers and please excuse my ignorance.
Art directors when starting a project sit with their partner (copywriter) and try to come up with the concept (idea) of a campaign - print, TV, web, outdoor, etc. In most cases its more about the idea and less about the execution at this point. Until they finalize on a few ideas (in the form of loose sketches and in some instances basic layouts) do they move on to the "design" or execution of the campaign. All art directors should know design basics but the fulfilling of all the work would in some cases involve a graphic designer.
Graphic Designers (and this is generalizing but in most instances) sit with a project such as a logo or a package design and even though they may have a concept to this particular project (the arrow in the fedex logo) its one particular project they are working on rather than an entire campaign.
In my experience Graphic Designers rush to the computer too soon and start executing. If one is thinking they want to work for CPB or BBDO as an art director the most important thing is the idea. As a designer in an agency you will most likely be helping execute another persons idea.
GD's are very fond of negative space, so I'm not sure where you got the "like to add things" bit.
Frankly I find a lot of this on the offensive side of things...
Anyone who defends their side so much that they feel they need to offend the other is perhaps insecure, out of school or the learning environment for too long, and will most likely be discounted anyway.
If you've come across an Advertiser or a Graphic Designer who is pompous, it doesn't mean that everyone in their field is like that. What an ignorant stereotype/assumption. It starts with one person being boastful to ruin it for everyone else. I, as I'm sure many do, get tired of defending one or the other. We do what we enjoy, one is not better than the other, they serve different purposes, that's all. For those in doubt, go to a university or college website, check out the curriculums, and compare. Gah.
I was under the impression that the two are really close, however:
Students in advertising learn more about positioning, stats, marketing, economics, (etc.,) as well as the creative.
Whereas students in graphic design study more typography, colour theory, design layout, photography, (etc.,) as well as creative.
People who have good ideas or concepts don't only exist in one or the other, they exist in both. You're always going to have people who are better at their job than others.
Both jobs solve the clients problem.
I'm sure each could do the other's job, perhaps not as well...but again, I think they're both really close...
As for an Art Director (in my opinion):
Should at some point have done most of the jobs they expect those under them to do.
Along with graphic designers and production artists, determine how the ad's verbal and visual symbols will fit together.
The individual responsible for the selection, execution, production, so on, of graphic art.
If anything goes wrong, whether it's an ad campaign, museum, bad illustration, etc. the art director answers for it.
1st year GD's may rush to the computer...but that's because they don't have 'manual work' in high schools anymore, so the computer is all they know...(examples include: auto shop, woodworking, home-economics, etc.)
But I assure you, the professors push coming up with a concept and creating linears/thumbs first before they touch the comp.
I see advertising as concept creators, graphic designer as visuel creators.
But in some ways its melted together, cause how to create an identity without a fundamental concept?
The first one is what to write in this sentence to make it clear, the second one is how to put this sentence to make it clear.
it shows that a graphic designer is not well understood, well graphic design is purely the core of the brand visual communication. They create the Type, color combination, what to do and what to not do, they set the guidelines to the brand. remember the template ? it should come from a graphic designer if not, then thats the wrong way! Why ? cause he created the Visual Corporate Identity of the brand. Please look more into Visual Corporate Identity table of contents and u will have a full understanding of what a graphic designer does. which is based on a concept for a particular brand.
Yah! and they dont use pictures off of stock websites, they create graphics from nothing, from scratch ! to build on them a concept representing the brand.
A brand, has its identity, tone of voice, & its soul birth. from a graphic designer.
A brand, communicated to the consumer by an art director + copy writer.
alphayo, this statement would have been true some 20 years ago. the differences between the two terms has vanished more or less. yes, graphic designers used to be on the execution side of things in advertising agencies back in the day, and this is still the case right now in ad agencies. i've worked on both sides of the barricade, as an ad and as a gd and am right now back to designing.
i'm not saying that one is better then the other, both have their advantages. personally i've gone back to design because of the longevity of a piece of design. good designers will always come up with a good idea, just as an art director would. it just depends on which side you want to work. if you want to do outdoor, tv campaigns and print ads, be an art director, if you want to go into branding, packaging and editorial design, then be a designer.
there is not a huge and clear difference between graphic designing and advertising. Graphic Designing is just a tool, as said above, to make creative advertising, while the actual advertising is the see/touch or feel thing which makes an actual impact on the minds of the people
Hey everyone, i am currently in uni and i have to decide whether i want to go into advertising or graphic design. For some strange and stupid reason my university does not allow students to have a major in graphic design and a minor in advertising or vice versa. I applied and got accepted to the college for advertising but the graphic design program requires one to take 5 prerequisite courses and they only accept 40 from 140 student applicants. Isn't that unfair?
So i found out they have a minor in visual communication art and design that has some graphic design courses. What i wanted to ask is,is it possible to be a graphic designer with a minor in visual communication? And what would you guys do?
Thank you my creative family :)
Not many of us have talked about the TECHNICAL aspect to this debate yet.
I firmly believe that graphic designers are the more knowledgeable, since they
do know the mechanics of their programs more than advertisers. Also, they
don't get the luxury of a copywriter to collaborate with.
cool. i was comtemplating to take up studies for either as an advertising designer or a graphic designer. i kinda got a better view on the differences of these 2 groups. thanks
I think Graphic Design is a field which can't be explained in limited words. Graphics is history, visual arts, advertisment and communication art. Well, I would say that advertisment is nothing without Graphic Designs. I would support my reply with this amazing slideshare by shawncalvert titled “What is Graphic Design”.
Graphic design should be looked at as a contemporary art form that has implications for many fields, including advertising. Let's not forget that some of the most iconic rock concert posters, movie posters and political campaign posters would not have been possible without graphic designers. In the advertising field, I think graphic designers are crucial in rebranding a product, from changing the packaging design to creating new logos.
While many things can fall under the umbrella of both advertising and graphic design there are some marked differences between the two.
Graphic design refers to the visual communication of information using elements such as color, images, typography, etc. It does not cover anything that cannot be seen.
Advertising however, is the promotion of a concept / product / service / etc. Advertising is usually done to persuade the person viewing it to do or believe something. for example; buy this product from this company because....
Advertising, unlike graphic design can occur in any medium, including auditory mediums such as Radio and Word of Mouth.
Other examples:
A plain text classified in a newspaper would not be considered graphic design, but would be considered advertising.
A collage of images and text that does not attempt to sell anything would be considered graphic design, but not advertising.
Advertizing is more about publicity of your product. This is all about publicized product or business.
On the other hand graphics design complementing advertizing by providing more effective ways of product campaigning using print or electronic media.
Jake Bull
Data Recovery Software http://www.recoverybull.com
Gee, now that's what I call A discussion! LOL! Great!
A-part from everything that has already been said here (witch I applaud!), we are talking here about 2 completely different activities! No only they don't depend on one another has they don't really need to work together. Yes, they can, and definitively, with the latest developments in therms of visual experience, software and new expectations from the consumer (much more accurate, critic and demanding), they really should, although it is not imperative that a designer and an art-director work together.
4 example, a brand logo is design, a campaign is advertising. Would the logo stand by his one and achieve the public? Would it be able to create feeling, to gain long therm consistence? And would a tv spot work without a brand assigned to it? A print without a signature? A product without a name?
I heard once a sentence that I really liked and I would like to share; "advertising is terminal, design is forever" - in my perspective this means something like Advertising, even for only one brand, changes rapidly, and if it doesn't, the brand is considered not updated. The Design part of that communications doesn't really change, it is the brand's roots.
In order to communicate this root's to the public, you need strong concepts, creative thinking and continuous improvement, that's where Advertising comes in the picture.
Of course Design doesn't only exits on the logo-making, but it is indeed a discipline where you learn how to create pieces (brochures, books, magazines) and all this OBJECTS are lasting ones. Even web-sites are longer lasting than ad's, and they come to represent the same "root" or "base" perspective than the logo example. Advertisers create dreams, generate emotions, create willing for action, in an emotional and phycological plane, more than in physical.
Just think about your favorite web-site; don't the advertising banners in it change each time you access it, even on the same day?
Yes, very often Design and Advertising work together, and they can work so thigh you have really to commit yourself to find where one starts and the other ends, but they are in fact very different activities. In the process, in the attributes, in the output, in the way they play in your head, et cetera. The fascinating main stream is that they engage completely different in therms of creative thinking and effective work, and that is something that only by trying both will come to you.
Hey MindDrift! Usually, a graphic design focuses more on art and visual design, whereas advertising deals with communications. Graphic design encompasses publication layout, whereas the art of advertising offers various levels focusing on advertising design, illustration, photography, logo design, typography, printing, etc. Hope now you can understand the basic difference between the two.
First of all, there is no "vs" as advertising makes use of graphic design. Secondly, the question should be "graphic design vs. art direction in advertising". And there the answer is easy. Graphic design is how it looks, it is about a style, while art direction is about visual interpetation of an idea, and also selecting an apropriate style, often with a help of e designer. I had been forced into creating job descriptions for different advertising creative positions once in the past, and should you need more elaborate answer, you can PM me and I will send it to you.
You are right, but in my point of view is totally different between graphic designer and an art director. The functionality is totally the same, a graphic designer can art direct his own design and an art director can also design his own concept. Now for me the different is, the real function of an art director is to give the soul of your design the color mode the spirit and the ambience even. Which graphic designer sometimes can't see the difference. But you as a designer can be an art director if you want to and if you are qualified in doing this such things. either you are a poor art director or a good designer.
Hey, this ismy first Post, yeiii... well i think i dont agree on the definition, i am studying Graphic Design at UANL, in Monterrey, Mexico... i am in my 5th semester but i've been tought that we graphic designers are the one that create the idea, work on the visual and have the responsability to make that idea clear for the audience we want to enchant... i have classes like Marketing, Advertisement... my point is, we (graphcic designer) do not make an idea look beautiful, we do work on the whole idea, and then we make the idea to be functional...
So when you define Advestisement, you are defining waht GD is for me, and when you define GD you define what a guy with two years course make :P
I think you can't have one without the other. They're connected. You can advertise through the graphic designer's work. You can graphic/design starting from an advertising idea.
"I do not understand electricity. But I know that you can cook a man's dinner and you can also cook the man."
hi, just following the comments, can some one pls explain the difference b/w Concept based advertising and normal advertising, if you say like every ad has a concept ( PRINT BASED ADS) , but you can see some products are just shown with a glossy backgound not portraing any concepts
so pls tell me that is the concept based ads hit well to the target?
To answer the last question, it's just a matter of HARD SELL/SOFT SELL advertising. Consumers now are more skeptical, sophisticated and wise. They know when something is being pushed into their face (like that of FINAL SALE OF THE SEASON in starburst with 3 exclamation points!!!) and the time to "TURN OFF" to any of those messages. Whereas in SOFT SELL, they are given a "suggestion" if you will but will still notice the call-to-action in the ad.
I believe that concept based ads hit well just for the reason that they can catch your attention, make you stop even for 5 seconds (compared to those ads with no concept which are guaranteed to be ignored) just to enjoy the moment of looking at that ad, and even make you think (but not too much). Thus, making it memorable and effective. Remember, ads are intrusion and should compete with the articles in the newspaper or magazines or against the show that you're watching (in the case of TV ads).
Great post buyandsell. I'm a senior in school getting my BFA in advertising design. My school has an ad school and graphic design school and its easily 90% gd. Only difference in curriculum is 8 ad classes which is bs but thats a different story. What I see is a majority of graphic design students are focused on what looks cool, the latest style and trends which is good/bad, but it stops right there. Where as the ad design students are thinking concept, branding, the over all creation of a campaign beyond print. I really don't like design school because of the amount of graphic design students and teachers who are graphic designers and NEVER ASK ABOUT CONCEPT. I put in hours of time coming up with concepts only for it to be looked over.
"Putting hours in coming up with concepts only for it to be looked over"? WELCOME TO THE CLUB! You'll get that more when you finally start your "exciting" career in Advertising. Or if you end up other than an agency, you'll still get plenty of that. As there are more people that you'll work with who think that they know advertising. Account Executives who, instead of educating their clients of the benefits of concept base advertising, will prefer to side with their clients' ignorance. BECAUSE they don't know what good advertising themselves (like: if the client wants 3 exclamation points on his headline - just put those damn exclamations! AND PUT THEM INSIDE A BURST! And their address should be as big as their headline, "what do you mean hierarchy of elements? are you trying to be smart? and the sale is the concept itself!)
Its hard to do something when your heart isnt into it. Thats why I love advertising, it's all about the concept and message that excites me. When I see a poorly done ad that tries to sell me something via empty graphic design a part of me dies inside.
What is the difference between advertising design and graphic design?
Advertising design is more for publicity and advertisements,
and graphic design is for personal use.
This is a misleading answer and very, very inaccurate.
Advertising is primarily about selling a product or service. Design, music, trends, weird scenarios, stunts,
Graphic design - anything, really - is used to promote a related or unrelated product or service.
Graphic design is about conveying meanings - in terms of what's really there - more than selling a target audience a concept or idea that's preconceived to be popular.
Why are people so confused about this contrast? There's no moral superiority within either profession; both are varyingly dependent upon useful content to be successful. Graphic design, though, is closer to being a skilled craft - and skilled craftspeople, though they may be very good at what they do, may not be the best at marketing the worth of these skills.
Advertising tends to enhance or 'put in its best light' anything a paying client wants to have promoted, regardless of its manufacture or worth. So, for this reason, those who work in this profession may tend to become more jaded and cynical.
Graphic designers, regardless of their medium (print, web, motion, etc) are perhaps closer to being modern day skilled tradespeople, like fine cabinetmakers. They care about how well something is made - and how clearly meaning is conveyed.
Just going to add my two bobs worth, I have read some of the replies but not all, it would take me till next week if I did lol.
I am a graphic designer but also have to come up with adverts and concepts which I dont always like doing. Sometimes you can pop out a great idea and sometimes its like pulling teeth.
Firstly I wanted to say, that a graphic designer can be great at designing and artwork but not necissarily good at coming up with concepts etc...
In my view a graphic designer is a must when it comes to art work for ads. to come up with the overall feel, design, choosing fonts that suit the style of the ad, colours pictures etc... and then put them all together so that the message is conveyed as well balanced and as clearly as posible. Basically its the art of communicating through visual media.
Also Graphic design isn't just for advertising, its got so many applications that you cant just put it under one umbrella. CD covers, posters, packaging, logos, websites, childrens books, film the list is endless. Almost everywhere you look you will spot something that has had to be designed by a Graphic Designer.
Advertising is about selling products and service to the masses plain and simple, it has to have a voice whether it be visual or spoken.
To Ivan:
About what you said that a design studio finish at 5, thats so untrue, I have seen myself staying well late into the night in order to have jobs finished for deadline whether it be at home or at work so thats a bit harsh to come up with that generalisation.
It's something like the chicken came first or an egg kinda situation.. whatever a graphic designer does, ends up to advertising. And whatever advertising happens is done by a graphic designer.. then you call him whatever.. a visualizer or an art director.. whatever.. it means the same damn thing.. hours behind a brilliant software called Photoshop ;)
This is how my professor puts it. He is a graphic designer.
Advertising - It's the outside that brings people to the inside. (getting people into the store)
Once they are inside,
Graphic Design - is to compete with other products (packaging) when the buyers are already inside the store. e.g. already inside the store.
The problem is that people tend to confuse the word advertising with people that work with advertising and graphic design with people that work with execution.
If a graphic designer made an ad and puts it outside to get you buying... it is advertising.
If an art director designed a package for a soda then it is graphic design.
Graphic Design is one of the many tools which Advertising use.
Advertising is a form of communication and Graphic design is a creative process.
So Form includes the Process.
First I also confused to differentiate this thing. But after entering the advertising world, I finally got some answer.
Graphic design, which is now called visual communication, is a part of advertising. When you learn about advertising, you need to understand all of design principles to help you develop your ad, especially in print advertising. Understanding the basic theory of design, such as arrangement (layout), balance, space, contrast, help you justify your work is right. Your concept will reliable and effective if you can proof that what you’ve done is the best answer for client problem.
Advertising is the application of graphic design. In advertising, you will demonstrate your ability to creating a concept and send your message that you want to communicate to the audience. In my opinion, if you can create a great concept with well crafted but people didn’t get what exactly you want to say, you are failed. Advertising is a place where you can test your graphic design (or prefer to say, visual communication) skills.
These are also become a reason why I take advertising as my course. It’s more challenging I guess.
First I also confused to differentiate this thing. But after entering the advertising world, I finally got some answer.
Graphic design, which is now called visual communication, is a part of advertising. When you learn about advertising, you need to understand all of design principles to help you develop your ad, especially in print advertising. Understanding the basic theory of design, such as arrangement (layout), balance, space, contrast, help you justify your work is right. Your concept will reliable and effective if you can proof that what you’ve done is the best answer for client problem.
Advertising is the application of graphic design. In advertising, you will demonstrate your ability to creating a concept and send your message that you want to communicate to the audience. In my opinion, if you can create a great concept with well crafted but people didn’t get what exactly you want to say, you are failed. Advertising is a place where you can test your graphic design (or prefer to say, visual communication) skills.
These are also become a reason why I take advertising as my course. It’s more challenging I guess.
Art Director's work with big budgets and Graphic Designer's budgets are rejected as too big.
Graphic Designers get yelled at and Art Directors are allowed to yell.
Art Directors get paid well and Graphic Designers ask to be paid well.
Graphic design and advertising has no similarities but it is fact that they are complement to each other. A good graphic designed advertisement produces better response.
Graphic design is more an art and advertising is about selling something using the art of graphic design (or others)
So graphic designers are artists who love what people will see with their work, they can work in many domains
and art directors are marketing guys with a (little or great) background of GD and are only known in domains which have a connection with advertising (most of them actually) where they supervise GD
The question is : are you or do you want to be a marketing guy or only an artist (What is sure is you have to love your work to be good at it)
Advertisers need graphic designers creative input
They work close together
Graphic designers communicate visually and put ideas on to the screen for print
where as Advertising do all this through media communication
Graphic designers can visually realise the ideas of advertisers, but not all work they do is advertising or commercial. They're not just decorators either. They develop concepts for things like information graphics or visualising data. Think: visual explantions of a plane crash, news graphics on TV, book covers and book layout, CD covers, educational material, visual scientific concepts, web sites, logos and corporate design and identity. In the 50s US Bob Gage, an advertising art director criticised graphic design and typography "Designers were like poison. Someone who knew how to draw was poison. A guy who was too good a typographer-we didn't want him. We knew about the Bauhaus, but we weren't after design. We were after advertising. We were interested in reaching people. That's ALL we were interested in" After this Yale ignored advertising imagery completely. Advertising=commercial, Graphic Design=cultural. Henry Wolf, designer at Harpers Bazaar said "Everything came to an end in the late 60s and early 1970s" publishers wanted to make money rather than produce beautiful magazines.
Advertising is a media for selling a product, it can be used not only visually but verbally.
Graphic Design can only be used visually to make the product more appealing.
As far as the practice of graphic design and advertising in relationship to products and services it can be put this way:
Graphic design is creative communication for what people already want.
Advertising is creative communication for what people don't initially want (hopefully they do after a good ad).
This post keeps going on after all these years, with silly attempts to answer an even sillier question (sorry Mindrift, but you were young back then) =)
Both are totally different. Designing means to create some thing while using some tools.. and on other hand advertising to give awareness about some thing.
I used to be confused about concepts like these, comparing two things that can be very closely related. It all depends on how you are looking at them. Individually, graphic design is an artform that can either end at being art, or can be used for another purpose. Relating graphic design to advertising makes it a visual aesthetic to get a point across. Graphic design, relating to advertising, is only one part of advertising. Advertising is a method used to get the word out about something, usually in order to sell a product and/or gain popularity. This can be done using multiple tools, for example, print, web, tv, radio, etc. Graphic design does not play into all of these aspects. Therefore, I would venture to say that graphic design is not essential to advertising, but can be a useful tool, or can be art.
pixelbomb1 replied on Permalink
I think and this just me:
I think and this just me: graphic design is an ad full with stuff in it. i.e. crampped with products, etc, etc, whereas advertising is an ad with lots of white space or you let your mind do the walking. focusing on (1) image alone.
graphics design - making products,fonts, look good trying to sell bunch of stuff (retail style).
advertising- classy style, bmw, mercedes benz and so on.
I say you need a graphic designer to advertise in any advertising outlet.
Minimum replied on Permalink
I resent that! Graphic
I resent that!
Graphic design is more than that. When you look at posters for dance events with all those WOW graphics on them, somebody has made those and tought of the composition. The font used somewhere, the colours in an advert. The look and feel of a flyer/leaflet/poster is something a graphic designer handles.
I would say that the Graphic designers handles a lot of stuff
Guest replied on Permalink
wow that's complete and
wow that's complete and utter uninformed crazyness
Guest replied on Permalink
Graphic Design - the art of
Graphic Design - the art of graphic representation. The design of elements. The composition. The style. The artistic craft.
Advertising - Concepts. A message to the consumer positioned as a BENEFIT of the service or product. The concept is derived from marketing objectives and communication strategies. It is an idea conceived between an art director and copywriter who brainstorm clever ways in which to make us feel a certain way. Once the idea is approved it is handed over to a graphic designer to execute the design. Unless the graphic designer can develop message driven CONCEPTS, then no amount of experience or pretty designs will make him/her an art director.
Example : The ads are for SunSmart.
An art director has an idea of shaping moles on human skin into leisure equipment (fishing hook, airplane).
The copywriter puts lines to this visual idea - (Going Fishing? Taking a trip?) The tagline - Be Sunsmart.
The concepts are roughly drawn to communicate the idea to the account service team, client and finally the graphic designer.
The graphic designer's job is to turn the sketched concept into a graphic masterpiece.
Atomic Hive Creative Advertising
shitos_h replied on Permalink
you are right man , thanks
you are right man , thanks alot
ivan replied on Permalink
There is difference, but
There is difference, but it's not black and white. From my perspective the main difference is that at design studios you go home at 5pm. At advertising agencies you stay late.
Sab replied on Permalink
I must say that is not true
I must say that is not true
alvinpck replied on Permalink
That not entirely true,
That not entirely true, Ivan. There're even ad agencies who let off people on time, design houses who work late till the wee hours.
...
http://alvinpck.deviantart.com/gallery/
whitespace replied on Permalink
When you start a design
When you start a design studio let me know yeah? ;)
Guest replied on Permalink
"whitespace | Tue, 2008-10-14
"whitespace | Tue, 2008-10-14 03:45
When you start a design studio let me know yeah? ;)"
ROFL
Nice one.
urvashii replied on Permalink
very true..;)
very true..;)
Sab replied on Permalink
i think adevertising and
i think adevertising and graphic desgin can work hand in hand.
Guest replied on Permalink
100% agree
100% agree
ivan replied on Permalink
identity, packaging, below
identity, packaging, below the line, web, etc -> graphic design
press, radio, tv, outdoor, etc -> advertising
Minimum replied on Permalink
I would say that posters,
I would say that posters, flyers, and Guerilla are definitly Graphic Design
shitos_h replied on Permalink
i'm agree but all this
i'm agree but all this elements must have a concepts . G-design is apart of AD all elements work to give us the final product
Guest replied on Permalink
This is true! Although i
This is true! Although i though below the line would be advertising?
Conceptual-eyes replied on Permalink
Graphic Design is the
Graphic Design is the practice or profession of designing print or electronic forms of visual information, as for an advertisement, publication, or website.
Advertising is the nonpersonal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media. Advertising often uses graphic design in its final communications.
Typically Advertising answers foremost to the idea/ communication where as Graphic Design answers to the visual appearance/ art of a piece.
Minimum replied on Permalink
found a dictionairy?
found a dictionairy?
Conceptual-eyes replied on Permalink
No, but thanks ;)
No, but thanks ;)
suko replied on Permalink
Agree with you but in even
Agree with you but in even more simplified terms-
Ads are conceptual.
Graphic Design is more based in relaying information beautifully and stylistically.
MindDrift replied on Permalink
Thank you for your
Thank you for your answers...
Well I don't know if my own definition is accurate...but I think that:
Where there is a need to design information, it's Graphic Design. (brochure, flyer, poster, catalogue)
Where there is a need to communicate a message or persuade people to buy a product, it's Advertising. (tv, billboard, ambient, advergame)
And no this is not an assignment :) , just trying to understand the difference between the two majors, before going back to school.
Eugens replied on Permalink
brochure + flyer + poster +
brochure + flyer + poster + catalogue - they all involve a copywriter too. I can't count the number of flyers, brochures, and catalogues I made. I can't say I really enjoyed it. Posters, on the other hand, are absolutely great to work on.
There is always a need to communicate a message. Flyers do that. Posters do that. Brochures do that.
pixelbomb1 replied on Permalink
can't we all just get a
can't we all just get a long. one thing i can say.. we as creative people make so much difference in this world for better or worse we have a responsiblity to convey the message thru visual communication. remember there is no I in team. but there are 2 "I" in advertising and graphic design.
Eugens replied on Permalink
That's what I was trying to
That's what I was trying to say. Graphic Design and Advertising are very close together.
Joseph Campbell replied on Permalink
The funniest difference I've
The funniest difference I've ever heard was this:
A graphic designer is an art director without a sense of humor.
Sorry if I offend. I used to be a graphic designer.
I've decided I hate signatures.
pixelbomb1 replied on Permalink
Art director is a person
Art director is a person with a pencil stuck up his/her...
ArtGuy replied on Permalink
I think that Advertising
I think that Advertising designs Ideas, and Graphic Designers "puts them on paper"
dans-hq replied on Permalink
I'm sorry, but graphic
I'm sorry, but graphic design/er are two titles in which are overused. Just how you define yourself is upto you. I would generally be called a Graphic designer, but to myself i am a visual communicator.
This is what we all are, we all advertise and we all communicate via imagery of any kind. we are as a whole.
Advertiser or Designer we are Visual communicators, some just have better skills with language and can therefore be called a copywriter. so on and so forth. if you ask me it is important that we all be generalists, being able to branch out into different areas of conceptual development.
please say if you disagree
pixelbomb1 replied on Permalink
I am a VISUAL PROSTITUTE. I
I am a VISUAL PROSTITUTE. I create I get paid.
Eugens replied on Permalink
that's pretty imature,
that's pretty imature, pixelbomb...
pixelbomb1 replied on Permalink
When I grow up I want to
When I grow up I want to work in advertising..
http://www.gecko9.com/whenigrowup.html
nbente replied on Permalink
Someone who knew how to draw
Someone who knew how to draw was poison. A guy who was too good a typographer-we didn't want him. We knew about the Bauhaus, but we weren't after design. We were after advertising.
MindDrift replied on Permalink
lol, funny though...
lol, funny though...
dans-hq replied on Permalink
i remember seeing that last
i remember seeing that last month pixel bomb, it amazes me how long it is. Quite humorous.
Inciter replied on Permalink
The best art directors in
The best art directors in the history of advertising
were the best graphic designers as well.
Moreover, it was a graphic designer who conceptualised
the concept team: art director & copywriter.
If you didn't know this, I wouldn't be surprised.
It was a best-kept piece of advertising history.
didad2005 replied on Permalink
Yo digo, un aviso con una
Yo digo, un aviso con una muy buena idea, pero sin un buen diseño grafico, es como un Porsche Carrera con neumáticos de madera. Obviamente remitiendonos a aquel aviso de Pirelli: Potencia sin control, no sirve de nada.
Estudie diseño gráfico, ahora estoy estudiando dirección de arte. Ambas cosas estan totalmente ligadas y una necesita a la otra.-
Guest replied on Permalink
Graphic Design is a field
Graphic Design is a field within Advertising like PR, Marketing, etc.
ivan replied on Permalink
Is it?
Is it?
Guest replied on Permalink
Advertising is within the
Advertising is within the marketing not the opposite
Guest replied on Permalink
graphic design/viusal
graphic design/viusal communication is fluid... can change and be molded to fit any type of situation while adevertising on the other hand has a structure that has it's origins in marketing, you can't do that change is bad we fear it. this is true few advertising agencies fear to change methods style or even originality. from my experience a design studio creates all it's own art work while an adevertising studio uses istock for all it's imagery needs... personally it is something i despise.
if you can make heads or tales from that good, but if you can not what i am getting at is adevertising is too rigid and fails to create anything of worth while graphic design does, more often than not.
athi510 replied on Permalink
There is no "vs". They are
There is no "vs". They are in love.
mstew022 replied on Permalink
bottom line is you can't
bottom line is you can't have one with out the other. design for the sake of design, with no thought will fall on def ears, or eyes in this case. The smartest idea poorly executed (lack of good design) be it simple or heavy design will have the same effect. Is there a difference between an art director and a design purist, without a doubt. but what comes first, the chicken or the egg.
MOSTRO replied on Permalink
Is this is Ester Píscore
Is this is Ester Píscore the best designer?
no.
Rami Qaddoumi replied on Permalink
Graphic Design only is an
Graphic Design only is an Art
But Graphic design With strategy is an Advertising
taurus05 replied on Permalink
hey all im busy with an essy
hey all
im busy with an essy - id like to know your ideas on the difference between graphic and advertising design...
pls email me your response
nice gaijin replied on Permalink
There is definitely snobbery
There is definitely snobbery on both sides, but conceptual-eyes's definitions come the closest to being accurate and objective.
I think that the mistake most people here are making is thinking of graphic design only in the context of advertising. Just like how advertising is a field comprised of many different professions that come together to work towards a common goal (producing advertisement in its many forms), Graphic design is an extremely broad field with numerous related and separate professions, only a fraction of which falls under the "advertising" category. At its highest levels, design intersects with a number of other fields, from the obvious (communication and marketing) to the obscure or unapparent (psychology, anthropology and so on).
Indeed, graphic designers are visual communicators, but to focus only on the end product is to ignore 90% of the job. If you define graphic designers solely as visual communicators, whether you are one or not, you betray a monumental ignorance of the profession.
Enas replied on Permalink
Advertising=Smart Graphic
Advertising=Smart
Graphic Design=Pretty
Smart + Pretty = perfection
pixelbomb1 replied on Permalink
enas= politically correct
enas= politically correct
craftsman replied on Permalink
Advertising is design with a
Advertising is design with a purpose of selling. WIth the exception of Radio.
Graphic Design is about the relationship between colors, textures and typography.
It's like art, and could be completely subjective.
GD doesn't have to sell a product in order to be qualified as being a good design.
Not so with advertising...
eddietanhk replied on Permalink
advertising is a part
advertising is a part characteristic of graphic design. That means advertising have involve in graphic design.
Guest commenter replied on Permalink
i wanna know what is the
i wanna know what is the role of graphic in the media?
Guest commenter replied on Permalink
whats the difference ?
whats the difference ?
johnny_corvair replied on Permalink
Okay...but what about
Okay...but what about Graphic Designer vs. Art Director?
I've always had trouble trying to define the role of an "art director". To me, an art director is practically the same as a graphic designer, except he is working in an ad agency. Both graphic designers and art directors can think conceptually and both are responsible for visually portraying that idea...whether it be for a poster or an ad or a brochure etc.
What do you guys think?
advocate replied on Permalink
But in my point of view is
But in my point of view is totally different between graphic designer and an art director. The functionality is totally have similarity, a graphic designer can art direct his own design and an art director can also design his own concept. Now for me the different is, the real function of an art director is to give the soul of your design the color mode the spirit and the ambience even. Which graphic designer sometimes can't see the difference. But you as a designer can be an art director if you want to and if you are qualified in doing this such things. But if you are a poor art director then you can be a good graphic designer.
Enas replied on Permalink
ofcourse when we r about to
ofcourse when we r about to start working on a new campaign AD and GD should do a brain storme together for generate the most fit and new ideas.
but...after all the AD should be busy in the consistency of his art direction, conceptually he should fill the campaign by his chosen art direction to insure it will gain the full attention and to be memorable as well. he should be more involved than the GD in the big vision.
when it comes to campaign he goes unconsciously to imagine the applicability of the design or the art direction on all the media channels.
in the same time we could see the same campaign and say it looks awful or it looks niceee..how is that
by using bad font-bad tone of colors-bad measurements-image doesn't glow or sparkle...no sense of art at all, her it comes to the graphic designer,without good GD we won't even give a look on this campaign .
may sometimes the AD could do the GD's work and vice versa...but it never be excellent as like every body focusing in his part which he could give more on it.
bkeeler1 replied on Permalink
ad is more about the ideas
ad is more about the ideas and graphics is about the visual.
graphic design encourages adding more things while ad encourages simplifying.
I find the difference also to be hierarchy....Art directors HIRE graphic designers.(as well as photogs, illustrators, fine artists etc)
I was an graphic major ad minor for two years, and now I'm an ad major graphics minor....
I personally prefer ad.....ANYONE can learn how to use adobe suite, and anyone can be taught the rules of desing, but great ideas aren't in everyone....
dias replied on Permalink
bkeeler1 seriously, you
bkeeler1 seriously, you can't just generalize this way.
I've seen a lot of designers doing more rational/conceptional/strategical works and this isn't rare - Actually designers are known more like projectists than artists.
Designers tend to simplify and clear projects and i really don't know where did you take that ideia of "adding things".
That's why stereotypes sux and thats why portifolio>curriculum always - Analysis someone not for what he says but for what he does
Gordie replied on Permalink
I am not big on
I am not big on anonymous/guest comments, but I am somewhat embarrassed yet had a question of my own. Going back to what johnny_corvair asked, what is the difference between a graphic designer and art director?
I graduated from college about a year ago and have since been working at an apparel company. It was fun to learn the ins and outs of the industry, but I want to move on. I want to go back to designing brochures, ads, posters, and other collateral for companies and I am not talking about working at a rinky-dink gang run printing firm. I have been fascinated with one day building my way up—before of course opening my own business—to working for a BBDO or Crispin Porter or maybe even a smaller agency.
Where should I start? What should my portfolio showcase? Is there room for a “graphic designer” such as myself in one of these agencies or should I poses the skills of an art director in which I am knowledgeable (and hopefully skilled) in the creative and business side of advertising. Do art directors create the concept, illustrate, and handle the photo manipulating or do they simply do the work of an account manager or copywriter? I appreciate all answers and please excuse my ignorance.
haymori replied on Permalink
Art directors when starting
Art directors when starting a project sit with their partner (copywriter) and try to come up with the concept (idea) of a campaign - print, TV, web, outdoor, etc. In most cases its more about the idea and less about the execution at this point. Until they finalize on a few ideas (in the form of loose sketches and in some instances basic layouts) do they move on to the "design" or execution of the campaign. All art directors should know design basics but the fulfilling of all the work would in some cases involve a graphic designer.
Graphic Designers (and this is generalizing but in most instances) sit with a project such as a logo or a package design and even though they may have a concept to this particular project (the arrow in the fedex logo) its one particular project they are working on rather than an entire campaign.
In my experience Graphic Designers rush to the computer too soon and start executing. If one is thinking they want to work for CPB or BBDO as an art director the most important thing is the idea. As a designer in an agency you will most likely be helping execute another persons idea.
C.D. replied on Permalink
GD's are very fond of
GD's are very fond of negative space, so I'm not sure where you got the "like to add things" bit.
Frankly I find a lot of this on the offensive side of things...
Anyone who defends their side so much that they feel they need to offend the other is perhaps insecure, out of school or the learning environment for too long, and will most likely be discounted anyway.
If you've come across an Advertiser or a Graphic Designer who is pompous, it doesn't mean that everyone in their field is like that. What an ignorant stereotype/assumption. It starts with one person being boastful to ruin it for everyone else. I, as I'm sure many do, get tired of defending one or the other. We do what we enjoy, one is not better than the other, they serve different purposes, that's all. For those in doubt, go to a university or college website, check out the curriculums, and compare. Gah.
I was under the impression that the two are really close, however:
Students in advertising learn more about positioning, stats, marketing, economics, (etc.,) as well as the creative.
Whereas students in graphic design study more typography, colour theory, design layout, photography, (etc.,) as well as creative.
People who have good ideas or concepts don't only exist in one or the other, they exist in both. You're always going to have people who are better at their job than others.
Both jobs solve the clients problem.
I'm sure each could do the other's job, perhaps not as well...but again, I think they're both really close...
As for an Art Director (in my opinion):
Should at some point have done most of the jobs they expect those under them to do.
Along with graphic designers and production artists, determine how the ad's verbal and visual symbols will fit together.
The individual responsible for the selection, execution, production, so on, of graphic art.
If anything goes wrong, whether it's an ad campaign, museum, bad illustration, etc. the art director answers for it.
C.D. replied on Permalink
1st year GD's may rush to
1st year GD's may rush to the computer...but that's because they don't have 'manual work' in high schools anymore, so the computer is all they know...(examples include: auto shop, woodworking, home-economics, etc.)
But I assure you, the professors push coming up with a concept and creating linears/thumbs first before they touch the comp.
alphayo replied on Permalink
alphayo aswani Advertising
alphayo aswani
Advertising is Coming up with the big idea.
Graphic design is Making it look good.
Guest commenter replied on Permalink
true!
true!
Hunther replied on Permalink
I see advertising as concept
I see advertising as concept creators, graphic designer as visuel creators.
But in some ways its melted together, cause how to create an identity without a fundamental concept?
The first one is what to write in this sentence to make it clear, the second one is how to put this sentence to make it clear.
jideel replied on Permalink
"The first one is what to
"The first one is what to write in this sentence to make it clear, the second one is how to put this sentence to make it clear."
Isn't that the difference between a copywriter and an AD ?
Guest replied on Permalink
it shows that a graphic
it shows that a graphic designer is not well understood, well graphic design is purely the core of the brand visual communication. They create the Type, color combination, what to do and what to not do, they set the guidelines to the brand. remember the template ? it should come from a graphic designer if not, then thats the wrong way! Why ? cause he created the Visual Corporate Identity of the brand. Please look more into Visual Corporate Identity table of contents and u will have a full understanding of what a graphic designer does. which is based on a concept for a particular brand.
Yah! and they dont use pictures off of stock websites, they create graphics from nothing, from scratch ! to build on them a concept representing the brand.
A brand, has its identity, tone of voice, & its soul birth. from a graphic designer.
A brand, communicated to the consumer by an art director + copy writer.
whitespace replied on Permalink
Graphic design, as it
Graphic design, as it implies, is based on graphics.
Advertising: Think radio, etc etc... graphic or not... as long as the message is sent.
Guest replied on Permalink
alphayo, this statement would
alphayo, this statement would have been true some 20 years ago. the differences between the two terms has vanished more or less. yes, graphic designers used to be on the execution side of things in advertising agencies back in the day, and this is still the case right now in ad agencies. i've worked on both sides of the barricade, as an ad and as a gd and am right now back to designing.
i'm not saying that one is better then the other, both have their advantages. personally i've gone back to design because of the longevity of a piece of design. good designers will always come up with a good idea, just as an art director would. it just depends on which side you want to work. if you want to do outdoor, tv campaigns and print ads, be an art director, if you want to go into branding, packaging and editorial design, then be a designer.
Guest replied on Permalink
graphics designing is the
graphics designing is the tools and creative advertising is in your mind
arpit_mankar replied on Permalink
there is not a huge and clear
there is not a huge and clear difference between graphic designing and advertising. Graphic Designing is just a tool, as said above, to make creative advertising, while the actual advertising is the see/touch or feel thing which makes an actual impact on the minds of the people
Guest replied on Permalink
Hey everyone, i am currently
Hey everyone, i am currently in uni and i have to decide whether i want to go into advertising or graphic design. For some strange and stupid reason my university does not allow students to have a major in graphic design and a minor in advertising or vice versa. I applied and got accepted to the college for advertising but the graphic design program requires one to take 5 prerequisite courses and they only accept 40 from 140 student applicants. Isn't that unfair?
So i found out they have a minor in visual communication art and design that has some graphic design courses. What i wanted to ask is,is it possible to be a graphic designer with a minor in visual communication? And what would you guys do?
Thank you my creative family :)
Xepa replied on Permalink
Not many of us have talked
Not many of us have talked about the TECHNICAL aspect to this debate yet.
I firmly believe that graphic designers are the more knowledgeable, since they
do know the mechanics of their programs more than advertisers. Also, they
don't get the luxury of a copywriter to collaborate with.
Guest replied on Permalink
cool. i was comtemplating to
cool. i was comtemplating to take up studies for either as an advertising designer or a graphic designer. i kinda got a better view on the differences of these 2 groups. thanks
Sunshinenroses replied on Permalink
I think Graphic Design is a
I think Graphic Design is a field which can't be explained in limited words. Graphics is history, visual arts, advertisment and communication art. Well, I would say that advertisment is nothing without Graphic Designs. I would support my reply with this amazing slideshare by shawncalvert titled “What is Graphic Design”.
http://www.graphicdesignblog.org/what-is-graphic-designing/
Guest replied on Permalink
Graphic Design is more about
Graphic Design is more about Skills and Art Direction
Advertising is more about Ideas and Concepts
AmOgodzzz replied on Permalink
Graphic design should be
Graphic design should be looked at as a contemporary art form that has implications for many fields, including advertising. Let's not forget that some of the most iconic rock concert posters, movie posters and political campaign posters would not have been possible without graphic designers. In the advertising field, I think graphic designers are crucial in rebranding a product, from changing the packaging design to creating new logos.
Guest replied on Permalink
graphic design is
graphic design is honest
advertising is lie
CatalystY replied on Permalink
While many things can fall
While many things can fall under the umbrella of both advertising and graphic design there are some marked differences between the two.
Graphic design refers to the visual communication of information using elements such as color, images, typography, etc. It does not cover anything that cannot be seen.
Advertising however, is the promotion of a concept / product / service / etc. Advertising is usually done to persuade the person viewing it to do or believe something. for example; buy this product from this company because....
Advertising, unlike graphic design can occur in any medium, including auditory mediums such as Radio and Word of Mouth.
Other examples:
A plain text classified in a newspaper would not be considered graphic design, but would be considered advertising.
A collage of images and text that does not attempt to sell anything would be considered graphic design, but not advertising.
Hope that helps clear things up a bit.
recsoft replied on Permalink
Advertizing is more about
Advertizing is more about publicity of your product. This is all about publicized product or business.
On the other hand graphics design complementing advertizing by providing more effective ways of product campaigning using print or electronic media.
Jake Bull
Data Recovery Software
http://www.recoverybull.com
katoon replied on Permalink
Simply, AD about creating a
Simply, AD about creating a message and sending it to someone. And GD, it is the art of visualizing ideas.
recsoft replied on Permalink
Yeah mate!!! you are right...
Yeah mate!!! you are right...
katoon replied on Permalink
yeah!!! man remember ad's
yeah!!! man remember ad's personalities....
PERP replied on Permalink
Gee, now that's what I call A
Gee, now that's what I call A discussion! LOL! Great!
A-part from everything that has already been said here (witch I applaud!), we are talking here about 2 completely different activities! No only they don't depend on one another has they don't really need to work together. Yes, they can, and definitively, with the latest developments in therms of visual experience, software and new expectations from the consumer (much more accurate, critic and demanding), they really should, although it is not imperative that a designer and an art-director work together.
4 example, a brand logo is design, a campaign is advertising. Would the logo stand by his one and achieve the public? Would it be able to create feeling, to gain long therm consistence? And would a tv spot work without a brand assigned to it? A print without a signature? A product without a name?
I heard once a sentence that I really liked and I would like to share; "advertising is terminal, design is forever" - in my perspective this means something like Advertising, even for only one brand, changes rapidly, and if it doesn't, the brand is considered not updated. The Design part of that communications doesn't really change, it is the brand's roots.
In order to communicate this root's to the public, you need strong concepts, creative thinking and continuous improvement, that's where Advertising comes in the picture.
Of course Design doesn't only exits on the logo-making, but it is indeed a discipline where you learn how to create pieces (brochures, books, magazines) and all this OBJECTS are lasting ones. Even web-sites are longer lasting than ad's, and they come to represent the same "root" or "base" perspective than the logo example. Advertisers create dreams, generate emotions, create willing for action, in an emotional and phycological plane, more than in physical.
Just think about your favorite web-site; don't the advertising banners in it change each time you access it, even on the same day?
Yes, very often Design and Advertising work together, and they can work so thigh you have really to commit yourself to find where one starts and the other ends, but they are in fact very different activities. In the process, in the attributes, in the output, in the way they play in your head, et cetera. The fascinating main stream is that they engage completely different in therms of creative thinking and effective work, and that is something that only by trying both will come to you.
Osama Nofal replied on Permalink
graphic design is a routine
graphic design is a routine technique, advertising is a concept theory
f u care to c the best and worst identities of 2009
http://brandingbook.blogspot.com/2009/12/best-and-worst-identities-of-...
The Pet Directory replied on Permalink
Graphic Art is the use of the
Graphic Art is the use of the visual to create a message.
Advertising is the use of any form of communication to send out a message.
Osama Nofal replied on Permalink
graphic design is always
graphic design is always under the umbrella of Advertising & could be sort of art as well
...
http://brandingbook.blogspot.com/
Swara Bills replied on Permalink
Hey MindDrift! Usually, a
Hey MindDrift! Usually, a graphic design focuses more on art and visual design, whereas advertising deals with communications. Graphic design encompasses publication layout, whereas the art of advertising offers various levels focusing on advertising design, illustration, photography, logo design, typography, printing, etc. Hope now you can understand the basic difference between the two.
thecreature replied on Permalink
This is a wrong
This is a wrong question.
First of all, there is no "vs" as advertising makes use of graphic design. Secondly, the question should be "graphic design vs. art direction in advertising". And there the answer is easy. Graphic design is how it looks, it is about a style, while art direction is about visual interpetation of an idea, and also selecting an apropriate style, often with a help of e designer. I had been forced into creating job descriptions for different advertising creative positions once in the past, and should you need more elaborate answer, you can PM me and I will send it to you.
advocate replied on Permalink
You are right, but in my
You are right, but in my point of view is totally different between graphic designer and an art director. The functionality is totally the same, a graphic designer can art direct his own design and an art director can also design his own concept. Now for me the different is, the real function of an art director is to give the soul of your design the color mode the spirit and the ambience even. Which graphic designer sometimes can't see the difference. But you as a designer can be an art director if you want to and if you are qualified in doing this such things. either you are a poor art director or a good designer.
Leo_Mijangos replied on Permalink
Hey, this ismy first Post,
Hey, this ismy first Post, yeiii... well i think i dont agree on the definition, i am studying Graphic Design at UANL, in Monterrey, Mexico... i am in my 5th semester but i've been tought that we graphic designers are the one that create the idea, work on the visual and have the responsability to make that idea clear for the audience we want to enchant... i have classes like Marketing, Advertisement... my point is, we (graphcic designer) do not make an idea look beautiful, we do work on the whole idea, and then we make the idea to be functional...
So when you define Advestisement, you are defining waht GD is for me, and when you define GD you define what a guy with two years course make :P
just my point of view :P
ovanova replied on Permalink
I think you can't have one
I think you can't have one without the other. They're connected. You can advertise through the graphic designer's work. You can graphic/design starting from an advertising idea.
"I do not understand electricity. But I know that you can cook a man's dinner and you can also cook the man."
dampy11 replied on Permalink
hi, just following the
hi, just following the comments, can some one pls explain the difference b/w Concept based advertising and normal advertising, if you say like every ad has a concept ( PRINT BASED ADS) , but you can see some products are just shown with a glossy backgound not portraing any concepts
so pls tell me that is the concept based ads hit well to the target?
buyandsell replied on Permalink
To answer the last question,
To answer the last question, it's just a matter of HARD SELL/SOFT SELL advertising. Consumers now are more skeptical, sophisticated and wise. They know when something is being pushed into their face (like that of FINAL SALE OF THE SEASON in starburst with 3 exclamation points!!!) and the time to "TURN OFF" to any of those messages. Whereas in SOFT SELL, they are given a "suggestion" if you will but will still notice the call-to-action in the ad.
I believe that concept based ads hit well just for the reason that they can catch your attention, make you stop even for 5 seconds (compared to those ads with no concept which are guaranteed to be ignored) just to enjoy the moment of looking at that ad, and even make you think (but not too much). Thus, making it memorable and effective. Remember, ads are intrusion and should compete with the articles in the newspaper or magazines or against the show that you're watching (in the case of TV ads).
Just my two cents worth.
juuuuuulian replied on Permalink
Great post buyandsell. I'm a
Great post buyandsell. I'm a senior in school getting my BFA in advertising design. My school has an ad school and graphic design school and its easily 90% gd. Only difference in curriculum is 8 ad classes which is bs but thats a different story. What I see is a majority of graphic design students are focused on what looks cool, the latest style and trends which is good/bad, but it stops right there. Where as the ad design students are thinking concept, branding, the over all creation of a campaign beyond print. I really don't like design school because of the amount of graphic design students and teachers who are graphic designers and NEVER ASK ABOUT CONCEPT. I put in hours of time coming up with concepts only for it to be looked over.
buyandsell replied on Permalink
"Putting hours in coming up
"Putting hours in coming up with concepts only for it to be looked over"? WELCOME TO THE CLUB! You'll get that more when you finally start your "exciting" career in Advertising. Or if you end up other than an agency, you'll still get plenty of that. As there are more people that you'll work with who think that they know advertising. Account Executives who, instead of educating their clients of the benefits of concept base advertising, will prefer to side with their clients' ignorance. BECAUSE they don't know what good advertising themselves (like: if the client wants 3 exclamation points on his headline - just put those damn exclamations! AND PUT THEM INSIDE A BURST! And their address should be as big as their headline, "what do you mean hierarchy of elements? are you trying to be smart? and the sale is the concept itself!)
juuuuuulian replied on Permalink
Its hard to do something when
Its hard to do something when your heart isnt into it. Thats why I love advertising, it's all about the concept and message that excites me. When I see a poorly done ad that tries to sell me something via empty graphic design a part of me dies inside.
globalad replied on Permalink
ENAS : best definition
ENAS : best definition
Guest replied on Permalink
What is the difference
What is the difference between advertising design and graphic design?
Advertising design is more for publicity and advertisements,
and graphic design is for personal use.
This is a misleading answer and very, very inaccurate.
Advertising is primarily about selling a product or service. Design, music, trends, weird scenarios, stunts,
Graphic design - anything, really - is used to promote a related or unrelated product or service.
Graphic design is about conveying meanings - in terms of what's really there - more than selling a target audience a concept or idea that's preconceived to be popular.
Why are people so confused about this contrast? There's no moral superiority within either profession; both are varyingly dependent upon useful content to be successful. Graphic design, though, is closer to being a skilled craft - and skilled craftspeople, though they may be very good at what they do, may not be the best at marketing the worth of these skills.
Advertising tends to enhance or 'put in its best light' anything a paying client wants to have promoted, regardless of its manufacture or worth. So, for this reason, those who work in this profession may tend to become more jaded and cynical.
Graphic designers, regardless of their medium (print, web, motion, etc) are perhaps closer to being modern day skilled tradespeople, like fine cabinetmakers. They care about how well something is made - and how clearly meaning is conveyed.
bloomonkey replied on Permalink
Just going to add my two bobs
Just going to add my two bobs worth, I have read some of the replies but not all, it would take me till next week if I did lol.
I am a graphic designer but also have to come up with adverts and concepts which I dont always like doing. Sometimes you can pop out a great idea and sometimes its like pulling teeth.
Firstly I wanted to say, that a graphic designer can be great at designing and artwork but not necissarily good at coming up with concepts etc...
In my view a graphic designer is a must when it comes to art work for ads. to come up with the overall feel, design, choosing fonts that suit the style of the ad, colours pictures etc... and then put them all together so that the message is conveyed as well balanced and as clearly as posible. Basically its the art of communicating through visual media.
Also Graphic design isn't just for advertising, its got so many applications that you cant just put it under one umbrella. CD covers, posters, packaging, logos, websites, childrens books, film the list is endless. Almost everywhere you look you will spot something that has had to be designed by a Graphic Designer.
Advertising is about selling products and service to the masses plain and simple, it has to have a voice whether it be visual or spoken.
To Ivan:
About what you said that a design studio finish at 5, thats so untrue, I have seen myself staying well late into the night in order to have jobs finished for deadline whether it be at home or at work so thats a bit harsh to come up with that generalisation.
Martijn replied on Permalink
Advertising = concept
Advertising = concept driven
Design = esthetic driven
Right?
Guest replied on Permalink
It's something like the
It's something like the chicken came first or an egg kinda situation.. whatever a graphic designer does, ends up to advertising. And whatever advertising happens is done by a graphic designer.. then you call him whatever.. a visualizer or an art director.. whatever.. it means the same damn thing.. hours behind a brilliant software called Photoshop ;)
Martijn replied on Permalink
Advertising is not about
Advertising is not about photoshop.
Roger Keynes replied on Permalink
Graphic Designs visually
Graphic Designs visually presents things.
Advertising persuades and sells thing.
ie06gg replied on Permalink
This is how my professor puts
This is how my professor puts it. He is a graphic designer.
Advertising - It's the outside that brings people to the inside. (getting people into the store)
Once they are inside,
Graphic Design - is to compete with other products (packaging) when the buyers are already inside the store. e.g. already inside the store.
The problem is that people tend to confuse the word advertising with people that work with advertising and graphic design with people that work with execution.
If a graphic designer made an ad and puts it outside to get you buying... it is advertising.
If an art director designed a package for a soda then it is graphic design.
Acooboo replied on Permalink
Graphic Design is one of the
Graphic Design is one of the many tools which Advertising use.
Advertising is a form of communication and Graphic design is a creative process.
So Form includes the Process.
Guest replied on Permalink
First I also confused to
First I also confused to differentiate this thing. But after entering the advertising world, I finally got some answer.
Graphic design, which is now called visual communication, is a part of advertising. When you learn about advertising, you need to understand all of design principles to help you develop your ad, especially in print advertising. Understanding the basic theory of design, such as arrangement (layout), balance, space, contrast, help you justify your work is right. Your concept will reliable and effective if you can proof that what you’ve done is the best answer for client problem.
Advertising is the application of graphic design. In advertising, you will demonstrate your ability to creating a concept and send your message that you want to communicate to the audience. In my opinion, if you can create a great concept with well crafted but people didn’t get what exactly you want to say, you are failed. Advertising is a place where you can test your graphic design (or prefer to say, visual communication) skills.
These are also become a reason why I take advertising as my course. It’s more challenging I guess.
mityapradipta replied on Permalink
First I also confused to
First I also confused to differentiate this thing. But after entering the advertising world, I finally got some answer.
Graphic design, which is now called visual communication, is a part of advertising. When you learn about advertising, you need to understand all of design principles to help you develop your ad, especially in print advertising. Understanding the basic theory of design, such as arrangement (layout), balance, space, contrast, help you justify your work is right. Your concept will reliable and effective if you can proof that what you’ve done is the best answer for client problem.
Advertising is the application of graphic design. In advertising, you will demonstrate your ability to creating a concept and send your message that you want to communicate to the audience. In my opinion, if you can create a great concept with well crafted but people didn’t get what exactly you want to say, you are failed. Advertising is a place where you can test your graphic design (or prefer to say, visual communication) skills.
These are also become a reason why I take advertising as my course. It’s more challenging I guess.
Guest replied on Permalink
In my experience it seems
In my experience it seems that:
Art Director's work with big budgets and Graphic Designer's budgets are rejected as too big.
Graphic Designers get yelled at and Art Directors are allowed to yell.
Art Directors get paid well and Graphic Designers ask to be paid well.
Guest replied on Permalink
Graphic design and
Graphic design and advertising has no similarities but it is fact that they are complement to each other. A good graphic designed advertisement produces better response.
http://www.txtimpact.com
New York
jideel replied on Permalink
Graphic design is more an art
Graphic design is more an art and advertising is about selling something using the art of graphic design (or others)
So graphic designers are artists who love what people will see with their work, they can work in many domains
and art directors are marketing guys with a (little or great) background of GD and are only known in domains which have a connection with advertising (most of them actually) where they supervise GD
The question is : are you or do you want to be a marketing guy or only an artist (What is sure is you have to love your work to be good at it)
AussieDee replied on Permalink
You can't advertise anything
You can't advertise anything without a graphic designer
Vision_Vi replied on Permalink
You can - if you advertise on
You can - if you advertise on radio :)
AussieDee replied on Permalink
True that... (my bad)! I
True that... (my bad)! I guess I forgot about radio advertising. I'm not much of a radio listener so I don't think about that side of advertising. :p
alphayo replied on Permalink
Advertising comes up with the
Advertising comes up with the big idea. Graphic design makes it work and look good.
pindi replied on Permalink
http://www.alistapart.com/art
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/art-direction-and-design/
from what i read in internet..
grafikartist replied on Permalink
Advertisers need graphic
Advertisers need graphic designers creative input
They work close together
Graphic designers communicate visually and put ideas on to the screen for print
where as Advertising do all this through media communication
graphicsdesigner replied on Permalink
hmm...right graphic designing
hmm...right graphic designing makes advertising more interesting
graphic interest replied on Permalink
Graphic designers can
Graphic designers can visually realise the ideas of advertisers, but not all work they do is advertising or commercial. They're not just decorators either. They develop concepts for things like information graphics or visualising data. Think: visual explantions of a plane crash, news graphics on TV, book covers and book layout, CD covers, educational material, visual scientific concepts, web sites, logos and corporate design and identity. In the 50s US Bob Gage, an advertising art director criticised graphic design and typography "Designers were like poison. Someone who knew how to draw was poison. A guy who was too good a typographer-we didn't want him. We knew about the Bauhaus, but we weren't after design. We were after advertising. We were interested in reaching people. That's ALL we were interested in" After this Yale ignored advertising imagery completely. Advertising=commercial, Graphic Design=cultural. Henry Wolf, designer at Harpers Bazaar said "Everything came to an end in the late 60s and early 1970s" publishers wanted to make money rather than produce beautiful magazines.
helloworld replied on Permalink
Is there a difference?
Is there a difference? They're so interwoven it's hard to tell.
Print Solutions replied on Permalink
Advertising is a media for
Advertising is a media for selling a product, it can be used not only visually but verbally.
Graphic Design can only be used visually to make the product more appealing.
adri10288 replied on Permalink
Simple: Graphic Designers
Simple: Graphic Designers can't read.
Ad Analyst replied on Permalink
Advertising is all about
Advertising is all about communication while graphic design is the medium to the communication to give it a visuals.
.
Sunaina11 replied on Permalink
Both are different things.
Both are different things. Advertisement is also very important and to impress the customer designing is also very important.
WeenJeem replied on Permalink
As far as the practice of
As far as the practice of graphic design and advertising in relationship to products and services it can be put this way:
Graphic design is creative communication for what people already want.
Advertising is creative communication for what people don't initially want (hopefully they do after a good ad).
1nnu3ndo replied on Permalink
All advertisement is graphic
All advertisement is graphic design, but not all graphic design is advertisement.
MindDrift replied on Permalink
Ivan, do I get extra pencils
Ivan, do I get extra pencils for creating the most active thread on Adsoftheworld?
Shawali replied on Permalink
=)
=)
Ad Analyst replied on Permalink
"DUNGEON OF THE MONTH" :- )
"DUNGEON OF THE MONTH" :- )
dejure replied on Permalink
I think graphics is a part of
I think graphics is a part of advertising. but individually each have their own personalities.
advertising - graphic designing part will be limited and focused; like drawing a portrait. u know how the end result would look like.
graphic designing - individual when u design u are free to do anything and don't know how it will look like until satisfied.
firstpage replied on Permalink
Advertizing design is more
Advertizing design is more for publicity and advertisements, and graphic design is for personal use
Shawali replied on Permalink
This post keeps going on
This post keeps going on after all these years, with silly attempts to answer an even sillier question (sorry Mindrift, but you were young back then) =)
james247 replied on Permalink
Both are totally different.
Both are totally different. Designing means to create some thing while using some tools.. and on other hand advertising to give awareness about some thing.
Brandon McGuffin replied on Permalink
I used to be confused about
I used to be confused about concepts like these, comparing two things that can be very closely related. It all depends on how you are looking at them. Individually, graphic design is an artform that can either end at being art, or can be used for another purpose. Relating graphic design to advertising makes it a visual aesthetic to get a point across. Graphic design, relating to advertising, is only one part of advertising. Advertising is a method used to get the word out about something, usually in order to sell a product and/or gain popularity. This can be done using multiple tools, for example, print, web, tv, radio, etc. Graphic design does not play into all of these aspects. Therefore, I would venture to say that graphic design is not essential to advertising, but can be a useful tool, or can be art.
Bladebringer replied on Permalink
Thank you very much. Very
Thank you very much. Very helpful information.