Graphic Design and Print Production Fundamentals

Graphic Design and Print Production Fundamentals was created by the Graphic Communications Open Textbook Collective. This creation is a part of the B.C. Open Textbook project.

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On any given day, you can look around your surroundings and come in contact with print design. Information comes to you in many forms: the graphics on the front of a cereal box, or on the packaging in your cupboards; the information on the billboards and bus shelter posters you pass on your way to work; the graphics on the outside of the cup that holds your double latte; and the printed numbers on the dial of the speedometer in your car. Information is communicated by the numbers on the buttons in an elevator; on the signage hanging in stores; or on the amusing graphics on the front of your friend’s T-shirt. So many items in your life hold an image that is created to convey information. And all of these things are designed by someone.

Traditionally referred to as graphic design, communication design is the process by which messages and images are used to convey information to a targeted audience. It is within this spectrum that this textbook will address the many steps of creating and then producing physical, printed, or other imaged products that people interact with on a daily basis. Design itself is only the first step. It is important when conceiving of a new design that the entire workflow through to production is taken into consideration. And while most modern graphic design is created on computers, using design software such as the Adobe suite of products, the ideas and concepts don’t stay on the computer. To create in-store signage, for instance, the ideas need to be completed in the computer software, then progress to an imaging (traditionally referred to as printing) process. This is a very wide-reaching and varied group of disciplines. By inviting a group of select experts to author the chapters of this textbook, our goal is to specifically focus on different aspects of the design process, from creation to production.