Communication, Graphic Design and the Importance of Illustration - Essay Example

The art of the heart: Illustration Every artist dips his brush in his own soul and paints his own nature into his pictures -Henry Ward Beecher Art is all powerful, so strong that it has been with us and touched our lives since the beginning of mankind. Not only is art the oxygen for the artist, it holds new meaning in a maddening world for every one who views it. From figurines on cave walls, to advertising billboards, without art, the world would have found it difficult to communicate. Communication, graphic design and the importance of illustration Today communication has become an important area of concern for all organizations, big and small. Trends showcase that people have lesser time to read through loads of content and eye catching visuals are the best bait to hook the reader's eye and then his mind. It is in this role, that graphic designing has gained importance. What once began as the artist's job with hand painting, went over to screen printing and has today reached the desktops of millions of visualizers. Amongst the various elements of graphic design, the art of illustration is interesting and rather challenging. Thus while words need to be read, illustrations can capture a million words in a single expression. This is because they capture and combine photography and art in an appealing and attractive manner. History of illustration As we pointed out before, illustrations have been with us since the advent of mankind where they took the shape of cave paintings. Woodcut illustrations became popular in the 15th century, followed by lithography in the 18th century. In the early 19th century, journals became popular for mass circulation and illustration gained new meaning. Soon wood engraving was preferred over steel engraving to incorporate illustrations in the pages. However what was a mere painter's mindscape, evolved to touch more people with the advent of advertising. During the 20th century, many graphic designers were also illustrators of high repute and the art was viewed with great reverence, some considering it greater than graphic design. Many illustrators would even sign their work and many enjoyed great fame. Gustavo Dore was a renowned figure in those times. Today the modern illustrator has with him various new software to assist the design process. Most training institutes also encourage that the illustrator uses both traditional and modern techniques to recreate the image in his mind on paper. Today there are many associations that bring together illustrators. These include the Association of Illustrators (AOI), Society of Illustrators and Society of Children's book writers and illustrators. Various awards are also handed out every year to support the efforts of these artists. New media Today illustrations benefit from a range of media. From print media like newspapers, greeting cards, books and magazines where these were commonly used, today the scope is much wider. Technologies allow for these to be used in movies, television shows and video games. With the advent of computers and the Internet, illustrations are also highly popular on web sites. Finally advertising has allowed for illustrations to be used on all its media spanning billboards, print advertising, television advertising and the Internet. Great works of great minds Illustration has been a popular form of art and communication with many great works being produced by great names like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Santiago Martinez Delgado etc. However in the current day scenario, works of two reputed illustrators are illustrated here. 28 year old Vladimir Dubko is one great name to reckon with in this scenario. At a time when many find the world of illustration distressing in the least, he created a niche for himself in fashion illustration, doing what every illustrator could only dream of in Italy. He experimented with diverse disciplines, obtained a grant at Fabrica (Benetton research center for communication) and worked with various young artists from across the world. While most of his work is extraordinary, one that really stands apart is his project titled ;Clips and heels'. This includes a set of forty illustrations where a range of cultural objects are connected through fashion accessories. Today this renowned fashion illustrator, does prestigious projects that include designing the cover page for 'Fashion Collection', a Moscow based fashion magazine. And no one could have described it better than Omar Vulpinari, Fabrica's head of visual communications. The work of Vladimir, he says is sexy, provocative, disturbing and delicately bizarre1. 'He goes on to add that 'It's something we need today in a world where too much work is homogeneous'. Another great writer of reckon is Rafael Esquer, who lives and works in New York City since 1996. He received a degree from the Art Center College of Design and went on to work in New York. His work has gained much fame and he has received various prestigious awards that include the National Design Award in 2004 from Cooper Hewitt National Design museum. Today Esquer runs Alfalfa, his own design studio and services a range of clients including the New York Times magazine, Nike, Tommy Boy records, MTV and IBM. His prestigious works include the Olympic museum and the poster collection for the Library of Congress. The future: bleak or bright However as illustration sits on the borderline between art and graphic design, many are concerned about its future. Is it a form of art that would earn further recognition, or is it simply being crushed by the ideas of tough minded business men who only care about product promotions. Many are concerned that the professional world of illustration is in a bad shape today2. With software providing more and more tools, the real quality illustrator is often dominated. And it takes a lot of effort to scale the heights that Rafael Esquer and Vladimir have set. But all is not bad. Technologies are growing and as animation, video games, movies, advertising, publishing and the Internet gain popularity, illustration finds more and more fertile media to grow and thrive. Tools may change, technologies may emerge. But one thing is for sure. The art of illustration will only grow stronger with time. And that is because, this art comes from the soul of the artist. Sites used http://www.adobe.com/education/adaa/adaa_judges.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illustration http://facingsideways.blogspot.com/2007/03/interview-with-rafael-esquer.html Read More