Graphic design is the most widespread form of art, visualizing the ideas and perceptions of an artist these days simultaneously. It has also become a commercial art and is touching our lives in every possible manner, including everything we see, do and even buy. It is seen on public billboards, Web sites, gift certificates, give-away items, calendars, and brochures. “It is an intricate combination of colors; shapes and lines; numbers and charts; and pictures and photographs expressing the unique thoughts of an artist who struggles to bring out something distinctive or useful,” explained Rauzan Saud Jalal, a Saudi artist and participant in the ad graphic design exhibition titled “Advertise From Makkah” organized by the Tasami Center for Visual Arts and Umm Al-Qura University at the Serafi Mall in Jeddah last week. “It can be seen as directional arrows on street signs, the billboards or even as hand-tags in clothing stores. My showcased work, for instance, includes the model of a street in which I have proposed a roundabout for an actual street as well as the logo and new design for calendars, brochures, give-away items and flyers for the promotion of a local jewelry shop,” she added in an interview with Saudi Gazette. On a personal level, she believes that everything has a certain design and sensory qualities, both of which are easy to express via colors, shapes and lines. Another graphic designer participating in the exhibition, Lojain Zeyad Khoja's work demonstrated that graphic design is a part of everyday life in which individuals communicate things visually, and this form therefore has the power to make people experience certain things or react. Her series of pictures in which a man was torturing and punishing his wife mercilessly, for instance, was captivating. “I etched this story on the canvas so that I could deliver the message that there should be love and harmony between a couple and that it is atrocious when a man abuses his wife,” she said in an interview with Saudi Gazette. Another theme of Khoja's work was the various forms of ‘mercy', and flyers showcasing this idea of hers were included in the exhibition. Lasting five days, the unique exhibition sought to attract a diverse variety of visitors to appreciate this very unique form of everyday art. In particular, the exhibition “aimed to attract those in the advertising field, to introduce them to Saudi artists, particularly women, that have specialized in this art form,” said Adnan Theqa, Tasami Center's vice president. “Saudi Arabia needs to encourage commercial art across the country, as it has great scope in the interior design field, and many organizations will need to employ more artists to create logos and design their brochures to further promote their products,” remarked participating artist Hadeel Hashim Shemi. The participating artists had beautifully given shape to their ideas in the form of advertisements for certain brands and companies, and their ideas testified to the latest trends in vogue. Graphic design in itself, requires a profound understanding of colors, structures and lines, and the most common models depicted streets and on-road structures like roundabouts, that designers had proposed. - SGWhat is graphic design? • Various methods are used to create and combine symbols, images and/or words to create a visual representation of ideas and messages. • A graphic designer may use typography, visual arts and page layout techniques to produce the final result. • Common uses of graphic design include magazines, advertisements and product packaging. For example, a product package might include a logo or other artwork, organized text and pure design elements such as shapes and color which unify the piece. • While Graphic Design as a discipline has a relatively recent history, graphic design-like activities span the history of humankind: from the caves of Lascaux, to Rome's Trajan's Column to the illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages, to the dazzling neons of Ginza. • From road signs to technical schematics, from interoffice memorandums to reference manuals, graphic design enhances transfer of knowledge. Readability is enhanced by improving the visual presentation of text. __
