Graphic Design & Desktop Publishing
According to Devar J Brand agency, Graphic design and desktop publishing are often used interchangeably but they are, in fact, very different. Why is this important to know? It is simple. As a consumer of marketing services, you need to understand the difference between the two to get what you need as well as grasping an understanding of what necessities should be paid for.
Graphic design is about solving the communication challenges through visual shorthand. Where there is clarity of thought, you will reach the essence of communication solutions. This is truly Graphic Design – utilizing a variety of graphical solutions combined with data as well as your imagination and creating art with a purpose. It involves a creative plan that is developed to achieve specific objectives using images, symbols or even words. It is visual communication utilizing your imagination with various graphic elements and tools that tell a story.
Graphic designers usually combine text and images to create and communicate effective messages in the form of logos, brochures, newsletters, posters, signage, websites, email campaigns, ads as well as a variety of other facets of marketing. A graphic designer may do all or almost all these things; they may even specialize in one or more areas – such as primarily logo design development or website design.
Desktop publishing is a term coined after the development of a specific type of software that is often utilized to combine and rearrange text or images and create digital files. Before the invention of desktop publishing software, the tasks involved in desktop publishing were done manually by a team of various people and involved activities such as typesetting, laying out pages and documents and many of other pre-press tasks. Desktop publishing involves taking an existing template or document created by a designer and placing text and graphics within that document to communicate a message.
Graphic design and desktop publishing are often intertwined, in part because desktop publishing is an activity also used by those who do not have an art directors background. Not everyone who does desktop publishing does graphic design, but most graphic designers are involved in the tasks that desktop publishers partake in, which is the production side of design. Today’s graphic designers usually utilize desktop publishing software and techniques to achieve their or their clients’ goals. While it is true that designers can usually do their own desktop publishing, it is not true of the opposite. Desktop publishers are usually not designers.
Source: https://devarj.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-graphic-design-and-desktop-publishing/
According to Lifewire, graphic design and desktop publishing share many similarities, and people use the terms interchangeably. It is helpful to know and understand how they differ and how some people use and confuse the terms. We looked at both topics and figured out the subtle but important differences between them.
Software: A Common Denominator
Graphic designers use desktop publishing software and techniques to create the print materials they envision. The computer and desktop publishing software aid in the creative process by allowing the designer to try out various page layouts, fonts, colors, and other elements.
Non-designers use desktop publishing software and techniques to create print projects for business or personal use. The amount of creative design that goes into these projects varies greatly. The computer and desktop publishing software, along with professionally designed templates, allow consumers to construct and print the same types of projects as graphic designers. Although, the overall product may not be as well thought out, carefully crafted, or polished as the work of a professional designer.
Both designers and publishers can use the same software to do their work. Both free and commercial versions of these programs are available. Some examples include Adobe Photoshop and InDesign, Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, and GIMP. Professionals use the more powerful (and expensive) versions of the software. However, most of the same tools are available to amateurs and hobbyists at less (or no) cost.
Uses: Different Stages of a Similar Process
Desktop publishers and graphic designers may work on the same projects at the same time, but they have different goals in mind.
A graphic designer may focus on a single image, table, or the layout of a project. A single e-book, pamphlet, or magazine may have several graphic designers working on it. Desktop publishing picks up where their work ends to finalize the document and get it ready to become a real thing.
The same person could do design and publishing on a single project, but each job has different purposes.
Goals: Both Areas Have Similar Aims
Graphic design ends with the final physical or digital blueprint of a project that is ready for publishing. It then becomes the job of desktop publishing to turn that plan into a final product. Designers may not know about the whole book if they are only designing the cover, for example. It is publishing’s job to take all the elements and put them together.
Source: https://www.lifewire.com/difference-graphic-design-and-desktop-publishing-1078771
Workshop Challenge
For this week’s workshop challenge, I worked on finalizing my 3,000 word essay and the presentation with the required parts.
Project Launch:
This project shall be presented to the Bahrain Tourism & Exhibitions Authority to approve and sponsor for the Bahrain Fort Visitor’s site and museum. This project showcases the history of Bahrain and the Fort in an interactive and engaging way for the target audience. The target audience include tourists, foreigners, visitors, and the locals interested in history and artifacts. Also, as an independent author, I must collaborate with a digital design agency to produce the outcome: a responsive interactive e-brochure that can be visualized on multiple devices. This e-brochure allows the viewer to have access to an interactive 360-degree photo and videos along with static imagery of the historical site. After the production stage, another collaboration will be with the advertising and media agency of the Bahrain Tourism & Exhibitions Authority. They shall take care of promoting this e-brochure as part of Bahrain Fort’s guide with Instagram sponsored ads, posts and a video for the launch.
Omar Mal,
March 18, 2021
Omar Mal 