The Value and Significance of Graphics in Graphic Design

Graphics play an important role in graphic design. Without ideal graphics, graphic design will be pale and powerless, and graphics will become the life of design. Taking the picture space as the "field" to capture graphics allows the free space consciousness to be displayed and the subject to be freely formed, which is the place where artists can display their talents, and can maximize the potential of designers and reflect the artist's personality and creative consciousness. Among the decorative patterns of painted pottery vessels in prehistoric Mid-Levels-Racecourse culture, the motif of their self-contained units or many connected patterns can be regarded as the most primitive and simple expression of the field consciousness of graphic design, which was conceived and designed by the ancestors of Neolithic Age to express their concept of "thunder as a drum". For building accessories, the ancients used the appropriate patterns of circular fields almost without exception.

So, what is the field consciousness of graphic design?

The so-called "field" refers to the basic formal structure of the picture, which is to deal with the picture space freely in an appropriate form, that is, to determine the space on the picture abstractly and variously. Such as square, oval, diamond, zigzag, line, coordinate, rhythm, color, background or any form. This field includes three elements: plane space, plane mechanics and object image (abstract and concrete). By exerting the function of plane mechanics (dynamics) and using various objects to freely combine flat space, it is the basis of "field" consciousness.

1. Planarization space is different from traditional viewpoint space, and the factual relationship between objects and images can be changed, which is not limited by scale, distance and time. It pursues the constructiveness of space itself and restores images of different time and space on the same plane, which makes the design combination of field clear and the visual impact of graphics more prominent.

In modern painting (painting works are similar to graphics in graphic design), the basic form and structure of pictures are the core of painting language, and its fundamental problem is how to freely arrange and deal with three-dimensional or even four-dimensional space on the plane of two-dimensional space. Therefore, since Cezanne's plane consciousness established the deformed picture, the plane space consciousness began to sprout, and the consciousness of dealing with the object field became more and more obvious, which became the mainstream consciousness in the development of modern painting.

This treatment of the plane space of field consciousness broadens the artist's creative thinking and creative means. For example, in Matisse's People in the Decorative Background.

Due to the setting of the background field of decorative patterns, all objects except characters tend to be flat: the wall lines in the foreground above the screen are larger; The pattern size of plants and flowerpots in the middle position is moderate; In the lower right corner of the screen, the cushion-like pattern is processed smaller, and the foreground color is drawn to a close-up view. This inverse distance relation narrows the space of the distant view, the middle view and the close view to a plane, so that the deformation of the object image is to adapt to the subjective combination of color and form in the background field of decorative patterns, and to maximize the color energy and shape energy of painting, which is Matisse's masterpiece.

2. Plane mechanics can also be said that people have certain psychological effects on various objects and images, so that they can reach a certain psychological state of connection, such as the visual psychology in which two points are on a line and three points are on a plane in geometry.

This psychological state not only strengthens the temperament of each unit image, but also makes them closely related to each other. It contains dynamic and direction indication, participates in graphic design with the same value as the object, and becomes the key link between the object and the image in graphic design, and indicates the appearance of the field on the plane.

3. The object image is the most direct undertaker of field design, and its temperament not only bears the graphics and meaning itself, but also is the organic intersection of it and the combination of plane mechanics and space, which makes the field design become concrete and practical from abstraction and a new value and ontology.

Therefore, when operating graphics, whether it is abstract symbols or concrete photos, we can freely arrange and deal with their colors and forms suitable for field consciousness. Objects in different spaces and different historical spaces can be suitable for the design combination of the field. Especially the application of computer technology in graphic design, objects in graphics can be compressed, stretched, squeezed, twisted, deformed and discolored, forming an impossible form in real society, which is different from the traditional spatial concept that people's eyes grasp the distance, color, size and instantaneous image of objects. According to Bauhaus's design thought, "the purpose of design is people, not products", in order to attract attention, objects can be designed as they are curious, thus creating visual diversity and vitality and giving people brand-new visual stimulation.

In addition to the cultural significance of logical thinking, characters should also become a part of graphic design under the field consciousness, or directly set a character as a field and re-interpret the graphics. For example, an English letter "O" can enlarge it into an oval field, and the space defined by the letter "O" can shape another object or space, which can be real or fictional, and people can realize "O" from this figure.

In modern design, characters are originally decorated with patterns, and their groups have more pattern effects. Many designers like to use the wonderful characters in all fields of graphic design. Japanese contemporary design artists have formed a powerful group because of their extensive use and in-depth use of characters, which has dominated the design trend in Japan and had a far-reaching impact on graphic design in China.

The three elements of the above-mentioned field are interrelated and blended with each other, which objectively affect people's inner reactions such as reasoning, judgment, experience, analysis, beauty and ugliness, and make their psychology reach a certain state: freedom and liberation, bondage, pain and anxiety, pleasure or satisfaction. Zhuangzi called the function and state of the heart God. Obviously, the different settings of the field directly affect the spiritual theme of the figure and the formation of the concept of the perceiver.

Take the cover design of China children's literacy picture book as an example (this is my first computer design work nine years ago. It's not very good, but it can explain some problems, huh? The various images on the cover are not pieced together in isolation, but built as a combination of fields. Its composition can be interpreted as the abstraction of zigzag field, ellipse field, color field and rhythm field. In order to strengthen the prominence of the inscription, the ellipse is deliberately treated in the background, and the objects covered by the ellipse and the objects covered by the ellipse are stimulated at the same time, and the main content is cut out of the ellipse, which can be freely formed in the extended infinite space.

The composition of the whole picture is not limited to the shaping of objects. It is true that cartoon pencils are lively, lovely and pleasing besides their inherent "meaning", as well as the shapes of small bald figures with exaggerated expressions and unfathomable red cars of ducklings and small animals, which will experience more concepts in readers' perception (this paper will not comment separately on the role of objects in design themes), but they are all tortuous fields in free flat space because of their mechanical functions.

This combination of zigzag field and elliptic field not only makes the relationship between objects and images in graphics form plane mechanics, but also embodies the decorative planarization method in modern design, so that objects and images can be freely arranged and handled in the formal structure under the aesthetic principle, and the theme content can be strengthened to the maximum extent, and plays the role of advertising communication on the cover.

Of course, the shaping of things plays a decisive role in the sense of presence. In the cover of China Children's Literacy Book, the image of a small bald head, the scene of a duckling and a cartoon pencil, and the tail gas emitted by a red car all play a mechanical role and point out the direction, so that the perceiver will not be distracted from the plane space outside the field, which is in line with aesthetic principles and can also reflect its functional nature and spiritual theme.

Their color application is also processed and arranged in the color gamut setting, which is freely arranged into three flat spaces: the modeling of the little bald figure in the upper left corner and the purple application behind the duckling in the upper right corner; the purple face under the red car is subjectively colored and arranged as the background, while the ellipse behind the title is set as the middle scene, and cartoon pencils, red cars, ducklings and little bald figures are treated with warm colors such as yellow and red. Because they set up color fields and combine them with other fields, the structure of graphics and the realism of space are more clear.

Of course, this kind of space is no longer material, it excludes the concepts of distance, emptiness and scale, and is endowed with a spiritual space, so that graphics can reach a coordinated and comparative design idea. I think Kant thinks that the judgment of beauty is not a cognitive judgment, but an interesting judgment in his masterpiece Critique of Judgment. This is the truth. In a word, these images are a combination of arrangement, intellectuality and creation.

The consciousness of field is abstract, and all works of art come from some abstract and universal concept. (Liu Wentan's "Modern Aesthetics" P3 "On Artistic Spirit") Art is not limited to the realistic purpose and form, but they are still the inherent essence of all works of art. Therefore, we have reason to abstract the graphics of graphic design. It can be said that the operation process of graphics is a process from abstract to concrete.

People form concepts in the perception of graphics, and the perception of graphics is the capture of the general structure of things. This abstract form is a general style, which can reproduce the essence of things and can be directly grasped by perception. The geometric elements such as points, lines and surfaces in graphics, the simultaneous effect of colors and the relationship between them without self and mutual relationship form plane mechanics, which constructs many plane space consciousness and spiritual themes. Some concepts are presented in their forms, which is the charm of design works. Therefore, the setting of fields should also start from abstraction.

As the saying goes, some of the best designs are scrawled on the back of the envelope. Many people also have the experience of doodling in newspapers and notebooks. This process of casually smearing abstract images is actually exploring the form and color of the self, which is conducive to breaking the limitations and objectivity of the self, strengthening the personality color and exploring new discoveries and imaginations. The structure of graphics is closer to one's instinct, so it is spiritual. Compared with Cezanne's method of creating a cylinder from a bottle, here we start from a cylinder in order to make an object image of the bottle type. I think there is no contradiction between the two, but we are more practical (graphic design is actually practical art). Because abstraction is only the means we use, and practicality is our purpose.

So graffiti should be sacred. I don't think the so-called "pen of genius" comes so easily. Under the influence of the sense of existence, it went through a difficult process of construction-destruction-reorganization-destruction-reconstruction, until it realized the unity of various elements after aesthetic analysis. Therefore, the designer's rationality and efforts follow the instinct as closely as possible, collect its various discoveries, and combine and arrange them, thus transforming this "truth" into a higher level of confusion and triggering new discoveries. This discovery has become the connotation and extension of works of art, which has enabled many arts to last forever and develop greatly. Among many modern painting masters, such as Cezanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Matisse, Roo, Picasso, Braque, Kandinsky, mondriaan ... they all established a prominent position in the world painting circle with their own characteristics.

When designing the cover of "China Children's Literacy Picture Book", the operation of graphics was not pre-considered and fixed. I still don't know how to construct the subject, just like thoughts, which are changing in the same degree. Because of the nature or space of each shape or color scribbled on the draft, it suggests giving me a symbol or temperament of an object. I noticed the points, lines and surfaces in painting elements, and some ideas presented in their forms left various imprints and reverie in my mind. It is they who promote my creation, inspire my thoughts and my emotions, because they all have life and personality. The operation of graphics is half to obey my will and half to follow the logic of these abstract symbols. In other words, my free will is not a aimless and spontaneous expression. In addition to paying attention to its "practicality", deduction becomes the primary task, and I must be patient. Of course, it is quite hard, but a miracle happened, water turned into wine, and abstraction became concrete-I saw the unity of various elements after aesthetic analysis.

In a word, the field consciousness of graphic design can mobilize all positive factors and turn decay into magic, which has a positive influence in the fields of classical plastic arts, modernist art forms and postmodern art, especially in graphic design art.