Traits

Some images survive being shrunk, roughly printed or glanced at by someone already walking past. Graphic design, in AIF’s specific use of the trait, puts that force in the silhouette and the relationships around it. Making everything bigger and blacker is a somewhat less discerning approach.

Sculptural design gives a flat image apparent mass, using a swelling contour and a convincing shadow to suggest parts of the object that remain out of view. The eye starts imagining a substantial presence beyond the surface, occasionally substantial enough to make the actual message look incidental.

What is the geometry actually organising? Circles have no inherent strategic intelligence, however confidently they occupy the presentation. Geometric design depends on what constructed shapes do together: a measured interval can make a repeat legible, or an interrupted grid can introduce tension into an otherwise regular arrangement.

A figure emerging through fog asks for a different kind of attention from one with a firm outline, making distance part of the image itself. Atmospheric design depends on how selectively those conditions reveal the subject; blur becomes considerably less persuasive when it obscures everything equally.

An oversized shape and a small caption can balance without pretending to be equals. Asymmetrical design asks what each part weighs visually, including the space around it. Moving the heading into a corner is easy; making that position answer to the rest of the page takes more judgement.

An exact join can reveal as much about skilled making as an uneven brushstroke. Crafted design makes the relationship between method and form available to the eye. Roughness is optional, which leaves a useful question: what does the visible detail actually reveal about how something was made?