GRAPHIC DESIGN ELICITS CREATIVITY FROM STUDENTS
BY CATHRYN JIANG
Graphic Design — it sounds simple but is actually a
complex and sophisticated process. At Shanghai
Livingston American School (SLAS), the Graphic
Design class assists students in learning the
complexities of this process from the very beginning.
The students have just finished the first stage of their
Graphic Design project and have recently begun to
work on the next stage.
Mr. Alex Brown, the teacher of the class recently noted,
“The project is adapted to meet the criteria of
California Fine Arts standard.” He also added
cheerfully, “I think it is important to learn Graphic
Design because it teaches you a wide range of creative
skills and can help you in the future.”
The first stage of the project is characterized by various
sketches of initial designs brainstormed by students.
However, even before brainstorming, the students
had to first analyze the logos, boxes, and sales stands
of existing chocolate brands. Afterwards, each
student needed to create ten initial designs for the
three separate sections: logos, boxes, and sales stands.
The three sections were made separately but had to
be incorporated into a single project in the end. When
creating their initial designs, the students also had to
annotate each design for broad concepts and delicate
details. The annotation includes broad concepts such
as the general shape and color while the delicate
details include graphics and fonts that are chosen
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properly to coordinate with the theme of Christmas
or Valentine’s Day. Even though the process is tiring
and dull at times, this experience will surely aid the
students in future careers or projects.
Aidan Lupori, a sophomore in the Graphic Design class
commented, “The process itself is very time- and
energy-consuming in terms of all the details we need
to take care of, but I do believe this will help in possible
future careers such as marketing and business.” He
also added, “At first I thought Graphic Design is just
making simple sketches or graphics, but now I
understand that it actually takes a long time to develop
a complete and successful product.”
As can be seen, Graphic Design is not as simple as most
people perceive. In the SLAS Graphic Design class, the
first stage is completed after all of the complicated
analysis, brainstorming, annotation, and sketching.
There are still many more stages to come such as of
developing, modeling, and producing the product.
Graphic Design is an art — an art whose complexity
should not be overlooked or underestimated, an art
that will definitely help you in your future. In essence,
the creativity extracted from students in the process
is unlimited and the hard work dedicated by students
to this process is undoubtedly meaningful.