Graphic Design The elements of successful graphic design entail synchronizing effective visual components with the image's semantics or underlying meaning. A logo or advertisement is only effective if it becomes anchored in the consciousness of the consumer, and if the visual element conveys the content that it is intended to communicate. The content might be emotional, or it might be informational in nature. Even when the graphic design does not represent a commodity but a creative element such as an illustration in a book, the three core elements of recognition, emotionality, and mnemonics are critical. Recognition refers to the viewer's ability to recognize what is being represented literally, and semantically. In other words, it is important to recognize that the "golden arches" form the letter "M" in the McDonald's logo. Emotionality is critical in graphic design, especially when there is a marketing meaning to the design. Thus, the iPod advertisements depicting silhouetted dancers convey emotions of freedom, joie de vivre, and positive energy. Mnemonics or memory elements maintain a connection between the consumer and the design. There are few people in the world who are unfamiliar with the McDonald's logo or the Apple logo, because these are simple and effective designs that stick in the consumer's mind. Therefore, graphic artists must always keep in mind the cornerstones of effective visual rendition, which include elements of composition like line, color, mass, direction, movement, chiaroscuro, and positive and negative spaces. Form relates to meaning in a successful graphic design, but form fails when the fundamental elements of graphic design are not fulfilled. Ultimately, brand recognition, emotional response, and mnemonic power are the benchmarks of success with graphic design.

The McDonald's logo shows how effective use of typeface in a graphic design logo fulfills the three main elements of effective graphic design: brand recognition, emotional response, and mnemonic power. The "golden arches" image represents the letter "M," the name of the company. The golden arches are also effective for line, direction, and movement. Curvilinear typeface allows the letter M. To appear soft, friendly, and fluid, but these are also absolute lines, not implied ones. There is no motion conveyed in the lines themselves, but none is necessary because eating McDonald's has nothing to do with movement. If anything, McDonald's wants to convey the notion that the consumer can eat all he or she wants of processed junk foods without moving a muscle and still feel bright, cheerful, and full of life.

Rendered in yellow, the golden arches are bright and convey cheerfulness and "sunniness," which could theoretically increase appetite. There are no absolute psychological dimensions of color, and individual differences do dominate in reactions to color. However, color is "a raw material to be sued strategically for a clear purpose," (White 193). Color is "partly artistry, partly science, but mostly common sense," (White193). The McDonald's hue of yellow is a particularly bright tone, with heavy saturation especially as it sits against a red background. As Getlein points out, hue, value, and tone are important features of any color. It's not just about McDonald's choosing yellow, but which type of yellow and what background to set the yellow against. Many other companies, like Shell, for example, feature yellow prominently in their company logos too. Yellow has the ability to stand out from a darker background in ways much better than white (Getlein; White).

Moreover, the choice of yellow and red allows McDonald's to create a color-themed restaurant experience. The logo introduces the consumer to the entire gamut of brand identity. A McDonald's restaurant is an extension of its logo. The red and yellow color scheme is used in the interior design of McDonald's restaurants, on McDonald's packaging, and on McDonald's letterheads. The continuity that the logo creates impacts all three important elements of graphic design: brand recognition, emotional response, and mnemonic power. A saturated red and yellow logo imparts the emotional qualities of warmth, desire, and energy. The letter M. enables strong brand recognition. The letter M. coupled with the consistency in applying the red and yellow color scheme also ensures the mnemonic power of the McDonald's logo.

The iPod graphic series depicting a silhouetted dancer against a single color background is likewise exemplary in its effectiveness to create brand recognition, emotional response, and mnemonic power. Strikingly simple yet eminently complex, the iPod logos are effective...

In all instances of the logo (which has numerous incarnations; there is no one image but several variations on a theme) a male or female dancer is depicted as a black silhouette. Likewise in all instances of the logo, the background of the silhouette is a solid mass of color in saturated, rich, but not primary tones. Teal, cotton candy, tangerine, and avocado are some of the colors used in iPod logo backgrounds. In all instances, the dancer's hands and head fit in the frame. Some of the dancers are shown from the torso up, and others full body. Furthermore, each dancer is listening to a white iPod with white ear buds.
Movement is critical in a graphic depicting a music player. Furthermore, the target market is young people who theoretically like to move when they listen to their iPods. Thus, the silhouetted forms convey movement in ways such as hair flowing, bodies twisted in a dance, or arched backs. There is a noticeable lack of straight lines creates an organic image. These are curved lines of a natural human body. As Jirousek points out, "the quality of line in itself contributes to the mood of the work." For this reason, the iPod logo is effective in creating an emotional response in the viewer or consumer.

The use of negative space is the definitive feature of the iPod logo that makes it visually impressive. Brand recognition is ensured by the inclusion of the product in the logo design. The viewer does not see any features on the dancers; they are rendered entirely as negative space (black). On the contrary, the iPod is rendered in white, which makes it the standout feature in the compositions. This is absolutely intentional, as the Apple Corporation needs the consumer to remember Apple iPod, and not "random dancer." The iPod forms a sort of positive space, standing out against the negative space of the dancer.

Not all graphic design elements are successful, unfortunately. The chain Megaflicks chose a typeface that renders the store name as "MEGAFUCKS." Whether this was intentional or not is up for debate, as it certainly does create a mnemonic for customers who might start referring to the store as "megafucks" as a joke. Considering that this might not have been the original intention of Megaflicks, it is safe to refer to its logo design as a dismal failure. The most noticeable problem with the logo is readability, which is one of the most important features of graphic design. A logo is only good insofar as the consumer or viewer can recognize it, especially if brand recognition, emotional response, and mnemonic power are the most important effects of the design. White points out that readability "refers to the adequacy of an object to attract readers," (113). The Megaflicks logo repels more than it attracts, certainly. The typeface is inappropriate for rendering the name of the store, and it is also an unpleasing image in terms of line, color, form, and other key elements of design. For example, the green color selected as the background is a forest green, which conveys outdoors more than indoors (which is where people usually watch movies). The lines in the typeface stagnate, especially at the point at which the "L" and the "I" converge. If this were a logo for a sex shop, it could be considered marginally effective for marketing purposes, but even then, it would not be a successful design overall because there is nothing singular about it. Furthermore, the use of all capitals provides "fewer visual cues than words in mixed case," which is another reason why the Megaflicks logo fails to create brand recognition, emotional power, or mnemonics. The logo is emotional for the wrong reasons (ridicule) and memorable likewise for the wrong reasons. The store becomes associated not video rentals of a different type than what the management likely expected, which cheapens the brand identity and creates negative associations for the non-porn driven consumers. Ultimately, it is helpful to learn from bad as well as good graphic design, to understand the fundamental principles of the art.

Graphic design is about meaning as much as it is about aesthetics. The content of a logo conveys its underlying meaning and message, which should ideally be congruent with the marketing messages of the company. The emotional meaning of the graphic design can be conveyed, as it is in the iPod logo, with line, form, color, and negative space. Likewise, the McDonald's golden arches conveys emotional meaning related to fast food comfort. With the Megaflicks logo, emotional content is sorely lacking in a dull, drab, and misleading graphic that suffers…