elements of graphic design essay

Graphic Essays and Comics

Overview   |   Recommended Software   |   Student-Made Examples   |   Other Examples   |   Instructional Video

A graphic essay (sometimes called a visual essay) uses a combination of text and images to explore a specific topic. Graphic essays can look like comics, graphic novels, magazines, collages, artist books, textbooks, or even websites. Graphic essays often first take the form of written essays and then have graphic elements added to enrich the reader experience. Unlike infographics, which also combine text and images, graphic essays are often more text-based and usually have a narrative arc or specific reading order.

Comics are a genre used to express ideas through images combined with text or other visual information. Comics can take the form of a single panel or a series of juxtaposed panels of images, sometimes called a strip. Text is conveyed via captions below the panel(s), or speech bubbles and onomatopoeias within the panel(s), to indicate dialogue, narration, sound effects, or other information. Graphic novels are often considered to be a longer form of comics, typically in book form.

A web-based graphic essay can take the form of a blog or a single page website, such as a Microsoft Sway page or an interactive Prezi. For Microsoft Sway and Prezi graphic essays, see the examples below. If you are creating a blog we recommend visiting the Web-Based Projects page .

Graphic Essay Design Tip: Graphic essays can take many forms, so we recommend being creative within the scope of your project! Get some help from DesignLab to brainstorm options and talk through the various tools available!

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Recommended Software

There are many different software programs that can be used to create graphic essays. Below is a list of the software that we recommend for making a graphic essay. We organized the software by category and put the software from top to bottom from best to worst. We recommend using a software you know well or learning the software well enough to establish an easy workflow, so you can spend less time troubleshooting and spend more time on your project. Check out our Software Support page for links to tutorials for all of these programs.

General Graphic Essay Software

Web-Based Graphic Essay Software

Comic-Specific Graphic Essay Software

Student-Made Examples

Print style graphic essay.

Becoming a Witness by Jessica Posnock

Creative Graphic Essay

Virtual Communication by Max Hautala   *Award Winning*

Curb Magazine (2012) by Journalism 417

Web-Based (Magazine) Graphic Essay

Curb Magazine (Current) by Journalism 417

Web-Based (Sway) Graphic Essay

Language Influences Culture, Thoughts, and Identity by Kristen Luckow   *Award Winning*

Dyslexia by Maria Swanke *Award Winning*

Other Examples

Web-based (blog) graphic essay.

Switch It Up: Graphic Essay by Amanda Zieba

Graphic Novel

Graphic Novels in the Classroom by Gene Yang

Instructional Video

Elements of Design: Spotlight on Color

Color, like line, shape, texture, and the other elements of art and design, communicates meaning and creates visually compelling experiences. Here’s how.

Take a moment to think about your favorite color. Close your eyes and let it fill your mind. Why is it your favorite? Does it invoke a specific memory or item of significance? Does it call to mind a feeling or mood that resonates with you?

Color is one of several components of visual art and design known collectively as the elements of art and design . These elements vary from context to context but are generally accepted to include shape, value, space, form, line, texture, and color. Each of the elements  can be combined with the others to communicate meaning and create visually compelling experiences. While most of the individual elements must be combined into complex relationships to impact a viewer, color is has the potential to communicate independently of the others.

Color, for example, has the power to stir up feelings that are both personal and shared. In this way, color is perhaps the most accessible element of visual language. Without any experience analyzing visual works, most viewers can appreciate the way color impacts the reading or experience of an image or object. Color is seemingly self-evident and uncomplicated, yet color theory and its depths have enraptured philosophers , artists , and scholars alike for centuries .

Color theory may be familiar to many readers through popular color psychology, which influences Western culture, from social media trends to government institutions . Popular color psychology is so pervasive that it’s often satirized . But pop color systems ultimately have very little impact on the interpretation of color in visual works beyond how popular color psychology has itself created cultural associations with certain colors (e.g., red signifies passion and purple projects power).

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While the jury is still out on fixed psychological color relationships, cultural significance of colors and the visual relationship between colors outside of cultural meaning do have very clear implications on how viewers perceive visual works. This is as true of incidental color in documentary or archival visual material as it is true of artistic works and other intentional uses of color. Take, for example, the following image. The content, a city street, can be read easily in black and white. Yet when color is restored, details flourish. The separation between the red roof and blueish church spires becomes clear. The textural difference between the trees and shingles becomes distinct. The pale yellow that fills the sky and kisses the buildings’ edges fills the frame with a sense of rising sunlight that is illegible without color.

Color provides visual information here, enriching our understanding of the image’s content and perhaps calling to mind symbolic associations with key colors that are included. While color theory can become endlessly complex and often philosophical, anyone interested in visual exploration can begin to approach color on a handful of key levels:

1. Color can have visual impact beyond cultural associations.

While general agreement about color organization and classification was in flux for a large part of modern history , it is now generally understood that there are three primary, or foundational colors: red, yellow, and blue. From these are derived secondary colors—orange, green, and violet—tertiary colors, and so on. Different combinations of such colors are used to produce visual harmony or contrast, independent of any meaning applied to specific colors. When set against one another, complimentary colors—color pairs like red and green or violet and yellow—create a jarring effect, replete with contrast.

Color can also indicate universally understood relationships, like time of day or fixed color associations that are widely recognized across cultures. Often, spatial relationships can emphasize or clarify these color associations. This makes it possible for viewers, regardless of experience or background, to quickly recognize otherwise abstract images like a blue rectangle above a green one as scenes like a sky and grass or water meeting at a horizon.

2. Color can reinforce or clarify understanding.

Beyond adding a layer of visual interest, color often serves to reinforce viewers’ understanding of an image. Color echoes, and even sometimes exaggerates, what can already be read a scene’s figures and forms through both color relationships and culturally recognizable color associations.

Color can also clarify the way an image is read and understood, just as the addition of green to an image would distinguish a grassy landscape from a snowy one. Ambiguity in an image is often resolved and questions are answered with the application of color. In the image below, color declares that this is an image of fecundity amid volcanic activity, rather than an image of destruction. Here, color also adds identifying detail to abstracted plant and animal forms, identifying birds like the Hawaiian honeycreeper and O’u through distinctive coloring.

3. Color can be symbolic.

On a basic level, symbolic colors can be created when a color is chosen and declared to have a particular meaning or association, like colors on a nation’s flag or the colors worn by a sports team. These can have a direct meaning that is widely recognized. For example, red, white, and blue are associated with the United States of America, and while various meanings have been ascribed to the three colors over time, the colors’ combined association with the United States holds significance in itself.

When this American war effort recruitment poster was created, the red background, white nurses cap, and blue dress would have undoubtedly been chosen to mimic the colors of the American flag. The cuffs that cut across the image emphasize the relationship between national service, shared sacrifice, and patriotic duty.

At a more complex level, color can also be imbued with symbolic meaning over time within, or even across, cultures. Red brings to mind immediate and powerful symbolic associations in most cultures. While these are often flattened into overly simplified one-to-one relationships—red equals alert, passion, luck, love, risk—even one color in a single image can have nuanced symbolic connections, and these can vary from viewer to viewer, even in the same cultural context. A red health information poster could communicate a complex mix of danger and warning but also the promise of aid (e.g., the Red Cross), depending on the viewer’s experience and context. The red jacket of a pirate could suggest daring and bravery but also violence, depending on the pirate tales the viewer is familiar with. Red, in combination with other culturally significant symbols like flowers, could convey anything from respect and admiration to enduring love.

Check back in a March for a column about symbols.

ON-YOUR-OWN EXERCISE

Consider the following image. Take a moment to examine color and how it impacts how you view this illustration. Is the use of color symbolic, culturally significant, or even compelling in itself? Without knowing the story behind the image, what can you infer about the relationship and nature of the two figures based on the colors used? What can you infer about their environment? What would be missing if the color faded to black and white?

JSTOR further reading:

“He” Had Me at Blue: Color Theory and Visual Art by Barbara L. Miller  A Critical Account of Some of Josef Albers’ Concepts of Color by Alan Lee  Color Theory and the Perception of Art by Peter John Brownlee  GOETHE’S THEORY OF COLORS  by WM. T. Harris Red, Yellow and Blue: The Historical Origin of Color Systems by David Burton  Weaving the Rainbow: Visions of Color in World History by Robert Finlay

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The Overview of Themes and Standards in Graphic Design Essay

Rationale statement.

Graphics involves presentation of ideas on a surface in a traditional or digital format. In either the case, the presentation must meet the requirements of the audience. This essay investigates the importance of the audience in graphics work and the strategies of ensuring that the work meets the expectations of the audience.

This essay therefore emphasis on themes and standards. For graphic designers to produce quality work training is an important aspect and on this issue, the essay will look at the essential facilities required in a graphic school as well as their characteristics and qualities for them to meet the requirements of the audience.

The main objective of any work of graphic is to make a presentation that is visible on some form of surface. For the designer to meet his or her goal there must be an audience and the only way to capture the attention of the audience is to make a representation that reflects their expectation. One of the factors for consideration is the issue of themes. In any work of art, a theme will represent the moral lesson or teachings from that work of art.

Therefore, a theme is supposed to teach or pass a certain message to the audience. The message could be a warning, comment, or encouragement. As stated by Weverker (2006), “the audience judges your presentation right away from the first slide it sees.” It is therefore important to make a graphical presentation that is in line with what the audience expects. Weverker (2006) continues to say, “When you fashion a look for your presentation, what you are really doing is declaring what you want to communicate with your audience.

A theme is a very important part of any graphical presentation in fact a theme can be looked at as a presentation overall design. In a theme, one is able to present preset colors, the graphic front, and all other important elements of design. In the presentation theme, In the presentation theme, there is use of colors on the background of the presentation, title, body text, accents and language styles and on text formats.

There are two different types of themes used in a presentation, the first type is on titles and headings, and the second type is in the body text. When using graphics it is always important to note that graphics present or communicate information in situations where there is no use of words.

The next point to consider is the audience and in this case, the presenter should consider their occupation, culture, education, and experience. The third point to consider is the passing of the message, which is important in determining the type of graphic. The fourth point for consideration is the size of the graphic.

In any work where presentation and audience are key factors then there must be some set standards. The graphic design standards we have today are because of many written and verbal exchanges that have taken place in the past. “Graphic standards are documented guidelines that explain the methodology behind the design” (Jacko & Sears, 2003).

The main purpose of graphic standards is to provide some form of guidelines in the graphic industry to the incoming and practicing members. These standards help to enhance efficiency and accuracy in the communication of a graphic.

For any graphic to meet its objective then it should be able to communicate the intended message to the audience and this can only be possible if it is of the right standard. These standards however are not constant and are subject of constant revisions. The revision of the standards bases on the fact that most scenes are different.

In a graphic design, school facilities and equipments are very important because they play a role in learning and practice by the students. A typical graphic school will have both the traditional and modern facilities and technology to encourage creativity on a wider scope.

One of the most common facilities found in such school is the graphic lab, which the students use for practical lessons. They are also useful in giving the students a chance to practice on how to do their presentation especially on matters relating to how to meet the expectations of the audience.

The other important facility is a studio, where design of a studio of a modern school is in a way that each student has an individual desk with an internet-connected computer. For a graduate school the studio gets natural light and it will have sufficient storage facilities for the students.

A Mac Lab is also another important facility that is available in a graphic school. This facility help to create digital images and perform other print-based duties such as printing, drawing, photograph manipulation, painting, type design and motion graphics. A modern Mac Lab should be equipped with Macintosh working station with connection to high-speed internet, high-resolution printers, scanners, DVD and CD burners, and digital video cameras.

A photo lab is also an important facility in a graphic school, where this facility falls under the category of traditional graphic facilities. The main equipments found in this lab will include dark rooms, film recorders, printing bays, a copy room, and a film-processing studio. In this lab, the students can process digital images into slides and develop negatives. The students can also practice the use and handling of various cameras.

A design school will not be complete without a media and print lab, which is a unique facility since it supports both the digital and traditional graphic process. The print lab is used in the production of multiples through etching, silk-screening, or letterpress and the lab will contain equipments such as tables, exposure units, paper cutters, and presses.

In a graphic classroom, space and storage facilities are very important requirements. For a graphic school to function effectively then it is important that the authorities ensure that the school has sufficient working space and storage facilities.

The storage facilities should take care of all storage needs of the students as well as cater for both the digital and the traditional graphics. For the digital graphics, the students will require DVDs, CDs, flash disks and computers with a good memory on the other hand the traditional graphics will require storage equipments such as shelves, boxes, tapes.

The graphic should also have working space that can accommodate the working needs of all the students and the space should be such that each student can have enough working space. As stated by Kowalski (2002) the school should have working facilities that ensure that each student can display his or her work well.

Graphic design has been one of the most under-paid and underestimated career in the today’s world. However, design is a very important field, which has great influences in our lives. Design will actually have a great influence on our intelligence, beauty perception and our emotion and can therefore influence everything that affects our lives.

With all this significance, people will always seem to assume it even if Graphic design is not an easy profession as people will tend to think and therefore any student wishing to follow this career path should be prepared to face all that it takes to be a graphic designer. However, this is not as difficult as a beginner may think that the students only need to learn how to put the ideas in their minds on paper.

Graphic students will however have unique characteristics, where a good design student will be the kind of students who aim for excellence at all times. Design is not an essay course, and therefore a student should be prepared to work hard. The student should also carry out personal and group assignments with ease. Secondly, the student should be able to carry out presentations. The student should therefore have a good knowledge on the audience.

Thirdly, a good student should have artistic values such as good vocal abilities, sense of humor, and creativity. This is important since design will be concerned with thinking about a product or work of art. Fourthly, a design student should be the kind who values reading and research, which is necessary since this field keeps on evolving. Finally, a good student should be self-driven and self motivated.

The community will form a good recourse for graphic designer. From the communities cultures a designer can get new ideas on graphics. The community also judges our work as designers through their criticism, comments, and advice designers can make improvements on their work. Designers also have their role to play in the community just like other professionals and their performance should effective.

Jacko, J., & Sears, A. (2003). The human-computer interaction handbook: fundamentals, evolving technologies, and emerging applications . New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associate, Inc.

Kowalski, T. (2002). Planning and managing school facilities . Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Weverka, P. (2006) Office 2007 all-in-one desk reference for dummies . New Jersey: Wiley Publishing, Inc.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2024, January 18). The Overview of Themes and Standards in Graphic Design. https://ivypanda.com/essays/graphics/

"The Overview of Themes and Standards in Graphic Design." IvyPanda , 18 Jan. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/graphics/.

IvyPanda . (2024) 'The Overview of Themes and Standards in Graphic Design'. 18 January.

IvyPanda . 2024. "The Overview of Themes and Standards in Graphic Design." January 18, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/graphics/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Overview of Themes and Standards in Graphic Design." January 18, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/graphics/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Overview of Themes and Standards in Graphic Design." January 18, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/graphics/.

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Learn How to Write a Visual Analysis Essay: An Ultimate Guide for Beginners

A visual analysis essay is not your typical everyday task, but students taking art history and communication will have to write it in their academic journey. For example, you may be asked to analyze an advertisement, painting, or photograph. How do you decipher hidden messages, cultural nuances, or symbolisms within visual media??

Whether you’ve handled a visual analysis essay before or not, this post will give you fresh and helpful ideas to help you write a winning visual analysis essay. It can seem hard at first, but following the right technique will help you complete it quickly and efficiently. Read on to learn how to write a visual analysis.

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What is a Visual Analysis Essay?

A visual analysis essay is a type of academic writing in which the writer analyses and interprets visual elements in a piece of visual art, such as a sculpture, image, painting, or other visual objects. The essay goes beyond a mere description of the subject to explore the artistic choices of the creator and the effects of the choices on the audience.

The primary goal of a visual analysis essay is to help the reader understand the elements, techniques, and context of the artwork under study. Here’s a detailed list of the purposes of the visual analysis essays:

• To critically analyze artwork or any visual work.
• To discuss the elements of visual display in detail.
• To unfold interesting facts about the artists and art
• Assess the effectiveness of the art/image in current times
• Explain the historical relevance and meaning
• Evaluate existing literature on the subject

To achieve the goals above, students must incorporate different principles and elements of visual analysis. Also, the language used should be clear, descriptive, and simple.

Elements of Visual Analysis Essay

You can’t write a visual analysis essay without mentioning the visual elements of the subject under review. Below are common elements to consider when writing a visual analysis essay:

• Composition — Composition refers to what the main figure is, what the other figures are, how they are placed, and what is missing. Composition is a mandatory element to consider in a visual analysis.
• Elements of design — Usually, artists incorporate various elements of design in their work, such as different sizes, colors, lines, shapes, and other design features.
• Focal point — To write a visual analysis paper, you need to know what the artists used to grab the audience’s attention. To know the focal point, you must understand the main goal of the piece.
• Color — Describe the colors used and how they affect the tone and mood of the art.
• Lines — Consider the actual lines used in the object and how they help grab the audience’s attention towards parts of the art.
• Texture — This is the smoothness or roughness of the object. Consider if it’s real in two-dimensional or three–dimensional art.
• Value — In art education, value refers to how and why the artist has used light and dark aspects in specific parts of their work.
• Shape — What shapes are in the image, and what do they represent ?
• Form — It refers to how the shadows and lights in a piece of art are used to create illusions and colors.
• Size — This is about the overall size of the image. Artists choose a particular size so that you can see what they want you to see better.
• Symbolic elements — If the art represents a certain art history or carries a symbolic meaning, you will need to find it and tell the reader what it means.

Principles of Design in Visual Analysis Essays

To write a winning visual analysis essay, you must also consider the principles of design. The principles help you to identify and explain various aspects of the visual display.

• Balance — Balance is the distribution of visual elements in the art. Consider if the elements have symmetrical, radial, or asymmetrical balance.
• Emphasis — It refers to what draws immediate attention when the audience looks at the art.
• Movement — This refers to the use of objects or symbols repeatedly in a visual display. 
• Pattern — Here, explain the colors of the image and how they affect the art. Discuss if they are dark or light and their impact on the mood.
• Proportion — This principle refers to the realistic relationship between objects in the visual and their comparative link to the art.
• Variety — How has the artist used different elements to influence the audience’s perception of the picture? Explain how different features create a certain mood or meaning.
• Contrast — It refers to opposing elements in the visual. Describe them and tell how they affect the quality of the picture.
• Hierarchy — Hierarchy refers to how people viewing the object can process it to different degrees. The hierarchy depends on color, size, and other elements in the images under review.
• Rhythm — This principle refers to the use of spaces between repetitive elements.  
• Layout — Layout is the way objects and symbols are placed in the piece of art. Explain it in detail.

How to Write a Stellar Visual Analysis Essay Step by Step

Collect all the information you can.

Before you start writing your visual analysis essay, you need to know what the artwork is about and who created it. This step involves collecting as much useful data as you can for your visual analysis. Questions to consider when gathering information for visual analysis essays include:

• What does the artwork represent?
• Who created the piece?
• When and where was the visual work created
• Who was the intended audience?
• Where was the art displayed for the first time?
• What elements are used?

This first step is the most time-consuming and confusing for many students, taking anywhere from several hours to many days. Yet, missing crucial details can lead to a poor paper that won’t impress your readers. If you don’t know where to begin your research or have trouble crafting a high-quality visual analysis paper, just get high-quality essay writing help with a few clicks typing “ write my essay online ” into the search bar. You can find the most-suitable service, like CustomWritings, which will take care of everything for you and help you complete your paper on time. Visit the site to receive all necessary information and talk to an expert who will help you with your assignment.

Describe the object or subject

In the next step, you need to identify what the art depicts. You must summarize all the elements you can observe in the piece. To know the essential elements to search for, ask yourself these questions:

• What does it show?
• What story is the artist trying to tell?
• What characters are in the artwork, and what do they stand for?
• What’s the primary setting?
• What mood does it give off?

Perform detailed analysis of visual elements

Next, you will need to consider the design elements and principles discussed above and perform a detailed analysis of each. This step is another time-consuming part of writing a formal visual analysis essay. You may want to check with a professional essay writer before completing this step to speed up the process. Remember, each visual element is unique and can be interpreted differently by different people. So, don’t copy someone else’s analysis.

Develop a thesis statement

Visual analysis essays typically have a thesis statement that represents the main ideas or interpretation you’ll convey in the essay. Ensure you write a thesis for a visual analysis paper that aligns with what you have observed and analyzed in the previous steps. The elements and principles you pick must support your thesis.

Create an outline

There are many aspects to be discussed in a visual analysis essay. The best way to order them is to follow a five-paragraph format for each discussion. A winning essay should contain the following sections:

• Introduction . This is where you provide background information about the piece and the creator. Include interesting facts that will hook your reader, and highlight the main elements and principles you want to analyze. You will end the paragraph with a thesis statement.   
• The main body . The body section can have 3 or more paragraphs that explore the artwork in detail. Choose the most significant elements you find during your research and discuss how they support your thesis statement. Present all details logically and explain how they relate to each other. Also, add your opinion about the visual argument made by the artist.
• Conclusion . In the last section, mention the key points that strengthen your thesis. Also, reflect on the overall impact of the piece. This section must be well-done and not too short or too long.

Write the essay draft

Follow your outline to write a good essay. When writing the draft, focus on the substance instead of wanting to produce a specific style. Review the first draft by identifying weak points and addressing them to create a high-quality paper.

Visual analysis papers must follow citation guidelines used in academic writing. Include citations of any external sources used in the text. Ensure you follow the correct citation style specific to the assignment guidelines e.g., APA or MLA.

Proofread and edit your essay

Once you’re done writing your essay, proofread and edit it for clarity, coherence, and logical flow. Revise it many times to make sure it is error-free. Also, delete any irrelevant details and confirm that you have cited all sources correctly. If you’re not proficient with editing, you can get fresh eyes from a friend or professional editor.

Things to Keep in Mind When Writing a Visual Analysis Essay

Do not make general claims.

Your visual analysis essay can be subject to criticism from the audience, so don’t make your claims sound like the gospel truth. Another student can have a different visual rhetorical analysis in their essay that also stands. The most important thing is to employ observable elements and principles to justify your claims and strengthen them with secondary sources.  

Avoid using excess information

If your goal is to use the elements and principles to cover the word count, it will be hard to prove the main idea. Choose only the strong features that will help you to drive the point home. Excess information can mislead or confuse the reader.

Select a good topic

The topic is the first thing a reader sees, so make it catchy. A good topic is concise, clear, and informative. You don’t have to get the topic right the first time. Edit it as you proceed with writing until you have an engaging and interesting topic.

Write a catchy introduction

A catchy introduction will hook your readers and make them want to read more of your essay. You can hook your readers using interesting hooks, such as a question, statistic, quote, interesting statement, or metaphor.

Employ a strong visual argument

The way you write your visual analysis essay should leave the reader visualizing the image you’re discussing without seeing it. Use words that bring out strong visual imagery because it adds to the reliability and authenticity of your paper.

Understand the central point of your essay

You must identify and describe the focal point of your piece. Identifying the main idea helps you to understand the meaning of the art and the overall conclusion. Also, your interpretation should convey the correct message you want the reader to know.

Follow instructions

To write a successful visual analysis paper , you must follow the instructor’s guidelines. This includes selecting the recommended visual work, following the required essay structure, applying the correct citation format, and adhering to the recommended word count.

Sample Visual Analysis Essay Topics

• Analyze the symbolism and religious themes in Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling.
• Analyze the visual storytelling and cinematography in a memorable film scene from a classic movie.
• What was Pablo’s intention in “Guernica”?
• Generate a written report on social class shown through art.
• What is special about Cleo Award-winning ads?
• Review your favorite movie and analyze the visual arts in it.
• Examine the use of space and perspective in M.C. Escher’s “Relativity.”
• Discuss the controversy surrounding the Monalisa painting
• Impact of ‘“The Last Supper” on religious imagery
• Who was the audience of “The Night Watch”?

Wrapping Up

Writing a visual analysis essay can be intimidating. However, you now have all the information you need to create an outstanding visual analysis essay. Use our guide to successfully create a paper that appreciates the depth of various forms of art.

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About this sample

Words: 761 |

Published: Jan 29, 2024

Words: 761 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Importance of graphic design, the role of graphic designers in creative industries, social impact of graphic design, technological advancements and the changing role of graphic designers.

• Smith, B. (2018). Graphic Design Matters: How Good Graphic Design Can Benefit Your Business [Blog post]. Bixa Media. Retrieved from https://www.bixamedia.com/graphic-design-matters-how-good-graphic-design-can-benefit-your-business/
• Sun, B., & Reny, T. T. (2018). The Role of Graphic Design in Brand Building [Journal article]. Arts and Social Sciences Journal, 9(2). Retrieved from https://www.longdom.org/open-access/the-role-of-graphic-design-in-brand-building.pdf
• Valentino, A. (2017). The Evolution of Graphic Design: How Technology Has Changed the Design Industry [Blog post]. The Creative Group. Retrieved from https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/creative-and-marketing-blog/the-evolution-of-graphic-design-how-technology-has-changed-the-design-industry

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Assigning a Graphic Essay as an Essay Alternative

One of my favorite ways to assess my students’ essay-writing skills without actually assigning a traditional essay is with the graphic essay . A graphic essay is an excellent essay alternative for the middle school ELA or high school English classroom.

A graphic essay is a graphic representation that contains all of the essential essay elements. It combines writing, visual elements, and design. When assigning a graphic essay, you can have students include any particular aspect from the essay that you want.

Getting Started

The first step to completing a graphic essay project in your classroom is to have a clear idea of the skills and content you want to assess. For example, if you are working on an argument and persuasive unit, are you looking to assess a counterargument? If you are working on an informative piece, are you looking for explanatory evidence?

Once you know what you want to assess, start mapping out the student requirements. I’m pretty old-school when it comes to things and prefer to draft out my notes with paper and pencil. When I do this, I make a list of all of the elements that I want my students to include. For a recent project, I wanted them to include a variety of features: introduction, big ideas with supporting evidence, counter argument, quick facts, visual data representation, and a Works Cited page.

Work Before Design

Once you have your graphic essay outlined, it is time to assign it to the students. However, and I cannot stress this enough, you don’t want them to focus on the visual and graphic elements first. That is just a hot mess waiting to happen. You know how it will go. Some students will spend the entire class period deciding between a blue or green spot color design element. By the time the class period ends, they’ll have a lovely purple box on their graphic essay, but that will probably all they have accomplished—one box.

Instead, try this. Have your students work on a brainstorming organizer first. You’ll want them to brainstorm, write, and curate all of the content for the graphic essay before they start the design process. When I complete this project in my classroom, I have them draft everything, find all of the images they want to include, and submit that work for a grade before they even start the design process.

Students either love or hate the graphic design process of this alternative essay project, and that is to be expected. When we get to the design process of this project, I try to give my students several different options for creating the final project that matches different graphic design comfort levels. A few of my students usually want to use Adobe Photoshop and design everything from scratch, a few need extra guidance working in a Google Slide, and the majority are excited to try a new online platform. Please note, this is not an ad. These websites did not pay to be included in this post.

One thing that I cannot emphasize enough for this type of project is that I grade content and not design. Let me repeat that: I assess the content of the work and not the quality of the design.

Here’s a look at some of the different platforms I suggest my students use to create their graphic essay. This list is in order from easiest to most advanced.

1. Google Docs – Most students are already familiar with Google Docs. Using the draw tool, students can create images, place text, and color to their Google Docs. For my students who need the most assistance with the design process, I have them use my initial template (which I created using the draw tool in Google Docs) and a plug and play template.

2. Google Slides – Some students might prefer Google Slides over Google Docs because they might feel like they have more freedom. Using Google Slides, students can change the dimensions of each slide to 8.5×11 inches (or larger), and use the textbox tool, shape tool, and other design tools to create the graphic essay.

3. Canva.com – I love Canva because it provides students with different design templates and elements. While there is a paid version, I tell all of my students to use the free option. Using Canva, students can select a flier because that is preset to 8.5×11 inch dimensions. Once students are in Canva, there are a ton of free design tools. Students can choose from a variety of options, including preset text designs, frames, shapes, data (which is excellent for inserting bar graphs and pie charts), and pictures. Students can even upload their own images to the site as well!

4. Adobe Spark – Adobe Spark is another great online tool for students to create graphic essays and other multimedia presentations. Students can choose a custom size to create an 8.5×11 inch poster, and Adobe Spark also has premade text elements and templates to choose from.

5. Piktochart.com – Personally, I like Piktochart more for having students create infographics instead of graphic essays, but Piktochart still works. Students can the custom size or letter size to create their graphic. Piktochart has more advanced design features, and one unique design feature is that students can design their project in blocks. Similar to Canva and Adobe Spark, students can also upload their own images to their creation.

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Sharing the File

Once students finish creating their graphic essays, I like to have them upload their creations to one location so that all of my students can see the work that everyone created. My favorite site for this is Padlet. If you haven’t used Padlet before, it is like an online corkboard. Students can post their designs to your class’s board. Students can also comment on other students’ work if you want to add a gallery walk element to this project.

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Turning an Essay into an Infographic

 Remediation can be surprising

Remediation is the process of presenting material from one form in another form, such as recording a podcast that narrates the ideas and information from a photo. 

There are infinite ways that remediation can transform one work into another, so for the purposes of clarity, this resource will focus on turning a written text-based essay into a audio-visual product of an infographic.  

Before you jump into creating a new infographic form of your written essay, you need to make plans.  These plans should start with an understanding of what you are being asked to create using what you already have. 

Here are a few questions to consider:

• What were the main ideas of your essay?  What will they be for your infographic?
• How did the written format help you to express your ideas?  How will the infographic help you?
• How did the written format challenge the expression of your ideas?  How will the infographic format challenge you?
• What thoughts and feelings did you intend your writing to elicit from your readers?  What thoughts and feelings do you want to elicit from your viewers?

A picture is worth a thousand words...

Visual Literacy  

As you work to answer the above questions, you may find yourself wondering how to express your written ideas in a visual format.  Explore the resources linked on our Visual Literacy support page .

Here are some important parts of the Design stage:

• Outlining - Creating an outline of the topics and ideas that you want to express in your infographic.  
• Read about outlining your infographic (Venngage)  
• Designing your infographic - Steps 1-4 of the website linked below by infographic maker Venngage details the design process and offers many examples
• How to make an infographic in 5 steps (Venngage)
• Venngage infographic maker

The design process also includes bringing in materials from other sources.  The internet provides access to millions of images, icons, and other resources for your infographic.  Depending on your assignment requirements, you may be allowed or required to use these materials.  Knowing where to find them, as well as the legal and ethical guidelines to using them is vital.  

Learn about copyright, licensing, and usage of other creators' works.

The creation process for your infographic can start like the above image with a pencil to paper.  It can also start at one of the software apps or websites that you can use to create an infographic.  Your software tool can be as simple as PowerPoint or as advanced as Adobe InDesign.  You can start with a blank canvas or use one of the many templates available from the web.  

Keep the Digital Media Suite's resources and tutoring services in mind as you are creating your infographic.  We are available to provide support with the Adobe Creative Cloud suite of programs, as well as offer advice and support as you design and create.

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