VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS

Visual communication is about achieving the right blend of verbal and image content to convey information about a product, a company, an institution, a service, a person, an idea, etc. using various types of media (paper, screen, etc.).

The visual communication section is now growing faster than ever.
It is a process which involves conveying an economic, social or informative message to a given target audience, in the form of text and/or image. It is a term that covers all possible technical processes and media: Whether it be printed, three-dimensional, animated material in multimedia or video format, etc.
Usually, visual communications is divided into the following three sectors:
Graphic design, advertising and mixed media.

GRAPHIC DESIGN

The word design draws its meaning from a combination of the notions of drawing and planning. Etymologically, it is derived from the French word "dessein" (plan or intention) and "dessin", the French word for drawing. It is a general term which designates the discipline which seeks to convey an idea, thought or intention in physical or conceptual form whilst taking certain functional, aesthetic, symbolic and economic constraints into consideration.
It is about creating, choosing, and knowing how to use signs such as typography, illustration, photography, with a view to identifying, promoting or providing information about something in the form of an advertising campaign, visual identity (logotype), poster, publication or website.

THE ART DIRECTOR

Art Director (AD or in French: DA – Directeur Artistique) is more of a status and a responsibility than a profession in the strict sense of the term. The function covers everything from creation and the design phase right through to project implementation. The term is used in many different professions. In Graphic Design or in Advertising, the Art Director is the person who "leads the way", is responsible for the project, designs the concept, chooses the media, the manner of processing, the style and who validates the proposals put forward by the graphic designers. In an agency setting, the Art Director is the person who works together with the Editorial Designer to form the main creative duo. He also acts as an important link in the chain between the client and the creative teams who are going to produce the final project. The Art Director has major responsibilities, such as managing the budget or the organization of a photo shoot, for instance.

MIXED MEDIA

Since the 1990s, multimedia has offered the possibility of communicating via other media. Mixed media [Mixmédia] defines the combination of technical and creative media which make it possible to create, distribute, consult or visually convey a message on a multimedia format. It works in several disciplines, such as graphic design, production, art direction applied to screen applications or web design, animation, etc.

PACKAGING DESIGN

The design of packaging or packing is the discipline which consists of designing, decorating and protecting the packaging of a product to give it added value. The shape of the packaging as well as the decoration of the product are generally the responsibility of designers whose job it is to ensure that it can be correctly identified in places of distribution and put to its proper use and stored correctly, for instance. It must, in virtue of its form, its signs or its colours, not only be attractive, reveal its contents and capture the attention of a specific target audience, but also provide a whole range of information.

THE ILLUSTRATOR

The term illustrator has changed a lot in recent years. Previously used to refer only to those who drew on paper, for the press, advertising or publishing, it now designates all creative people who work, using whatever technique, to illustrate a statement: Whether it be an advert, packaging, a logo, a book, an article, etc. He/she works to order, in conjunction with the Graphic Designer or Art Director. Rarely an integral part of established structures, he usually works alone but may be represented by an agent who will ensure that orders are correctly fulfilled, both in terms of subject matter and pricing.