The State Of Graphic Design In Jordan

Jordan's unique geographical position results in its experts choosing self development, which include graphic design. Experts may also be involved with developments taking place in neighbouring countries and the internet was extremely useful in putting interested parties in these two fields touching each other and sharing possible development tools. The development of GRAPHICAL DESIGN is also assisted by annual exhibitions and specialised conferences held both in Jordan and outside the Arab world.

The academic and professional specialists for the basis in developing graphical design through the formation of local learning institutions. In these institutions academics, programmers and graphical design teachers can talk with professional designers and discuss just how business is continue and requirements of the labour market.

Practical training is definitely the foundation of Graphic Design, upon which the academic skill of the student and his creativity are built. Working in a design office is known as to be the most crucial and effective tool in measuring the amount of academic learning. In addition, it gives an indication of the potency of teachers in producing a generation of students with the capacity of coping with the academic ethos and engaging with the requirements of the profession. This training supplies the students with opportunities to polish and develop their skills by working with established practitioners. Today's graphical design tools rely on information technology for producing visualisations of scientific developments. This visualisation requires an understanding of the scientific theory and the visualisation tools available, which in turn depends on the expertise of graphic artists.

In this paper I will focus on the profession of graphical design and its own development by discussing its early development. I'll review the positive and negative areas of that development and how they linked to changes in the market and the size of the market and labour force. I'll also discuss the academic concepts, and the requirement for graduate graphic artists.

In this paper I draw from my connection with employed in Jordan since 1987 at the MIDAS Establishment and my roles in student training at Yarmouk University and the Applied Sciences University, which I had been mounted on since 1999. This paper addresses many questions and aims to explore the mechanics of enhancing graphical design in the academic and professional sectors.

The historic and technical initial stages of graphical design in Jordan

Graphic design developed alongside the printing and information technology industries. Printing was taken to Jordan in the 1940s by individuals who had learnt the trade in other countries. Jordan's printing evolution was much like that of other countries. Printing started using wooden moulds, then zinc clich�s and letterpress, as well as other printing tools, symbols and shapes. It had been the printing technology that restricted the scope for producing new designs. The number of items printed was limited to newspapers, cards and stationary. Printing started mainly in monochrome, and was then developed to create photo made clich�s by which the printers were able to print in full colour. Typolography, or raised printing was the primary method and continues to be used today. Offset printing enhanced the caliber of production, providing improvements in colour and picture reproduction. Round the same time the role of the graphic designer was developed, involving the preparation of makettes and film montage and plates to be ready for printing (prepress); this relied on the professionalism of the film montage technician for the preparation of backgrounds for the pictures and words. Prepress was considered the main process in the production of the ultimate printed article. This process was carried out at the prepress service centre which was limited to a single institution until 1987. This centre had the ability and technology to execute a variety of techniques where an artistic touch was required.

In the late sixties, design pioneers weren't graphic designers, but had learnt the technologies of collage and calligraphy. They were able to imitate designs from abroad and occasionally reproduced them. Their work initially ranged from greetings cards, business cards, social stationary, letterheads and envelopes, then progressed to brochures and folders. The work was mainly limited to newspaper advertising which relied predominantly on the offset printing method. We shouldn't forget the air brush technology that provided designers by using graded colours, achieving 3d effects for some designs, although the amount of people using this was limited.

From 1980-87 design was performed by specialists in Plastic Arts and Architecture, along with the first graduates of the faculty of arts at Yarmuok University and similar institutions. By the finish of the eighties, the computer Linotype was used as a publishing tool by newspapers to get ready text for layout and paste it on the mandatory pages close to advertising. Some publishing houses have graphic design offices which also acquired these systems to guarantee the production of books and magazines to a similar quality. Linotype was also used to prepare the look of brochures and advertising materials that can't be hand drawn. As time passes Linotype was also used for the preparation of other material by this technique, including handmade cards, posters and advertisements.

The look and printing sectors found the computer to be a good way of improving productivity. In 1988 with the arrival of the initial design computer by Apple Macintosh, the amounts of workers in the field increased and performance progressed in the pre-printing stages such as film making and separation. However, the trouble of computers meant that there use was still limited. The production of computers by competitors of Apple Macintosh along with the ease with which film can be processed through its programs, created an enormous increase in the amount of professionals interested in graphical design. This became evident by the growth in the amount of agencies, design offices, publishing houses and service centres.

Personal computers affected the technical and artistic areas of production. Some production centres could actually develop their skill base and by recruiting experienced designers and developing them by organising training courses. These highly trained individuals achieved high standards of work within and outside Jordan and could actually compete with others in the Arab regions and captured a share of the markets, producing many publications. Jordanian specialists became serious competitors against other Arab countries which had previously monopolised the fields of design and printing. Jordan has developed in order that it can meet up with the demand for design and printing within the united states. Jordan has become a magnet for many publishing houses in the Arab region. Many production and publishing organisations could actually catch around the levels of the latest technology. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that they'll develop further, using modern production tools, which will ensure you can find enough local specialists who can continue steadily to produce work of the best quality.

The pace of technological development made it necessary for the academic institutions to provide the Jordanian market with the skilled workers who is able to work to the high standards required. These institutions have to continually adapt to the advancing technology and support the academics within their quest to enhance the artistic, scientific and technological aspects of production and publishing. Relationships must be strengthened by co-operation between business leaders and academic institutions in order to provide the mutual benefit of improve standards, with the ultimate aim of keeping up with both local and international developments.

The easiest way to judge the standard of design and printing in a country is through the newspapers, magazines and books published. Television also offers a showcase for visual communication through locally produced advertisements. The speed of printing development has made impositions on graphical design and the designers themselves. Designers need to continuously update their training to keep up to date with new technology. This enables them to be at the forefront of improving quality and creativity in all respects of production.

The advantages and disadvantages of sectors allied with graphical design

When discussing the organisations involved in design and production in Jordan you can easily become overwhelmed by the variety and abundance of these. These organisations saturate the marketplace. One of the reasons for the amount of organisations is the selection of production formats, each of which has its own structure. Computerisation has result in many operators being made unemployed.

Production sources can be divided into;

- Design

- Commercial printing

- Publishing houses

- Pre-press services centres

- Computer software training centres

They are the organisations where people often look for graphic designers, although a lot of them do not have academically trained staff who specialise in graphic design. Many of the people who own these organisations have chosen to specialise. A number of them specialised because the profession does not need a large capital outlay, others specialised since they had a knowledge of the various tools used. Most may actually have specialised because this gives them with status within their community.

Although there are lots of organisations working in graphic design, the workers and owners in these establishments often lack knowing of the professional graphic design concepts as they have not studied the subject comprehensive. Occupations for graduates only began to develop after 2000 when some organisations recognised the need for such skilled workers and academic institutions were able to produce professionals of the standard. The impression of graphical design graduates has changed so companies are no longer choosing graduates who studied abroad. Design establishments have noticed the high quality of products which trained graduates can produce with their competence and skills, and their capability to use the full selection of design and printing equipment. Without this properly structured training curriculum, experience have been gained through hap-hazard on the job training.

One of the weaknesses of these producing the designs is they are not always confident about how exactly to use the latest techniques. They often times ask advice and prefer to work of their comfort zones, failing woefully to produce designs that would demand a great deal of time, effort or care. Graduates are much more comfortable with change and willing to develop new skills. There are some professionals, however, who've been invaluable in the development of graphical design by training others and developing their very own technical and professional skills. These people also have monitored the pace of development in the fields of printing and graphic design.

A lot of the professionals established themselves thorough the high quality of the work they produce. This is simply not possible without a capable, aware and educated body of co-workers, who've scientific knowledge and are creative rather than imitating the task of others.

The increasing gap between academic designers and employers, or art directors and creative managers is often due to misunderstanding the role of graphic artists. In industry, the priority of some designers or agency owners is profitability whatever the quality of the results.

The initial problem is that a number of the art directors or creative managers are not aware of the importance of their position, and often the employer is equally ignorant of the. Job titles tend to be arbitrary so artistic or creative managers frequently lack experience and expertise.

There is an absence of a common language between academic designers and managers or employers. This often frustrates designers, creating insecurity and hindering creativity. This environment can be an try to reduce a designers` status and restricts him from participating in the creative thinking he would have been taught and university.

Adequacy of the professional reality

Graphic artists are distinguished from other fields when you are one of the creative professions; they use information technology and visual communication. It also involves dealing with the business world, where credibility and ability are necessary to attain the creative work. Qualifications and talent are crucial for this.

A graphic designer isn't only an artist but additionally a technician who is able to use software and techniques to tackle the project in hand. His approach should go beyond communication with the audience, to effective promotion and display. His aim would be to produce clarity and he should be able to do this from the information using the techniques available to him. The goal is to connect the info and to carry out this must understand the development and design of the software that could be used. He has to comprehend all of the innovations and methods of designing texts.

The look sector requires professionals to really have the experience to be able to select and classify information, and to create links between related elements. However, this will not be enough if they cannot interpret this and transform it into definite forms. It is also vital that you understand the vocabularies of with language, sound and music as they are the most important tools of communication. Put into this, the designer must understand how to use the specialised design software to write texts, prepare drawings, animated cartoons and websites. The designer should know about design, timing, transformation, rhythm and visual presentation.

The potential of the look sector ought to be realised by knowledge of the required theories and ways to improve communication with the audience, enrich the look proposals and understand the reflective aspect of the look process, studies and research.

There's much variation in the qualifications of staff within the look sector. You should differentiate between the craftsman and the academic designer. The graphic designer is really a complete cultural and intellectual entity that's noted in the sensational theory, linguistic theory, visual eloquence and the cultural history of art, literature, science, technology, industry and humanity. They cannot isolate themselves from developments in theories of communication, information development, and from management and criticism. Moreover to boost the added value of the ultimate product, all methods and tools found in production and publication ought to be understood. They need to understand the stages before the design, and they must understand the printing process and its implications on the design.

The marketplace is crowded with many people working in graphic design. Because of the wide use of graphical design in lots of fields of work, the widespread use of computers and option of basic software packages there exists a role for people using graphic design without any prior knowledge. The expression of graphic design is still not adequately understood by some employers in industrial and commercial firms and organisations that need graphic design services.

I do not doubt the potential of the vocational sector but it is the reality of graphic design. It should be remembered that well qualified people now occupy high status positions in the Jordanian market, showing its expertise and its own ability to demonstrate the best levels of graphical design.

The size of the marketplace and people working in graphic design

There are now more than five hundred establishments working in graphic design. There are lots of who would not classify themselves as an agency, centre or office, because they have found their very own market niche. Therefore these classifications can not be meaningfully applied in Jordan.

The sector is large when compared to market. The establishment of new graphic design organisations peaked in 1999. Since then, some have declined while some have expanded. Some have stagnated or changed management, while others have merged.

A quick consider the design sector will show that 85% of those employed in the field could be classified as;

- Computer science graduates

- Architecture graduates

- Interior design graduates

- Graduates in 'Computers and the Fine Arts' from community colleges

- Fine arts graduates (both graphic design specialists and non-specialists)

- Graduates of design courses run by computer centres

- Unemployed people who are interested in computers

University educated graphical design graduates fulfil an important role because;

- Universities produce GRAPHIC ARTISTS with a different outlook to those mentioned previously.

- Organisations run by people who understand graphic design will undoubtedly be better in a position to develop designers skills and adapt to the future

I'm concerned for students who study graphic design at university but usually do not make an effort to improve his rate of innovation and creativity so as to improve. This will affect whether he is employable.

Academically and scientifically talented students could have few problems because good employers need students who can form ideas quickly, use appropriate design programs for his ideas and able to produce those. Other organisations are not useful for the academic designer. These are the push-pull level of the graphic design sector which reflects the degrees of knowing of the concepts and functions of graphical design.

The market is with the capacity of absorbing all graduates. That is dependent on the development of visual communication methods through graphic design. Such development requires the presence of skilled workers capable of meeting the needs of the market. This places incentives for educational organisations that cope with design to intend to suit the graphic design market.

The academic reality of graphical design

The emergence of academic institutions that specialised in the arts started at the Yarmouk University where the first arts and music department was established in 1980. This became a faculty in 2001, teaching drama, design (industrial, interior and graphic), plastic arts and music. The university awards bachelor degrees. It started in 2001 at the height of the computer revolution within the look sector in Jordan. In1991 teaching graphic design started as an independent specialisation within the Arts Department at the SYSTEMS University. This was accompanied by the Ahiya Amman University, the Petra University, Philadelphia University, AlZaytouneh University, the University of Jordan, and later the Israh University.

Apart from universities, during the time when graphic design became popular and a profitable profession, community colleges started teaching graphic design. These included the Al-Quds College, Granada College, Middle University College and Princess Alya College.

The task of the universities that award bachelor degrees is similar to colleges that grant two year diplomas, because both produce students with a certificate in graphic design. But in reality where creativity and technical skills are worried we find differences. The differences come in the course curricula, and include understanding the production process, product identity, understanding of software and design innovation.

There is confusion between graphical design and graphic art. These differences affect the student, particularly when he enters employment. He could be judged by both his creativity and innovation in producing new ideas and his ability to use technology which now involves the computer, the main graphic design tool.

The reason behind these differences becomes clear when we look at the number of workers available in the market and where they graduated from. During the time that the largest number of graduates were being produced, the highest quality graduates were produced by well-known institutions and they were recruited by the most successful companies.

A distinction has developed between technicians and designers. Simply because some academic institutions focus on technology and the practical aspects of design software, whilst others developing the opportunity to use knowledge and learn how to connect ideas to the psychological and social context and include qualitative studies of theories and design curricula.

The reasons for this are;

- The absence of specialised academic experts in graphic design and the poor quality of a number of the teachers.

- The lack of appropriate study plans for creating graphic artists

- The absence of a system defining the role of universities and colleges in teaching graphic design

- The absence of entry examinations to graphic design courses, unlike courses in the art specialisations

- The absence links to the exterior world, apart from through books.

- Some universities and colleges do not understand the concept of graphic design within an industrial context.

- The absence of official government support for finding a way to establish a core curriculum for university courses.



I've taught in the art departments of a number of universities and also have assessed many graduation projects. These gave me the opportunity to find out about graphic design teaching, the standards of students, and showed the necessity for appropriate study plans. There exists a lack of competitiveness which would improve educational standards and there is an arbitrary use of teaching methods. Objectives can be clear, but often mistake in not utilizing the appropriate teaching methodology results in them not being achieved.

As a way to develop and improve, the graphical design sector needs skilled and competent workers. The workers will never be able to respond to the changes in technology unless they will have a formal academic training. To experience this advancement it is necessary that graduate students are employed as graphic design specialists.

Conclusion

There exists a requirement in the Jordanian arena for the academic and professional sectors to examine their experiences and identify their strengths and weaknesses. That is used by them to set a strategy with the capacity of giving graphical design the respected position it deserves.

There is a requirement for government intervention to supply arena where specialists in graphic design may discuss many of the concepts that help them make company owners and managers alert to how to make the best use of graphic artists.

Along with teaching graphic design, universities and community colleges must support the markets needs for designers and artisans within the new specialisations which have to be introduced so that you can reduce unemployment.There exists a need for a specialist body in graphical design to provide support to designers, co-ordinate educational and technical preparation and to make contacts with the outside world. It is important to hold workshops and symposiums that improve the competence of teaching staff, designers and students; these should be held with assistance from international institutions which are respected in this field.

It is also important to hold national and international competitions to encourage creativity and innovation. This can develop a competitive atmosphere in which graphic design can flourish.

Finally, you should develop a national identity in graphic design, that may cement its position in the international arena.