Australia’s graphic designers increasingly using 3D printing. Graphic designs for web and mobile apps have increased, and new 3D printing technology is being used in creative ways by graphic designers to meet the demand. The new 3D printing technology lets them develop and easily use diverse, innovative ways to enhance their work’s clarity, creativity, and attractiveness. Matching unique communication and information styles to their audience’s specific requirements is now a breeze. 3D printing will be a key driver of visual communication improvement in the near future.
The image used for illustration purpose. Zeal3dprinting is not the owner or creator of the image. Image source: (ThisisEngineering RAEng on Unsplash)
What Is Graphic Design?
Graphic design is a type of visual communication that uses typography, photography and illustration to create designs that attract, engage and inform viewers by appealing to the intellect and emotions. Graphic designers research and develop attention-grabbing, aesthetically-pleasing, brand-savvy logos, text, signs, symbols, pictures to communicate the client’s message to their target audience. Using unique, striking layouts and colour combinations, they produce outstanding commercial communications for publication, display or reproduction. Many graphic designers offer freelance work, making it easy for you to source out graphic design work for any projects you may have. The cost of graphic design work will depend on how large your project is and how experienced the designer is.
How 3D Printing Is Being Used In Different Areas of Graphic Design
3D printing, or “additive manufacturing”, is using digital designs to create items by stacking up multiple layers of material. It uses laser sintering and electron beam melting and other technology to 3D print items using materials including plastics, metals and special resins.
Advertising and Marketing Material
3D printing directly impacts the design of advertising and marketing material. A 3D printer allows for complex detail, customisation and extremely high definition. Graphic designers use CAD programs to modify marketing and advertising material online and use 3D printing to make them fit customers’ exact specifications. Advertising campaigns now have media ads that use 3D printing to create models of entire neighbourhoods. People can click on the ads and, using great visuals and stop-motion animation, see the area’s businesses. 3D printing makes interactive advertising cheaper, easier to use and more captivating.
The image used for illustration purpose. Zeal3dprinting is not the owner or creator of the image. Image source:(Chaosamran_Studio)
Building Prototypes
Using 3D printing technology has revolutionised the prototype building process. Graphic designers using 3D printers can make inexpensive prototypes of any product design and quickly and easily revise and refine them until they meet the customer’s requirements. Building prototypes with 3D printing improve efficiency, allows for fast turn around times and provides specialisation, diversity and versatility. It can quickly produce many different prototypes, enhance product testing and identify potential design flaws efficiently and cost-effectively.
Typography
Modern typography combines art and 3D printing to create words and images. In ancient times calligraphy made typography draw people’s attention. Today, typography combined with 3D printing helps graphic designer enhance their creativity. It blends writing, design and sculpture using 3D printing technology to produce signs, logos, manuscripts, and other text types by adding beautiful artistic techniques to typefaces and fonts that attract and engage their audience.
Typography And 3D Printing Technology
Graphic artists using 3D printing take typography to a new level. It imbues their words with meaning in creative ways. Typography and 3D printing create a beautiful, powerful and evocative medium with unique features. Digitised typography techniques that use 3D printing include Textscape, Kashida 3D font, Arkitypo and typography blind pulls that are 3D printed.
Visualising Data
Using 3D modelling and printing technology helps with data visualisation and can make understanding data easier. It can graphically display ‘Big Data’ in easy to understand forms. Some translucent 3D printed data models use coloured lights to convey and clarify the data’s meaning. It can improve the visual communication of the data presented. The digital-to-3D-printed process makes visualising data clearer and more manageable.
A New Graphic Design Tool
3D printing is a new graphic design tool for better visualising data. People interpret data in different ways. 3D printed objects people can touch relays data clearly and powerfully. Using 3D printed data tables makes interpreting data easy. It can prevent misinterpretation and reveal data relationships and meanings people may otherwise miss.
How 3D Printing Can Change The Future Of Graphic Design
3D printing technology offers new, exciting and rapidly changing ways of presenting, interacting with and understanding graphic design. It can provide quick, easy to use methods for getting messages across. 3D printing can bring demographic data to life by visually and physically representing it. 3D printed models using colour display different types of data messages with precision and clarity.
Graphic design’s future is in how it can empower people in new and exciting ways using 3D printing. As more people implement their designs using 3D printing, costs will drop, and innovation will spike. It reduces turn around times between design development and production. Designers will create more innovative designs and make more digital concepts physical. Things will go from design to prototype to market faster and more efficiently.
What It All Means
The marriage of graphic design and 3D technology is a transformative relationship that will change the way everything is designed, presented and experienced. From marketing material, building prototypes, embracing innovation, and data visualisation to typography, business cards, packaging and production, everything will change dramatically because of 3D printing technology. It will mean faster design and production times, more customisation and lower costs. Graphic designers will use 3D printing technology to create new products considered near impossible, not too long ago.
