Graphic Types and Planning

Graphics are a key way of planning, developing, and communicating ideas across many different industries. In Graphic Communication, graphics are used at every stage of a project, from early planning tools such as Gantt charts, working roughs, and visuals, through to detailed technical drawings and final presentation material.

Each type of graphic serves a specific purpose, helping designers organise their work, explore ideas, communicate with others, and clearly present information throughout the design process.

Content

Gantt Chart

Gantt charts are used to plan and organise projects by showing how tasks are scheduled over time. They help designers estimate how long a project will take, identify the resources required, and decide the order in which tasks should be completed. Gantt charts also make it easier to see links and dependencies between tasks, showing which stages must be completed before others can begin.

Preliminary

Preliminary graphics are an important part of the creative process, especially when planning your design. Think of them as the foundation for your ideas—they’re the first step in bringing what’s in your mind to life on paper. These sketches are usually quick, rough, and small, so they don’t take much time to create. Preliminary sketches are like brainstorming but with visuals. They help organise your thoughts, explore possibilities and Communicate your ideas. The goal isn’t to make them perfect but to focus on capturing the main idea. This stage allows you to experiment with different concepts, shapes, layouts, and designs before deciding on a final direction.

Advantages of preliminary graphics

They are quick to produce
They are a good way of recording ideas
They can be produced using cheap equipment
They are helpful when communicating ideas to a client or colleague

Disadvantages of preliminary graphics

They are not normally drawn to scale
They are not dimensionally accurate

Thumbnails

Thumbnails are quick, small sketch ideas used to explore possible layouts at the early stages of a design. They are not detailed drawings; instead, they help plan the overall structure of a publication, such as column layout, positioning of titles, images, and text. Thumbnails allow designers to rapidly test different ideas and consider key elements and principles of design.

Working Rough

Working roughs are a more developed stage of the design process, where a designer selects a small number of thumbnails and refines them in greater detail. More time is spent on each layout to improve structure and decision-making. Working roughs are usually larger than thumbnails, allowing designers to include more information such as headings, subheadings, image placement, captions, and possible font choices. This stage helps finalise layout decisions before creating the final design.

Presentation Visuals

A presentation visual is a full-size, manually produced representation of the proposed graphic solution. It is used to clearly communicate the final intended appearance of a document to a client or stakeholder before it is produced using DTP software. Presentation visuals are used to confirm and finalise layout decisions. They should include accurate dimensional information for key features such as margins, column widths, headers and footers. At this stage, design decisions relating to titles, font styles, image selection, and overall layout structure should be clearly defined. Presentation visuals ensure that the design is fully resolved and agreed prior to digital production.

Production

Production graphics are detailed, accurate technical drawings that show exactly how a product will be made. They go beyond the rough ideas of sketches and provide all the information needed to bring a design to life. Used by architects, engineers, and manufacturers to create a product, it includes as much information as possible. This can include dimensions, moving parts, and material choices, which can be illustrated through orthographic views, sectional views, exploded drawings, assemblies, etc. In short, production drawings are like blueprints—they turn your creative ideas into detailed plans that guide the production process. They’re precise, professional, and essential for ensuring your final product comes out exactly as you imagined!

Advantages of production graphics

They are important when parts are to be manufactured as they contain technical details such as dimensions
They can show how components are assembled
The drawing standards used are worldwide
They are understood in all languages
A library of reusable parts can be set up

Disadvantages of production graphics

Training or knowledge is required to produce them, as drawing standards must be learned
They are time-consuming to produce
Costly specialist equipment is required

Promotional

Promotional graphics are designed to grab people’s attention to advertise or promote something like a product, event, or idea. These graphics are all about making an impact and encouraging people to take action, whether buying a product, attending an event, or supporting a cause. Good promotional graphics consider things like the target audience (who it’s aimed at), the tone of the message (fun, serious, exciting), and where the graphic will be seen (online, posters, flyers). A big part of creating these is ensuring the design connects with the audience and leaves a lasting impression. In short, promotional graphics aren’t just about looking good—they’re about communication and persuasion through design!

Advantages of promotional graphics

They can be used to advertise products
Promotional renders can be placed in a virtual environment to enhance realism and to give a greater sense of believability
Promotional graphics can show the customer what the product will look like, for example, material, highlights, shadows, etc.