Architecture and urban design as influences on the communication of place and experience in graphic design

Abstract

Most architects and urban designers are challenged to design schemas and structures to create a particular experience and sense of place. It is through the manipulation and design of actual three-dimensional spaces that they are able to achieve this. How then is a three-dimensional experience of a place conveyed in two dimensions? Distilling an actual experience into a graphic solution can be exceptionally challenging, but graphic designers may need to accomplish this for particular clients. Examining the ideologies and methodologies of architecture and urban design may offer new and thoughtful approaches for graphic interpretations of three-dimensional experiences.

This thesis first examines how a sense of place is created by architecture and urban design solutions through careful considerations related to culture, history, community and environment. The realm of actual places exists in three-dimensions, rather than two-dimensions. However, there are many instances when it is beneficial to distill three-dimensional experiences into two-dimensional formats (i.e. tourism materials, cookbooks, school catalogues) to help visually and verbally summarize and communicate an environment or experience to an audience. This study draws parallels to the field of graphic design from architecture and urban design, to establish ways in which these goals can be effectively communicated through a graphic design solution.