How Communication Design Works: Principles, Inspirations and Challenges

Reflections and practical action for the rapidly evolving discipline of visual communication.

Communication design is undergoing radical changes: an overabundant flood of information, fake news, bots, AI, social media, crude graphic tools on the Internet as well as the speed of processes and increasing pressure to be efficient, coupled with increased competition in the design sector and sometimes precarious working conditions. All of these factors put creatives in the field under pressure, leaving them little time to reflect on their own work. This handbook responds to the current situation by shedding new light on the societal relevance of the discipline in the context of professional practice.

The authors use their extensive expertise, practical work examples, and actionable suggestions to identify what really matters in visual communication. They describe the far-reaching interconnectedness of design with a wide range of issues and deal intensively with the current challenges. The overarching leitmotif is that communication design is always the result of the attitude of its protagonists – this compendium makes clear how their actions influence communication, what values are conveyed, and what our visual world looks like as a result.

Ulysses Voelker initially trained as a deckhand and completed an apprenticeship as a carpenter and worked in these professions before beginning his studies in communication design. After working as an art director, Voelker set up his own design studio. At the same time, he taught as a lecturer in typography and was appointed to Mainz University of Applied Sciences in 2000, where he taught until his retirement in 2019. Communication designer Michael Schmitz worked at the Designlabor Gutenberg in Mainz for several years during his studies and beyond. He has been running his own studio in Cologne since 2017.