In Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, Scott McCloud defines the design or the creative process as being a “path consisting of six steps” (McCloud, 170). McCloud argues that idea, form, idiom, structure, craft and surface are at the base of design, and at one point or another each designer goes through and follows these steps to achieve a harmonious and successful composition.
In McCloud’s version, the idea or purpose is the first stage in the design process. He defines it as being the “impulses, the ideas, the emotions…the work’s content.” From this definition, we deduce that everything starts with an idea. Idea is the base of design. During the design process this initial idea can, however, be modified.
Form , the second step in McCloud’s version, is basically the visual aspect of the work. It can be a painting, a drawing, a comic book, a sculpture.
The third stage is the idiom, and it is defined as “the school of art, the vocabulary of styles or gestures or subject matter, the genre that the work belongs to… .” Depending on its idea and characteristics, design may be classified in different categories.
Structure, as McCloud defines it means putting it all together…what to include, what to leave out…how to arrange, how to compose the work. The composition and the organization in a coherent manner plays a significant role in the design process. First thing to be taken into account is the audience that the work is going to be addressed. There needs to be visual unity, as well as a smooth transition between the elements of a composition.
Craft is actually the doing part. The artist or designer applies his skills, training, and knowledge to get the job done successfully.
The surface is the last step in McCloud version and is the only step in the design process that is visible to the naked eye of the viewer or user. The surface is the finite product, the top layer of the creative process, and as McCloud puts it “the aspect most apparent on first superficial exposure to work”.
The design process in “Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art” is comprised of six steps: idea, form, idiom, structure, craft, and surface. The author argues that in creating a work of design, or art , each designer and artists goes through and follows these steps at certain points in their process.
Works Cited:
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics:The Invisible Art. Harper Collins Publishers, Inc. New York, NY. 1993.
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