Graphic design and social networks: Methodological proposal supported by the open innovation and co-creation

Abstract

This paper proposes a methodology for the process of graphic design in which public participation in decision-making through social networks is contemplated. And it takes advantage of a particular case study to show the proposal in detail. The proposal is novel in two ways: a creative technique and public participation are used in the selection of the final design. Graphic design is, above all, a communication tool that works with visual signs. And these signs must convey meanings evenly decodable by receivers. Hence, the theory of communication is a fundamental discipline for graphics. In addition, the design is also a semiotic process. In this sense, brand’s graphic design is a symbolic exercise of identification and differentiation, as brands are symbolic translations of the organizations they represent. And within the universe of semiotics, rhetoric is of particular relevance, since the creative technique proposed is based on the development of visual metaphors. The public participation in the selection of the final design is carried out through social media, showing followers some sketches and asking them to votes, according to “open innovation” and co-creation theories. Through the case study allows doing a meta-communication work, while the proposed methodology is applied for the design of the head of an academic journal of communication.