Materials and tools as catalysts of invention in graphic design ideation

This article examines ‘material literacy’ in graphic design practice, defined as the idea that designers interpret meanings in material properties. Given existing definitions of ‘literacy’ and ‘visual literacy’, the concept supports the theory that because materials are as diverse in their capacity for expression as are words and images, materials facilitate a form of design language in themselves. Useful for consolidating contemporary literature's many recognitions of the significance of materials in post-digital designing, by focusing on the productivity of technologically fluent graphic design ideation, the article emphasises the importance of a practitioner's knowledge, choice, and discriminate implementation of tools.