Graphic design plays an essential role in many industries, for how it is able to convey information easily through appealing visuals. It's application can be seen not only in the art industry, but also in marketing for advertising purposes. It can also be used in graphical user interfaces (GUI) to create better user experience on various websites, systems, programs and applications. Despite its importance in the industry, the lack of emphasis on it in academic classes creates a notion that art is a natural talent rather than an acquired skill. With this setback, it can discourage people into entering the field of art. To address this, La Salle Computer Society organized the 'Graphic Design 101' Workshop, sponsored by one of our yearlong sponsors, MSI. This workshop was held on March 13, 2021 via Zoom and was conducted by guest speakers from the Digital Entertainment and Gaming Arts School (DEGAS).

The DEGAS instructors shared their own definition of graphic design and the applications that they’ve been using for their work and projects. Since not all applications are free, they provided a variety of open-source software alternatives such as Gimp and Photopea. They discussed various topics such as design principles, graphic design trends, and the importance of branding. The given tips were based on experiences in their respective fields. With this, it highlighted the importance of graphic design in a wide variety of fields. Even in the IT industry, graphic design also plays a role for front-end developers in creating attractive user friendly interfaces for applications and softwares. At the conclusion of the seminar, the DEGAS guest speakers encouraged the attendees to pursue their interest in graphic design and offered vouchers for discounted graphic design courses to them. Alongside with it are 3 lucky winners of MSI keychain and tote bag raffle.

In the end, DEGAS showed that a person’s potential to grow in graphic design is not handicapped by the software that he or she uses. Just like programmers, they continue to learn and improve their craftsmanship. Through time and hard work, they become masters in this field.