# Step-by-Step Tutorial — Day-01: What Is Graphic Design?

**Module:** M02 — Design Fundamentals
**Instructor:** Ali Akbar Shah
**Duration:** 120 minutes
**Tools needed:** Notebook, pen/pencil. No computer needed today.

Today is 100% observation and thinking. Follow these steps exactly.

---

## Part A — Design Spotting Walk (40 minutes)

**Goal:** Train your eyes to see graphic design in everyday life.

### Step 1 — Gather 10 designed objects (15 min)
Walk around your home, street, or market. Collect or photograph 10 things
that a graphic designer made. Examples: a biscuit packet, a shop sign, a
wedding card, a flyer, a medicine box, a mobile app icon, a restaurant
menu, a price tag, a school notebook cover, a juice bottle label.

**Expected result:** A list or pile of 10 real designed items.
**How to verify:** Count them. Can you point at each one and say "a
designer decided how this looks"? If yes, it counts.

### Step 2 — Sort them by type (10 min)
Write each item in your notebook under one of these headings: Logo/Brand,
Print, Social Media, Packaging, Advertising, Other.

**Expected result:** All 10 items placed under a type heading.
**How to verify:** Every item should fit somewhere. If an item fits two
types, write both (a biscuit packet is Packaging AND Logo/Brand).

### Step 3 — Pick your favorite and analyze it (15 min)
Choose the one item that catches your eye most. In your notebook, answer
these 4 questions about it:
1. What is the MESSAGE? (What is it telling you?)
2. Who is the AUDIENCE? (Who is it talking to?)
3. What 3 colors does it use?
4. What would you change to make it better?

**Expected result:** 4 written answers for one item.
**How to verify:** Read your answers aloud. If the message and audience
are clear and specific (not "everyone"), you did it right.

---

## Part B — Write Your First Design Brief (40 minutes)

### Step 4 — Read the sample brief (10 min)
Imagine this client walks into your shop:

> "I am opening a small bakery called 'Fresh Oven Bakery'. I need a shop
> sign board. My customers are families in my neighborhood. I want people
> to know we sell fresh bread, cakes, and biscuits every morning. The sign
> must be readable from across the street."

**Expected result:** You can repeat the client's need in one sentence.
**How to verify:** Cover the text and say the need aloud: "A readable sign
board for a new bakery that tells families about fresh daily items."

### Step 5 — Write a formal brief (20 min)
Convert the client's words into a proper brief with these 6 lines:
1. **Client:** Fresh Oven Bakery (new bakery)
2. **Project:** Shop sign board
3. **Audience:** Local families
4. **Message:** Fresh bread, cakes, biscuits — every morning
5. **Key requirement:** Must be readable from across the street
6. **Deliverable:** One sign board design (size to be measured at the shop)

**Expected result:** A 6-line brief in your notebook.
**How to verify:** Every line is filled. A stranger reading it could
understand the job without asking you questions.

### Step 6 — Do a 3-minute "research" round (10 min)
Look at 3 bakery or food shop signs (real or in photos). Note: what colors
are common? How big is the shop name compared to other text? Write 3
observations.

**Expected result:** 3 written observations.
**How to verify:** Each observation mentions something you SAW, not
something you guessed.

---

## Part C — Sketch Like a Designer (40 minutes)

### Step 7 — Sketch 3 sign ideas on paper (25 min)
Using your brief, draw 3 different rough sketches of the bakery sign.
They can be ugly — boxes and lines are fine. Try: one with the name
centered, one with the name on the left and a bread drawing on the right,
one with a big "FRESH" word at the top.

**Expected result:** 3 different rough sketches.
**How to verify:** They look DIFFERENT from each other, not 3 copies of
the same idea.

### Step 8 — Pick the best and explain why (10 min)
Choose one sketch. Write 3 reasons it fits the brief best (example:
"The name is biggest, so it reads from far away").

**Expected result:** One chosen sketch + 3 written reasons.
**How to verify:** Each reason connects to the BRIEF, not to "I like it."

### Step 9 — Write your workflow summary (5 min)
Write the 5 workflow steps from memory: Brief → Research → Design →
Feedback → Delivery. Tick the ones you practiced today.

**Expected result:** 5 steps written from memory, with ticks on Brief,
Research, and Design.
**How to verify:** The order is correct. Order matters — research comes
before design, always.

---

## Tutorial Complete ✅

You have now: spotted real designs, sorted them by type, written a design
brief, done basic research, sketched 3 concepts, and chosen one with
reasons. That is the designer's workflow in miniature — with zero software.