This does not keep us from using this particular language in our making and critiquing of graphic design. Terms do not define graphic design any more than the theory of Newtonian physics or the daily horoscope define our world. Double latte, espresso, cinnamon and vanilla coffee wafts around our table. Words such as form, content, type, image, size, shape, style, substance, contrast, color, hue, intensity, hierarchy, space, modern, post-modern set the terms and define a working model. Conversation about graphic design using only this tool set of terms is often insular, limiting the imagining in the process of creating.
Coffee is water filtered through ground up beans.
Words swirl around me, and I think that my coffee does not taste its definition. Physics concerns what we can say about Nature. Speaking theoretically about graphic design concerns what we can say about graphic design. We need more coffee. We hear snatches of dialogue from a few tables down.