ESL Lesson | B2 | Design basics: what is graphic design?

Summary

This ESL lesson for B2 English students explores the fundamentals of graphic design. Through engaging activities, students will learn key terminology, understand the role of a graphic designer, and practice essential grammar for discussing creative and professional contexts. The lesson is designed to enhance vocabulary related to design principles and reinforce the correct use of gerunds and infinitives in meaningful conversations.

Access lesson

Activities

A warm-up discussion about personal perceptions of graphic design and its presence in daily life.
Video comprehension where students watch a video explaining "what is graphic design?" and fill in missing words.
A vocabulary matching task to connect design terms like layout, typography, and contrast with their definitions.
A grammar exercise focused on differentiating between gerunds and infinitives, followed by a practice activity to apply these forms correctly.
A design critique activity where students analyze a poster using new vocabulary and grammar.
Speaking practice questions to discuss the designer's role and analyze effective brand logos.

0:00 books and record covers newspaper or

0:02 magazine posters exhibitions Brands

0:06 t-shirt a

0:08 website

0:12 packaging graphic designers and visual

0:15 communicators are management

0:17 Consultants um they're not just people

0:20 that sit in a pub in Hackney and hold up

0:24 their latest logos graphic design is

0:28 communication and it communicates

0:31 through uh the combination of images and

0:35 words if I'm trying to explain somebody

0:37 what a graphic designer is I might often

0:40 take the easy way out and say you know

0:42 we design like books and record covers

0:45 and stuff and often the questions don't

0:47 go much further than that so that's

0:49 that's fine graphic design has many

0:51 different facets like I think any form

0:53 of architecture the job of a graphic

0:56 designer is to um

1:00 understand the material that they are

1:02 trying to communicate whether that be

1:04 the nature of a

1:05 company or uh the content of a

1:09 book uh to understand that material and

1:12 then make an appropriate and unique

1:17 design that

1:20 um communicates that content we also

1:23 have responsibility towards the people

1:25 who will have to live with that

1:27 communication I'm an information

1:30 designer

1:33 um originally a type of graphic designer

1:35 and a graphic designer but now I work in

1:37 information design you could be

1:38 designing forms or you could be

1:39 designing websites or you could be

1:41 designing wave finding systems for

1:44 buildings or for airports or for cities

1:45 it's building understanding in people

1:47 really quickly so they can allow them to

1:49 do things there still is a thing with

1:50 graphic designers that people think oh

1:53 you are the person who does the captions

1:54 and you've got to stay in that little

1:57 place over there I don't do design just

2:00 for myself that's where I'm very much I

2:04 would never classify really myself as an

2:06 artist you know I definitely like

2:10 solving things I am much I'm very inside

2:12 me is a designer I love information and

2:14 I love interpreting that information

2:17 graphic design I think was a very

2:19 specific tight Niche and it may be

2:21 something you study at college but when

2:23 you come out you realize that that's

2:25 just scratching the surface of what this

2:27 is about when you break it down into

2:30 single parts we do book jackets we do

2:34 rord covers we do logo designs it sounds

2:38 really dry sounds really dull um and I

2:39 think a lot of people don't quite

2:40 realize how much it affect you know how

2:43 much it touches on their life or the the

2:45 subconscious Pleasures it can give or

2:46 the subconscious ease it can bring to

2:58 life for

Vocabulary focus

The vocabulary section introduces terms essential for discussing graphic design. Key terms include communicators, facets, layout, typography, contrast, balance, visual, interpret, wayfinding, niche, and subconscious. Students will learn to use these words to describe design elements, concepts, and the designer's role.

Grammar focus

This lesson focuses on the correct use of gerunds (verb + -ing) and infinitives (to + base verb). Students will review rules for when to use each form, particularly after certain verbs, prepositions, adjectives, and to express purpose, enabling them to articulate design concepts and processes with greater accuracy.

Design basics: what is graphic design?

Summary

Activities

Vocabulary focus

Grammar focus

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