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Graphic Design by definition, is conceptual, its birth and production process depends on the conceptualization of problems and solutions. This report will explore what role does conceptual art, and conceptual strategies, play in the applied arts or visual communications. Just as in conceptual art, in graphic design “…the aesthetics of the design is less important than the “product” it signifies; its meaning is more important than its appearance.” Strong examples of conceptual strategies will be described through the work of graphic designers Paul Rand, Allan Fleming, and Robert Brownjohn, who experiment with “defamiliarizing the ordinary” and advertising campaigns that have used a conceptual approach.

This research focuses on understanding the processes involved in successful innovation---a topic that has appeared in a large body of research, but no conclusive trend has emerged about it. For this reason, I chose a different lens in order to gain a more panoramic view of the events leading up to an innovation. In particular, this research utilized a methodology and ontology that set it apart from previous work. In previous research control/exploitation and learning/exploration are either presented as two categorically separate concepts or as continuum that runs between them. This research supports the idea that innovation operates on a continuum but does not support the idea that it only occurs when the pendulum settles toward the learning/exploration side. Instead, the data shows that innovation could indeed occur at any point along the learning/exploration side of the continuum and even at the central point where learning/exploration and control/exploitation weigh evenly. To conceptualize this middle point, I term this a "syncretism" of two normally opposing forces to account for a significant portion of the interview data.