Strengthening Graphic Design Competency among Vocational High School Students through Integrated Visual Communication Principles: A Community Service Workshop at SMK Teknologi Plus Padang
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30822/berbakti.v4i2.5757
Keywords:
graphic design; visual communication skills; digital mediaAbstract
The rapid development of digital media has transformed the way information is produced, distributed, and consumed, making visual communication skills increasingly important for vocational high school students. However, students at SMK Teknologi Plus Padang still experience limitations in understanding fundamental graphic design principles, such as composition, typography, color, visual hierarchy, and effective message delivery. This condition affects their ability to create informative, attractive, and responsible digital content. Therefore, strengthening graphic design competency is needed to improve students’ visual literacy and creativity. This community service activity addressed the problem of how graphic design skills among vocational high school students can be improved through a participatory and practice-based learning approach. The objective of this activity was to enhance students’ graphic design competency through an integrated visual communication workshop. The activity was conducted using participatory methods consisting of introductory discussions, demonstrations, guided design practices, mentoring, and presentations of students’ design works. The materials covered basic visual communication principles, including layout composition, typography, color application, information hierarchy, and visual messaging strategies. The results indicated that participants showed improved understanding and confidence in developing graphic design works. Students were able to organize visual elements more effectively, produce clearer messages, and create more communicative designs. This activity contributed to strengthening visual literacy, digital creativity, and practical design skills that can support academic activities and creative entrepreneurship. However, the activity was limited by the workshop duration and the number of participants involved. Future programs are recommended to provide continuous training, portfolio development, and advanced design projects to achieve sustainable improvement in students’ graphic design competencies.
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