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Graphic Design

An Introduction to the Basics

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The 5 Elements

Lines
Shapes
Mass
Texture
Color

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Lines

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Lines - Pattern

Lines are often found in pairs or groups. Lines of the same general appearance or lines that are quite different can form a variety of patterns that create textures, suggest movement, or lead the eye

Upper Left: Uniform vertical black and white lines alternate at even intervals. Static. Orderly. Conservative.

Lower Left: Uniform horizontal black lines are widely, but evenly spaced. Static. Stable. Orderly.

Upper Middle: Uneven spacing of otherwise uniform lines creates the impression of movement. Dynamic. Orderly progression.

Lower Middle: In this example the progression moves in from top and bottom giving the illusion of roundness. Dynamic. Orderly progression. Dimensional.

Upper Right: Varying line widths and distances create a random pattern. Dynamic. Chaotic. Disorderly.

Lower Right: While the uniform size and spacing of the lines in the upper examples are static, make the lines into curves and you get movement although it is a controlled movement. Dynamic. Orderly flow.

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Shapes

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Mass

MASS

How big is it? Take a look at mass or visual weight of graphic and text elements.

Mass is size. There is physical size and visual size. Size can be relative. A physically small brochure can have a great deal of mass through the use of heavy text and graphic elements. A physically large brochure can appear smaller, lighter by using text and graphics sparingly. Visual mass and weight are not the same thing as the size of an object in the real world.

Some ways to use mass within your designs:

to accommodate information, content Example: To present all the desired or needed information comfortably a designer may create a bi-fold rather than the usual single business card

to convey a mood or provide emphasis Example: A place that is physically large (such as an amusement park) or a business that offers a huge assortment of products may use brochures or other marketing pieces that are larger (physical dimensions) or heavier (weight) than normal to carry out the 'bigger' or 'more' theme.

to create contrast Example: A designer might design a full-page magazine ad using a single small image in the middle of the page with lots of white space. The contrast between the size of the page and the size of the content (image) draws attention to the image and can create a specific mood (depending on other elements) such as conservative, elegant, lonely, or open.

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Texture

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Color

Color is everywhere. Every single piece in the samples you've collected so far, even if it is black and white, exhibits the element of color. Color is used to attract attention. It can be subtle or bold.

Color can be used to ellicit specific emotions and reactions. Red is typically thought of as an attention-grabbing, hot color. Blues are more calming or convey stability. Some color combinations are used to create a specific identity (corporate colors, school colors) or may be used in conjunction with texture to simulate the look of other objects (the look of plain paper wrapping or neon lights, for example).

Color can be found in the paper, the text, or the graphic elements and photos. A monochromatic color scheme uses a single color, perhaps in various tints, while other layouts utilize combinations of two, three, or more colors.

Sometimes considered a separate element of design, value is the relative lightness or darkness of an area compared to the surrounding area. Tints of gray or red are different values of the same color. Changing values can create contrast, movement, and emphasis.

Being able to use colors consciously and harmoniously can help you create spectacular results.

Warm colors are vivid and energetic, and tend to advance in space.

Cool colors give an impression of calm, and create a soothing impression.

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Color - Complementary

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Color - Analogous

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Color - Triadic

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Color - Split Complimentary

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Color - Rectangular

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Color - Square

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Color - Tints, Tones, Shades

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The 6 Principles

Balance
Proximity
Alignment
Repetition
Contrast
White Space

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Balance

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Balance - Symmetrical

Symmetrical balance is easiest to see in perfectly centered compositions or those with mirror images. In a design with only two elements they would be almost identical or have nearly the same visual mass. If one element was replaced by a smaller one, it could throw the page out of symmetry. To reclaim perfect symmetrical balance you might need to add or subtract or rearrange the elements so that they evenly divide the page such as a centered alignment or one that divides the page in even segments (halves, quarters, etc.). When a design can be centered or evenly divided both vertically and horizontally it has the most complete symmetry possible. Symmetrical balance generally lends itself to more formal, orderly layouts. They often convey a sense of tranquility or familiarity or elegance or serious contemplation.

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Balance - Vertical Symmetry

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Balance - Horizontal & Vertical

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Balance - Asymmetrical

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Balance - Asymmetry Balance

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Balance - Asymmetrical Tension

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Balance - Radial

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Balance - Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds says that most designs can be made more interesting by visually dividing the page into thirds vertically and/or horizontally and placing our most important elements within those thirds. Take this concept a step further, especially in photographic composition, by dividing the page into thirds both vertically and horizontally and placing your most important elements at one or more of the four intersections of those lines.

Roughly dividing a page into thirds or finding the visual center are relatively easy and you don't usually have to be exact to achieve your goals. However, constructing the underlying structure of a piece is a bit more complicated — but essential for most designs. Most balanced designs (and even unbalanced ones) rely on a grid. This invisible structure (visible while working in your page layout program) helps ensure that you place all the elements in the right location to achieve balance as well as to help with continuity and consistency of design.

Grids can be simple or complex depending on the needs of the design and the designer

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Proximity

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Proximity - Meaning

PROXIMITY WITHOUT PURPOSE

The human brain works by processing visual (and aural) input that occurs in proximity, either spatially or temporally. It then assembles this information into recognizable patterns and assigns meaning to it. In my car, as I’m trying to determine which button to press or dial to spin, my brain is analyzing the proximity of these various controls to discern a pattern which will help me make sense of their functions. The controls are a combination of push buttons and dials that affects two basic functions: fan speed and air temperature. Each of the three control groups is comprised of one dial and one or two buttons. My pattern-seeking brain assumes that the buttons and dials are placed and grouped in a manner that has meaning. Unfortunately for my brain, in this case they aren’t.

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Proximity - Meaning 2

A very simple reorganization of my car’s controls would reinforce the relationships between controls and make the entire system easier to use. By placing all the controls that adjust fan speed, and all those that adjust air temperature close together, the position of each control will have assigned greater meaning and users’ overall mental effort will be decreased. The sum of these two factors (increased meaning and decreased mental effort) will result in greater user success.

This is both good interface design and a good metaphor for visual design. Understanding our brains’ fondness for creating meaning and patterns through proximity will help us create more intuitive interfaces and designs. In a purely visual, non-interactive, design consider the brain’s search for patterns as a way to increase the ease with which the viewer will take in the information you’re presenting them.

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Alignment

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Repetition

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Contrast

Contrasting

ELEMENTS

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White Space

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Typography

Typefaces vs. Fonts
Classifying Type
The Anatomy of a Typeface
Contrast

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Font or Typeface

A lot of people use the terms “typeface” and “font” interchangeably. But they’re two very distinct things. Before we get started talking about typography, let’s get our terms straight. A typeface is a set of typographical symbols and characters. It’s the letters, numbers, and other characters that let us put words on paper (or screen). A font, on the other hand, is traditionally defined as a complete character set within a typeface, often of a particular size and style. Fonts are also specific computer files that contain all the characters and glyphs within a typeface. When most of us talk about “fonts”, we’re really talking about typefaces, or type families (which are groups of typefaces with related designs).

There are a number of different ways to classify typefaces and type families. The most common classifications are by technical style: serif, sans-serif, script, display, and so on. Typefaces are also classified by other technical specifications, such as proportional vs. monospaced, or by more fluid and interpretational definitions, such as the mood they create.

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Classification - Serifs

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Old Style serifs

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Transitional serifs

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Modern serifs

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Slab serifs

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Classification - Sans-Serif

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Grotesque sans-serifs

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Neo-grotesque sans-serifs

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Humanist sans-serifs

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Geometric sans-serifs

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Classification - Script

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Casual scripts

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Classification - Display

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Classification - Proportional & Monospace

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Classification - Mood

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Weights & Styles

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Italic, Oblique, Small Caps

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Typeface Anatomy

The different letterforms within a typeface share a few common characteristics. These characteristics can be important in determining whether two (or more) typefaces work well together, or clash. Here are the most basic parts of a typeface.

The above image shows the different guidelines that are generally present in a typeface. Thebaseline is the invisible line that all the characters sit on. Rounded letters sometimes sit just a tiny bit under the baseline, and descenders always drop below this line. A given typeface will have a consistent baseline.

The meanline is the height of most of the lowercase characters within a typeface, and is generally based on the lowercase “x” if there are varying heights among the lowercase characters. This is also where the term “x-height” comes from. The cap height is the distance between the baseline and the top of uppercase letters like “A”.

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Ascender & Descender

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Contrast - Weight

Contrast is one of the most important concepts to understand when it comes to combining typefaces. Without proper contrast, typefaces tend to clash, creating a random, scattered look to your designs (and not in a good way). Creating proper contrast relies on a few principles, all of which are discussed below.

But first, what exactly is contrast? Contrast is the amount of difference between two typefaces. Typefaces that are too similar tend to clash. Your mind doesn’t instantly recognize that they’re different typefaces, and when it finally does, it’s jarring. Typefaces that are too dissimilar can appear haphazard and accidental, which can be just as jarring.

The weight of a typeface plays a huge role in its appearance. We often think of weight in terms of “light”, “regular”, “medium”, “bold”, etc. But different typefaces have varying weights to begin with. Combining typefaces based largely on weight is a fairly straight-forward way of creating typographic contrast.

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Similarities in structure & style

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Combining Typefaces - Style and Decoration

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Style and Decoration

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Classification

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Too similar

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Combining sub-classes

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Structure

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Color and Texture

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Extreme Contrast

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Mood

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Scale and Hierarchy

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Style and Hierarchy

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Designing Posters

Your goal:

To create a poster promoting yourself. Choose an aesthetic that fits your personality, interests, and professional aspirations.

Research advertising, designs, and styles best fit your visual goals and think about how to adapt the elements from these into your own design.

There are several characteristics of a poster design one might consider when producing their own:

Image focused designs give you more than just the information about the event. They often feature elaborate illustrations, which help set the tone of the product. You get an impression of the style of product from the initial glace at the poster. However the drawback is that without any bold typography, a potential customer may “judge a book by its cover.”
Typographically strong designs sell the product from a longer distance, therefore increasing the possible audience simply based on distance. Being able to sell your product from a distance with key words or names can however be limiting. If the words don’t relate to the audience on first glance, then potential customer may not want to come closer to find out more. Using key limited words that strike the viewer are paramount.
Mixing both elements can work well, however it’s important to get the correct balance. If the poster focuses too much on the illustration, then it lacks room for information. You also need to consider balancing the palette of text with the palette of the illustration(s).