Graphic design is a powerful force in the development of any brand. More than that, it is an excellent opportunity to showcase your abilities. In a broader sense, graphic design is the achievement of harmony between distinct design elements and composition—a brilliant design pads a range of diverse components to communicate its idea precisely.
Suppose you’re starting your journey to becoming a graphics designer. In that case, you must have a firm grasp of the fundamentals before you attempt to take on a project. The ‘first impression is the last impression’ rule is at the core of a good design. When collaborating with a client, understand that you don’t have a second opportunity to blow their minds away. You have one chance at making a strong impression.
In addition to this, Graphic design plays an integral part in today’s competitive corporate environment. Many enterprises need graphic designers to develop eye-catching marketing materials. Brochures, business cards, websites, pamphlets, stationery, and so on are examples of these materials. Assume you own a company in Newcastle, United Kingdom, and you want some services regarding graphics designing. In that situation, a search for Graphic Design Newcastle may be helpful.
In light of this, here are the nine most vital elements of graphic design and a dive into what makes each principle so important.
1. Achieving the Right Balance
The balance lies at the heart of your design. If you look at some examples of a balanced one, it has a degree of sophistication and stability; it gives it structure and meaning. To visualize it even better, think that everything that you put into your concept weighs it. For example, every shape that you incorporate, the type of text boxes, and the images you use are all things that make up your design. That is why it is vital to understand the depth of each component you use and how it affects your graphic design.
There is no rule of thumb regarding how you use these components to attain a good balance. You don’t have to evenly distribute each element or ensure that they are the same size. Recognize that you can balance your design symmetrically or asymmetrically. Achieving the symmetrical design would mean evenly dividing each design component into both sides of your design. However, the asymmetrical balance is achievable by integrating various elements to create a good flow in the design – such as contrast, color, scale, etc.
2. Padding Your Design Elements
To achieve a strong, impactful connection between your design components, you need to group them close. A proximal design screams organization and is therefore highly likely to be seen and etched into memory. Grouping different design functionalities go beyond physical distance. It is about how everything connects visually.
3. Don’t Be Inconsistent in Placing Your Elements
Alignment plays an influential role in making or breaking your concept. It is an important principle that dictates that no design component gets placed irrationally. Everything in the design must have a solid connection with another element, bringing the entire piece in harmony. The good graphical alignment will unify your elements on the page and give birth to a more consistent concept.
Moreover, design alignment also dictates that every component you use should be incorporated horizontally, vertically, and throughout all linear planes.
4. Using Your Elements Repetitively
Repetition in graphic design implies that there must be components used in repetition throughout the design, such as a specific bullet, typeface, color, line, or spatial relationship. Why? A certain amount of repetition, on the other hand, will always result in a more consistent and visually appealing theme. And this is going to help further unify your design along with effectively communicating the brand message. It ties everything together nicely.
The trick behind using this method is to ensure you repeat different design components sporadically to achieve visual interest and unity. Be sure not to overdo it, or your design will look rather frivolous. Another name for this technique is rhythm.
5. Adding Contrast to your Design
Adding a bit of contrast to the page is another incredible method to organize and enhance your design visually. You don’t have to overdo it. You can carefully mix and match contrast by employing many components such as appropriate colors, appropriate spacing, asymmetrical forms and sizes, line thickness, typography, and so on. Giving your design a bold contrast is the best way to make the design interesting and easier to remember.
6. Playing with the Color Palette
Color is a pivotal factor in any great design. It is responsible for suggesting and creating an overall feel and mood of a design. That is why it is important to remember that the colors you select will represent the tonality of the brand you are designing. You have to be careful what type of colors you choose.
However, as a budding graphic designer, it is helpful to be familiar with the ‘color theory.’ For instance, gold + any neutral shade will exude a feeling of poise or elegance. Similarly, bright colors evoke happiness, and colors like violet and blue exude a serene and calm feeling. Moreover, you can also use different colors to add contrast to your design or complement different components.
7. Hierarchy of Visual Representation
Simply put, the visual hierarchy gets developed when you give more weight and attention to detail to the most fundamental message or component in the design. There are multiple ways you can do this. For example, you can consider using bolder or bigger text or fonts to highlight the brand’s main message or the title. You can also integrate the key message above other textual elements of the design. You can also add more color and contrast to important images or text than other smaller text or images.
8. Focus on the Negative Space in Your Design
Negative or white spaces on your page are all those spaces where text and design and other graphical elements break up. It allows the viewer a chance to absorb your design and the message it is trying to give. It is essentially a blank space, and it can change in any color – but it has the power to make the page clearer and decluttered. You can also use negative space to make your graphics less confusing and more elegant.
9. Custom Typography
Typography is perhaps the most significant pillar of any graphic design. Effectively used, it enables the design to effortlessly speak volumes about the sophistication of any artwork or brand. However, the only way to achieve such elegance in your design is to customize your typography or stylistically integrate it. In the profound words of Paula Scher, “Words have meaning, type has spirit.”
Bottom Line
In all, to develop an intrinsically attractive design, you are going to have to use all weapons in your design arsenal. You have to get familiar with these fundamentals and ensure you refine your skills to create a masterpiece. Ensure that you incorporate a mix of these design elements to produce something that vividly gets the brand’s message across.
You must be logged in to post a comment.