Multimedia & Graphics: Basic Graphic Design

Summary : Whether you design your business brochures, flyers, web page, or ads, there are things that you need to know to create good graphics. Some basic graphic design principles familiar to those of us trained in the commercial art/graphic design field are not common knowledge, but can make a huge difference.

Whether you design your business brochures, flyers, web page, or ads, there are things that you need to know to create good graphics. Some basic graphic design principles familiar to those of us trained in the commercial art/graphic design field are not common knowledge, but can make a huge difference. Graphic design is the right hand of any web marketing or branding effort. When it is done well, the results are powerful, when it is done poorly, your business suffers. Here’s a short list of graphic design elements that you can use today.

Color

This is the first and most important consideration. Color is everything. We buy HDTV sets to get better color, for example. Before deciding upon a color palette, consider your product first. Is there a color that fits the item? Are you selling beach items, chose a sand color. Are you selling electronics, chose a metallic color. Next, make sure the color is eye-catching, but comfortable to view. If you can’t stare at the color for at least the minimum amount of time that you’d want your customer’s attention, then don’t use it.

Line

I don’t mean “a line” here, I mean the line of elements in your project. Stand back and squint at your creation. Notice the line of the text and the images. Where are the lines moving? They should all direct your customer’s attention from the top of your page to the bottom in a seamless movement. If you notice an out of place line that directs your eyes back to the top of the page, or stops it all together, you need to rearrange a few items.

Form

This graphic design element is closely related to line. Squint again and notice the text as a block, or rectangular form, instead of individual lines. Notice the images or art as shapes. Notice the entire piece as a form. All of the forms should flow from one to another. Each form should direct your eye to the next form on the page, from top to bottom, again in a seamless flowing line.

Movement

I’ve already touched on this, but movement is very important. You want your customer to start at the top left corner and end in the bottom right corner. The traditional form of movement is a “Z”, meaning the eye should start in the top left, go to the top right, make a diagonal to the bottom left, and end up in the bottom right. This form is ideal for advertising and web pages with a lot of graphics or images. The only exception would be a full text page, in which case, you want the reader’s eye to move left to right on each line.

Space (Negative space)

Graphic designers all pay attention to the amount of space we use on our projects. What about the space not used? Do you notice that? Well it’s just as important. Stand back and squint again. Notice the percentage of items filling up your project, what is the percentage of negative, unused space? While you want to make the most of your space available, you don’t want all of it used up either. Using too much makes an ad look busy, while using too little looks empty. An appropriate percentage can be anywhere from 60% to 80% used space and 40% to 20% negative or unused space. Keep your percentages in that range and you’ll have a nicely balanced ad, web page, or project.

Texture

Texture is not a primary concern to all forms of graphic design, but it is becoming important with web design. All of the really cool and interesting textures that you can use for anything from backgrounds to text is amazing. Remember one thing, though, a texture carries almost as much weight to the eye as a photo. Just as you would not place a lot of photos on your page, don’t use too many textures. Also, watch your placement of textures they can pull the eye away from where you want it to move.

When it comes to graphic design, remember one thing, when it doubt, simplify.

About the author : Kelly Paal is a Freelance Nature and Landscape Photographer, exhibiting nationally and internationally. Recently she started her own business Kelly Paal Photography (www.kellypaalphotography.com).