Even if you employ a graphic designer, a real understanding of the basic visual principles can help to elevate your creations. If you know these concepts, it will help improve communication with your designer as you’ll have a clear idea of how to brief your ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While there\u2019s a lot to know about Graphic Design this will be the first post in a short content series looking deeper into different elements of design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Making\nthe Message Stand Out<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Emphasis:\n<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The\ndriving question behind this principle is: \u2018What is the major take away you\nwant the audience to have?\u2019 Once you know that, you can decide how to visually\nemphasize this point. It should stand out in some way so that the viewer is\nimmediately drawn to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This\ncan be done in a number of ways, some of which will be explored in detail\nfurther on, but the basic ways to give an extra visual weight to your important\nmessages are through: size and proportion, colour, contrast, text formatting\n(bold, italics, etc), and visual guides\/framing. For example, the biggest text\nis usually the most attention grabbing, and bright colours can stand out the\nmost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before\nstarting a design, it is important to know your key messages first, that way\nyou can ensure they are the focal point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Movement:<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Movement\nthe visual order that a viewer will follow when looking at a graphic design and\nit is closely connected to emphasis. The goal of a design will likely be that\nthe emphasised part is seen first, but it is important that what the eye goes\nto next creates a sort of visual narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The movement should be logical and help deliver the full message in a clear way. The concept of movement is easily summed up from the image below which has become a bit of a meme in the graphic design\/UX community:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Contrast:<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
It\nmay seem obvious, but the elements in a design need to be significantly\ndifferent from the background. If the colours pop, it will stick in the viewers\nmemory better. To that end, using opposing colours on the colour wheel can help\nwith creating contrast when it comes to colours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Contrast\nisn\u2019t limited to colour though. It can also be thick vs thin text, modern vs\ntraditional styles, big vs small and so on. Use contrast to give emphasis to\nimportant elements, but don\u2019t use it so much that the graphic becomes\nconfusing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A\ngreat example of contrast that doesn\u2019t have to do with colour would be the 1959\nVW \u201cThink Small\u201d ads. The contrast of a small graphic on a big canvas\nemphasized their key message that the Beetle being a compact car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Making\nthe Message Easy to Follow:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Alignment:<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
On\nmany design platforms and softwares, there\u2019s now snap fits or guiding lines to\nhelp you see if elements are aligned with each other and where the centre point\nof a canvas is. These have made it infinitely easier to create graphics that\nlook clean and ordered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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