Graphic Design For Beginners - 5 Basic Principles

This article refers to my experience in magazines, but the principles apply to other media in both print and web design. No matter what software you work, or what industry you're in, these guidelines are universal. Their understanding and practice of them you will get a solid foundation for a successful career. The rest is up to you!

No doubt some people have a gift for graphic design, but novices need mentoring the most talented in order to learn the fundamentals of design when they are at the beginning. Without such guidance, many talented designers will fall short of their potential. I saw Art Directors to experience high-impact magazine covers and door release features full creative eye-popping typography and complex collages in Photoshop. But the pages that follow are full of design flaws unforgivable. Here are five fundamental principles - not necessarily in order of importance - which also help us become a better designer from day one.

1. Comprehension precedes typography

We have all seen designers do amazing things with type. Pulling apart the words and the manipulation of individual letters to reflect the context and meaning is one of the fun things design. Before going that far, however, a simple premise: to understand and read the copy! For people whose job is to work with the type, many designers have an aversion to reading. Before you can go play with the text, you need to understand exactly what you are asked to present visually. Knowing what words, if any - should be emphasized that to understand the hierarchy and stick to it.

2. Good typography

Once you're ready to bend to your will, the type, remember it is not always necessary to spend hours searching for the perfect character. Instead, try to use a simple font and do something creative with it. This is a good place for an inexperienced designer to test their skills in typography. If you are unable to produce creative designs with classic typefaces like Helvetica, Times, Garamond, etc., then you will be well prepared to explore and design in a responsible manner with the more exotic fonts available. Bonus Tip: If you're up to the characters, the key is there must be conflict between them, otherwise you may as well just use one (or variations of it). This can be done using size, weight and color, but also consider the style of the characters themselves. Rarely will a good idea to pair two decorative fonts. Alternatively, the combination of exotic characters and easily can lead to fantastic results.

3. Understand the hierarchy

The laws of the hierarchy are valid for text, graphics and images. Without them, the design rides on the first obstacle. List in your head (or throw it down on paper) the design elements in order of importance, then design and assemble so that the viewer immediately recognizes the part that he / she should look at first. Start with the most important-, then according to the most, and so on. You rarely need more than a hierarchy of three or four levels. Again, use size, weight and color to influence the outcome, but it is important that this hierarchy is the heart of your design, not a last-minute adjustment. Once completed, has a good look at your work. If the hierarchy is not obvious to you, you probably will not be obvious to anyone else.

4. Color Scheme

Either one has a sensation of color or you will not. Partially true, however, a beginner can not be expected to have the same sense of color balance as an industry veteran. So where to start? Obviously, you will need to consider what kind of design you are doing, and that is aimed at. But if you are working with primary or a vibrant palette of earthy style, there are ways to deliver the combination of colors that clash or vibrate against each other. Take a deep purple ground: 50C/45M/15Y. Instead of grasping blindly for a complementary color, to go through the channels in CMYK against one another, while maintaining at least the same. If you scroll down so we get only the Magenta 50C/10M/15Y, you will find a beautiful turquoise that works perfectly with the purple. Or maybe you want a combination of heat. Back to the original purple and assign the same numerical values ​​for alternative channels color: 15C/50M/45Y. Now you have an earthy pink - same values, different channels. Also in this case, it works well with the purple (actually, all work together). Of course, there's nothing saying you must adhere strictly to this rule, but it is a good starting point for a novice designers grappling with the difficult concept of color. And do not forget to check the monitor and printer are calibrated to display accurate.

5. Your design the best possible solution?

The graphics are obviously subjective, and there are a hundred different roads leading to the solution. Need to find the best. Once you've finished your work, ask yourself this: is this the best possible result? The measure of what kind of designer you become will rest largely on how far you push yourself with this question. Do not settle for anything if you are not 100% convinced it is the best possible design. If there is a fragment of a doubt in your mind, change or try something new. Your client wants to see the best you can do. This is exactly what should be delivered every time.

The principles above are a lesson for all designers of 1.01 the next graph. A successful, experienced professional working for them, without ever stopping to think. Creativity is endless Contemporary art, graphic design. Never forget your customer. They are paying you to be creative, but working with these guidelines will help to build the structure for your art so that it is true to its purpose and sells exactly what it was designed to sell ... both glamorous and not-so-glamorous. After all, this is exactly what we used to do.