IT214 – GRAPHIC DESIGN

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION TO GRAPHIC DESIGN

Lesson1 - Graphic Design Overview

Graphic design is a craft where professionals create visual content to

communicate messages. By applying visual hierarchy and page layout techniques,
designers use typography and pictures to meet users’ specific needs and focus on the
logic of displaying elements in interactive designs to optimize the user experience.
Graphic Design is about Molding the User Experience Visually
Graphic design is an ancient craft, dating back past Egyptian hieroglyphs to at
least 17,000-year-old cave paintings. It’s a term that originated in the 1920s’ print
industry. It continues to cover a range of activities including logo creation. Graphic
design in this sense concerns aesthetic appeal and marketing. Graphic designers
attract viewers using images, color, and typography. However, graphic designers
working in user experience (UX) design must justify stylistic choices regarding, say,
image locations and font with a human-centered approach. That means you need to
focus on—and seek to empathize the most with—your specific users while you create
good-looking designs that maximize usability. Aesthetics must serve a purpose—in
UX design we don’t create art for art’s sake. So, graphic designers must branch
into visual design. When designing for UX, you should:
 Consider the information architecture of your interactive designs to
ensure accessibility for users.
 Leverage graphic design skills to create work that considers the entire user
experience, including users’ visual processing abilities.
 For instance, if an otherwise pleasing mobile app can’t offer users what they
need in several taps, its designer will have failed to marry graphic design to
user experience. The scope of graphic design in UX covers creating beautiful
designs that users find highly pleasurable, meaningful and usable.
Graphic Design is also considered as ‘Emotional Design’. Although working in
the digital age means you must design with interactive software, a graphic design still
revolves around age-old principles. It’s crucial that you strike the right chord with
users from their first glance—hence, graphic design’s correspondence with emotional
design. As a graphic designer, you should have a firm understanding of color theory
and how vital the right choice of color scheme is. Color choices must reflect not only
the organization (e.g., blue suits banking) but also users’ expectations (e.g., red for
alerts; green for notifications to proceed). You should design with an eye for how
elements match the tone (e.g., sans-serif fonts for excitement or happiness). You also
need to design for the overall effect and note how you shape users’ emotions as you
guide them from, for instance, a landing page to a call to action. Often, graphic
designers are involved in motion design for smaller screens. They will carefully
monitor how their works’ aesthetics match their users’ expectations. They can enhance
their designs’ usability in a flowing, seamless experience by anticipating the users’
needs and mindsets. With user psychology in mind, it’s important to stay focused on
some especially weighty graphic design considerations, such as symmetry and
balance, flow, repetition, pattern, the golden ratio, the rule of thirds, typography, and
audience culture

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Overall, a graphic designer—as far as graphic design goes in UX and UI

design—is to display information harmoniously. You should ensure that beauty and
usability go hand in hand, and therefore your design can discreetly carry your
organization’s ideals to your users. When you establish a trustworthy visual presence,
you hint to users that you know what they want to do – not just because you’ve
arranged aesthetically pleasing elements that are where your users expect to find them
or help them intuit their way around, but because the values which your designs
display mirror theirs, too. Your visual content will quickly decide your design’s fate,
so be sure not to overlook the slightest trigger that may put users off.

Lesson2 – Visual Communications

Communication is the approach of conveying a desired message to the target

audience to inform, educate or persuade them through different modes. Since the
beginning of human civilization, we have been processing information visually. There
was a time when only imagery, signs and symbols played a significant role in
transferring ideas from one person to another. But with time, there has been a
dramatic change in the way information is processed. In this era of lesser attention
span, it has become essential to communicate with the target audience through a
proven approach that processes information with ease. Today, we can’t deny the
importance of visual communications. But you need specific components of visual
communication to make it more compelling, intriguing and interesting.
Visual communication is the means of delivering a message through visual
elements, such as illustrations, drawings or electronic images. The characteristics of
visual communication are defined by five types of visual communication: objects,
models, graphs, maps and photographs. All these elements determine the look and
feel of the presentation and make it all the more desirable for the audience. In
marketing, visual communication has a crucial role to play. That’s because with the
help of visual means the target audience can grab and digest information more
efficiently. Hence, today, more and more marketers realize the advantages of
communicating with the audience visually.
There are benefits of visual communication such as:
 Delivers the essential information more directly compared to texts.
 Has a more flexible character than that of verbal or textual communication.
 Is attention-grabbing and more engaging than that of other means.
 Creates a lasting impact on the audience and allows them to decide with ease.
 Your message gets a newer dimension and thereby it increases the credibility
of your message.

Below are the seven (7) paramount components of visual communication:

1. Color – A Significant Visual Communication Component.
 Colors play a significant role in visual communication. Being the most
essential elements of visual communication, the primary function of
colors is to decorate, emphasize or categorize a design. Colors have a
deep connection with human emotions and experiences, they create an

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optical effect on us, to put simply, they communicate optically and

emotionally. Amongst all visual communication components, colors
have a central aspect as they create depth in the portrait thereby
constituting a depth in the hierarchy as well. Needless to say, the right
use of colors enhances the effect of form in the representation. Designers
need to understand that conceiving a visual material requires an in-
depth understanding of the fact that relationships between colors cause
an optical effect, warm colors advance and cool colors recede. Using two
different models – additive colors and subtractive colors a graphic
designer can create a treat for the eye.
2. Shape – An Essential Component to Create Logos.
 In visual communication, shapes are among those fundamental
components besides colors that have a huge magnitude for grabbing the
attention of the audience to the piece. These elements also have the
prowess to create an emotional effect on the audience. It’s imperative to
understand that shapes exist in two main categories – organic or
biomorphic forms (that are random and flowing in character and are
mostly used to depict natural materials) and geometric or rectilinear
shapes (that constitute man-made or mathematical designs and are ideal
for drawing industrial patterns). Besides these two there are abstract
shapes and this type finds maximum importance in the field of graphic
designing.
 The function of a shape is to create an effect on a symbol and to build an
outstanding impression on the audience, they influence an audience’s
thought process and help him/her to take effective decisions. A typical
shape can enhance the mood and message of a design. Shapes come in
assorted forms, color, size and each conveys a different type of feeling
or emotion. In graphic designing shapes are mostly used to organize,
connect or separate elements and content. They may also symbolize or
represent a concept, provide depth or texture. Designers can
metamorphose any design through different shapes available.
3. Tones – Emphasizes Your Visual Representation
 A tone is a variation of the intensity of color. Tones come as light or dark
and are mostly identified by the value, percentage, tint and shade. Color
tones refer to variation in a range in a monochromatic field and can be
used to create or emphasize a particular visual representation with
linear or radial gradients. The purpose of the tone is to highlight a
graphical presentation like an infographic besides it can be used to shade
a drawing to make it look three dimensional as well. The nature of tone
is used to give the image a gradual, harsh, soft, dramatic or subtle look.
 Tones come into existence when you add both black and white to a hue.
Tones display subtle and complex qualities in a tint or combination of
shades and reveal how we see colors in the real world. Tone coloring is
a decorative technique that involves the usage of a single or a few colors
and uses different saturation of those colors.

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4. Texture – Enhances The Visual Experience

 Texture is the surface of an object or an image and can be actual or
implied. Actual texture can be felt whereas implied textures look like
real texture. Textures are available as rough or smooth, random or
regular and deep or shallow to describe the surface. The presence of
texture in a graphical presentation displays a more human or friendly
feel to an image and the lack creates a corporate, professional feel. To
put simply, the thoughtful use of textures can enhance the visual
experience you want to convey to your audience in addition to that this
element further amplifies the context for the content. Also, adding
texture to an image offers a bit of visceral depth to the two-dimensional
design. A designer can generate raster or vector software
like Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator to tie one piece of design to another
or become a defining element of a brand or a series of communications.
5. Figure-Ground – Creates a Strong Contrast Visually
 Figure-ground is yet another most essential elements of visual
communication. It refers to the relationship between a figure, i.e., the
shape, object, type, etc. along with its background. They are ideally the
shapes, space or forms within a composition. In this designing
component, the ‘figure’ is the one that a viewer sees and the ‘ground’ is
the other surrounding areas. The ‘figure’ is known as ‘ the positive
space,’ and refers to those images that are visually dominant on the
ground and the ‘ground’ is referred to as the ‘negative space’ or the
background (the surrounding area that the figure is placed upon).
According to the designing principles an image can either be image
dominant or ground dominant. In visual representation, figure-ground
is crucial in providing distinctness in visual communication. However,
designers may choose to emphasize figures by creating a strong contrast
in color, texture, etc. or to hide them in opposite ways.
6. Balance – Arranges Visual Components
 Balance has an immense impact on visual communication. It is actually
the arrangement of components on two sides of a vertical axis (the
demarcation is either seen or implied). In visual communication, there
are two ways to balance a composition- symmetrical balance and
asymmetrical balance.
 Symmetrical Balance: Where the two sides of the composition are the
same or nearly the same and they produce a mirror image of each other.
In the graphical representation, it creates a stable and static composition
and is well-suited to present informative or instructional visual
communication.
 Asymmetrical Balance: According to this balanced type through two
sides of the composition is balanced, yet they are not mirrored to achieve
balance off center. While creating an image with asymmetrical balance,
different sized components get more or less visual weight. In any
graphical portrayal, visual weight can be increased or decreased by
changing one or more of tone color size or proximity to the central axis.

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Designers prefer to use visual communication employing asymmetrical

balance to give a more dynamic composition so that audiences get
encouraged to interact with the design.
7. Hierarchy – Leads Your Viewers Through the Message
 In communication design, the hierarchy is a fundamental design
principle and is created by the use of design elements that include scale,
color, shape and other factors including position. It’s proven that objects
nearer to the center of the top of a composition attract maximum
attention. Hence, visual hierarchy plays an imperative role in visual
designing to describe the sequence of elements in a particular
composition. It can help lead your audience through an entire message.
The purpose of hierarchy in visual communication is to let the viewers
help them travel through the visual part by part thereby helping them
to process their brain through the information in the designers intended
way.
 Establishing a focal point on a page is important. This is necessary to
give your audience a place to start navigating your website and showing
them where the most important information is. It offers guidance to your
viewers and helps them to communicate what they want them to do
next.

Infographics are one of the most impressive means of visual communication.

An audience can relate to these means so conveniently that they prefer to process
information designers can unleash their creativity in an infographic by utilizing the
different components for maximum effect.

Lesson3 – Visual Thinking

When people conceptualize new ideas or brainstorm solutions, they almost

always do so visually, whether they realize it or not. Our brains are wired to create
ideas visually, but, as we all know, taking the visualization in your head and
communicating it to other people isn’t a simple task. Visual thinking is a method
of communication that allows people to actualize their ideas to help build them
collaboratively. By utilizing visual thinking strategies, you can depict and develop
new ideas with clarity rather than moving in circles, unable to express yourself
effectively.

What is Visual Thinking?

Visual thinking is defined as a thought process that organizes ideas visually
and focuses on graphic representation instead of a verbal representation of
information. This can be a bit of an abstract concept, but it can have a significant
impact if applied correctly. As we develop a more nuanced understanding of the
brain, it becomes increasingly apparent that people everywhere learn best through
visual mediums, regardless of their artistic disposition.

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It can be hard for people to grasp what visual thinking is because it’s not a
specific set of rules or a linear procedure of steps. It’s more a thought process that
encourages graphic representation, using images to inspire and recall information,
and brainstorming with largely visual elements.
In the physical world, visual thinkers use these skills to complete many
tasks, from the very mundane to the extraordinarily complex. For example, they
might be great at estimating distances between objects or could create a complex
mind map from memory. Some people are more naturally inclined to think
visually, but that doesn’t mean it can’t help everyone. Especially in a professional
setting, visual thinking strategies can help teams:
 Stimulate problem-solving
 Break down complex structures of information
 Create strong associations between pieces of information
 Explore innovative ideas
 Improve team efficiency
 Organize ideas graphically
When used during traditional or remote collaboration, visual thinking
strategies can be helpful to stimulate participation and diversity of thought,
something that is very important in team collaboration. Through using visual
thinking, teams can reveal new kinds of information, challenge assumptions, and
create a unique and shared understanding as they work together.

6 Impactful Visual Thinking Strategies

If you want to begin implementing visual thinking into your team process,
it’s important to identify some potential visual thinking strategies to utilize. While
visual thinking doesn’t rely on a single strategy to facilitate, there are many ways
you can integrate visual thinking into your collaboration process. Below are some
popular strategies and templates that you can use to integrate visual thinking:
1. Strategic Planning. Strategic planning requires teams of people to have a
shared understanding of the vision behind an organization, the processes
that structure it, and how to align company goals for the future. Keeping all
of these elements under the same roof can get very confusing, so it can be
super helpful to implement visual thinking to increase transparency and
communication. One example of how to do so would be creating an org chart
for an existing organization. Creating an org chart allows you to formalize
documentation on the structure and hierarchy of an organization. This
template uses visual elements to structure the organization, which helps
communicate information quickly to everyone involved and can have a
positive impact on your strategic planning.
2. Task Management. Managing projects and tasks requires careful
organization to ensure the project can be finished on time and with the
correct cadence. When mapping out these workflows, it can be incredibly
helpful to utilize visual thinking strategies to plan out procedures and
directions. People typically have a much easier time following directions
when they’re illustrated in a visual format, and whether that be a Gantt

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chart, simple task management structure, or fleshed-out flowchart, visual

thinking strategies can help get the most out of your task management.
3. Problem-Solving Brainstorming and problem-solving is the most
straightforward place to implement visual thinking strategies, and people
have a relatively easy time grasping how to brainstorm and communicate
visually in these situations. Integrating creative expression, template-based
collaboration, and exercises that push people to express themselves visually
allows you to expand the limits of what you can achieve in a brainstorming
session. Doing so will make people more engaged, provide a unique way to
communicate, and efficiently solve problems that don’t have an immediate
solution.
4. Distributing Information. Something that many organizations struggle
with is creating documentation and communicating information to a large
group of people. Without a visual aid, there are a ton of chances for
miscommunication and misunderstanding, which can create many different
issues further along. Utilizing visual thinking strategies such as
organizational charts, flowcharts, and business models allows organizations
to distribute information efficiently and give people a visual aid so they can
better remember the information.
5. Innovation. One of the reasons visual thinking is so impactful is because it
breaks from the norm of traditional verbal communication. By breaking
away from this communication style, you can increase the velocity at which
your team innovates and formulates new ideas. Visual thinking allows
teams to innovate more consistently and keep pushing themselves to ideate
new concepts. Some artistic examples of innovation-based visual thinking
strategies could be drawing squiggle birds, doing the 30 circles exercise, or
creating mind maps.
6. Workshops. Conducting virtual workshops, or doing traditional
workshopping, is a good way for teams to connect and explore visual
thinking strategies while collaborating in real time. Workshops usually
create a forum for people to interact over a series of different visual thinking
exercises, building on each other’s contributions and creating solutions
along the way. When conducted through an online whiteboard, people are
able to integrate multiple visual thinking strategies on the same board,
expanding on new ideas and integrating creative patterns of thought.

Visual Thinking Strategies Questions

Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is an educational method and a way of
facilitating discussions around visual art. It encourages critical thinking,
communication, and interpretation of images through a series of open-ended
questions. Here are some common questions that can be used to engage in VTS:
 What’s going on in this picture?
 How can you describe what you observe to support your statement?
 What more can we find?
 What might the people in this picture be thinking or feeling?
 What narrative or tale do you believe this image conveys?

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 How does this picture make you feel?

 What details in the image catch your eye?
 What do you think the artist was trying to convey with this artwork?
 If this image were part of a larger story, what might come before or after it?
 What questions do you have about this image?
These questions are deliberately open-ended and non-judgmental,
encouraging participants to express their thoughts and interpretations without fear
of a “wrong” answer. They stimulate discussion, encourage multiple perspectives,
and help participants engage deeply with the artwork or image in question.

Visual Thinking Examples – How to Apply Visual Thinking

If visual thinking seems like something that could help your team in the
future, here are some examples of sessions that you can conduct to stimulate
innovation and collaboration for your team.
 Brainstorming. Brainstorming takes many forms, and there are a million
different ways your team can formulate new ideas using visual thinking.
Some of the most popular are brainwriting, creating concept maps, or
expansive mind maps. Even if you’re a novice, you’re surely familiar with
some of these visual thinking strategies. Brainstorming helps teams focus on
a singular goal, ideating and bouncing ideas off each other until they reach
an ultimate solution.
 Roadmapping. Creating roadmaps is a beneficial visual thinking example
and can help teams think in the future about their processes, their customer’s
experience, and how they can improve in the future. Roadmaps are helpful
from multiple perspectives within a business, so any team can engage in
road mapping to create future innovations. Additionally, these documents
are helpful for internal management, so you can integrate them to facilitate
organizational planning as well.
 Presentations. While creating presentations can often seem like a formal
task that is only used for delivery, using a presentation can be really helpful
for integrating visual thinking elements into a workflow. Utilizing
presentation slides can greatly increase your ability to visualize
contributions with an audience of people and is an effective way to integrate
visual aids to communicate information. Especially when beginning a new
sprint, pitching a new idea, or planning with a team, presentation slides can
be a great medium to integrate visual thinking to communicate with a team.
 Flowcharts. Flowcharts are a more detailed version of roadmaps and can be
used in a variety of situations to help visualize information and create
actionable insights. These diagrams are a popular visual tool that creates
clarity between teams, opens up possibilities for automation, and limits
miscommunication. Flowcharts are helpful for diagramming workflows and
can be a tool that helps teams collaborate on creating an efficient and
optimized internal experience. Where this would usually just be in an email
chain, flowcharts give teams a visual forum to collaborate and engage in
visual thinking.

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 Teaching Visual thinking is extremely beneficial in the classroom, and

teaching is one of the most important applications of visual thinking
strategies. Teachers can use visual thinking to help explain complicated
concepts so students can develop a deep relationship between ideas and can
also help teach new information to establish strong roots of knowledge.
Especially in situations with younger classrooms, visual thinking strategies
are key to developing intuitive and creative thinking.

How to Increase Visual Thinking Capabilities

If you want to implement visual thinking but are struggling to find the right
balance with your team, we outlined some methods that can help increase your
ability to use visual thinking.

Educate Your Team

If your team is skeptical about utilizing visual thinking, they won’t take any
ownership over their participation. Don’t shy away from convincing people to
contribute and buy into visual thinking. There are plenty of resources (including
this blog) that can help expand on what visual thinking is and why it’s effective.
Educating team members and teaching them new methods of interaction can be a
catalyst for their participation, which can boost team morale and increase
productivity for everyone.
Create More Engaging Sessions
If your visual thinking sessions are more of a lecture than a collaborative,
creative exercise, then they won’t be all that effective. If you’re struggling to see
results from your initial visual thinking sessions, try adding bold colors, using
additional visuals, and coding all information visually to give people clear
references to where something applies. Adding colorful visuals can create a much
more engaging experience than simply using a pencil, and this can help improve
visual thinking for everyone involved.

Help Connect Thoughts

If people are thinking using visual aids and communicating well, but the
ideas still aren’t connecting, it can be helpful to create associations during your
visual thinking sessions. While visual thinking strategies can help create stronger
memories for people, it can also be a little confusing if you don’t make an effort to
connect ideas in the first place. Try associating related images and thoughts to
create a web of information that’s easier to follow. This way, your team can benefit
from the stimulation of visual thinking while also navigating a connected web of
information for easy association.

Encourage Collaboration
Visual thinking strategies work best in collaboration with other people,
bouncing ideas off each other and exploring new trains of thought. If your visual
thinking sessions are stagnating, try to mix up the collaborative environment, get
new people working together, and assign projects that require cross-team
collaboration. This permits a more intense exchange of information and can reveal

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new, innovative ideas for everyone. Additionally, it provides an opportunity for

more people to get involved and contribute their ideas which can help further the
collaborative impact of visual thinking.

Visual Thinking vs Verbal Thinking

Visual thinking and verbal thinking are two different cognitive processes for
problem-solving, comprehension, and communication, each relying on distinct
methods of processing information and forming thoughts. Here’s a comparison of
the two:
1. Processing Mode:
 Visual Thinking: This mode primarily relies on processing information
through images, patterns, and spatial relationships. It often involves mental
imagery, diagrams, and visual representation to understand and
communicate ideas.
 Verbal Thinking: Verbal thinking is centered on language and words. It
involves using language, whether internally through thoughts or externally
through speech and writing, to think, communicate, and analyze
information.
2. Representation:
 Visual Thinking: Visual thinkers tend to use mental images, charts,
diagrams, and other visual aids to organize and understand information.
They might create mind maps or sketch out ideas to clarify their thinking.
 Verbal Thinking: Verbal thinkers rely on the use of language and words to
structure their thoughts. They may narrate stories in their minds, use lists,
or engage in inner dialogue to process information.
3. Problem Solving:
 Visual Thinking: Visual thinkers often excel at tasks that involve spatial
reasoning, pattern recognition, and visualization. They may find it easier to
solve puzzles, design, or navigate spaces using mental imagery.
 Verbal Thinking: Verbal thinkers are typically strong in tasks that require
language-based problem-solving, such as writing, debating, and articulating
ideas effectively.
4. Communication:
 Visual Thinking: Visual thinkers may find it more natural to convey
complex concepts through visuals, such as diagrams, drawings, or
slideshows. They can also benefit from using visual aids during
presentations.
 Verbal Thinking: Verbal thinkers are often more adept at articulating ideas
through spoken or written language. They may excel in debates, public
speaking, and written communication.
5. Learning Preferences:
 Visual Thinking: Visual thinkers often prefer learning through visual
materials, such as charts, graphs, and videos. They may better retain
information when it is presented in a visually engaging format.
 Verbal Thinking: Verbal thinkers tend to excel in traditional classroom
settings that emphasize lectures, reading, and written assignments.

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It’s important to note that individuals often use a combination of both visual
and verbal thinking, and these thinking styles can complement each other. Some
people may have a preference for one mode of thinking over the other, but it’s
advantageous to develop skills in both visual and verbal thinking to enhance
cognitive flexibility and problem-solving abilities.

How Visual Thinking Is Unique

Visual thinking is a unique style of communication and is very different
from the traditional written or verbal type of communication. Additionally,
because visual thinking emphasizes how to better understand information, some
people can be confused as to how it applies in real life and where verbal
communication might struggle. Here is a quick breakdown of how visual thinkers
typically process information, contrasted with verbal thinking:
Visual
 Visualize information in their head as pictures or 3D representations
 Find it easier to see something than explain it; often imagine abstract
concepts before fully formed thoughts
 May struggle to find the exact words for their thought because they can’t
accurately represent an image
Verbal
 Thoughts are usually a string of words or a sentence rather than an image
 Many thoughts exist as internal dialogue rather than abstract concept
 May struggle to visualize information fully because verbal
representation can’t create a full picture

Most people grow up learning mostly about verbal thinking and

communication, which can do a great job when expressing information from
person to person. When working together and sharing ideas, however, verbal
communication can struggle to properly communicate the full picture. For this,
visual thinking is a very unique style of communication that can be incredibly
effective.
Verbal and visual thinking aren’t complete opposites either, and in order to
communicate and collaborate effectively, teams will need to utilize both. By
bringing teams together and utilizing problem-solving strategies that positively
impact both verbal and visual thinkers, you can ensure everyone is aligned and
able to participate effectively. Visual thinking is a process that helps create
innovative processes that push teams forward and communicate effectively.

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Lesson4 – Elements and Principles of Design

One of the most difficult parts of talking about the principles of design is
figuring out just how many principles there are. And once that’s been figured out,
which of these supposed design fundamentals should be included?

Basic Visual Design Principles

As already mentioned, there is no real consensus in the design community
about what the main principles of design actually are. That said, the following twelve
principles of visual design are those mentioned most often in articles and books on
the subject.

1. Contrast. Contrast refers to how different elements are in a design, particularly

adjacent elements. These differences make various elements stand out. Contrast is
also a very important aspect of creating accessible designs. Insufficient contrast can
make text content in particular very difficult to read, especially for people with
visual impairments.
2. Balance All design elements and principles—typography, colors, images, shapes,
patterns, etc.—carry a visual weight. Some elements are heavy and draw the eye,
while other elements are lighter. The way these elements are laid out on a page
should create a feeling of balance. There are two basic types of balance:
symmetrical and asymmetrical. Symmetrical designs layout elements of equal
weight on either side of an imaginary center line. Asymmetrical balance uses
elements of differing weights, often laid out about a line that is not centered within
the overall design.
3. Emphasis. Emphasis deals with the parts of a design that are meant to stand out.
In most cases, this means the most important information the design is meant to
convey. Emphasis can also be used to reduce the impact of certain information.
This is most apparent in instances where “fine print” is used for ancillary
information in a design. Tiny typography tucked away at the bottom of a page
carries much less weight than almost anything else in a design, and is therefore
deemphasized.
4. Proportion. Proportion is one of the easier principles of graphic design to
understand. Simply put, it’s the size of elements about one another. Proportion
signals what’s important in a design and what isn’t. Larger elements are more
important, smaller elements less.
5. Hierarchy. Hierarchy is another principle of design that directly relates to how
well content can be processed by people using a website. It refers to the importance
of elements within a design. The most important elements (or content)
should appear to be the most important. Hierarchy is most easily illustrated
through the use of titles and headings in a design. The title of a page should be
given the most importance and therefore should be immediately recognizable as
the most important element on a page. Headings and subheadings should be
formatted in a way that shows their importance about each other as well as about
the title and body copy.

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6. Repetition. Repetition is a great way to reinforce an idea. It’s also a great way to
unify a design that brings together a lot of different elements. Repetition can be
done in several ways: via repeating the same colors, typefaces, shapes, or other
elements of a design.
7. Rhythm. The spaces between repeating elements can cause a sense of rhythm to
form, similar to the way the space between notes in a musical composition creates
a rhythm. There are five basic types of visual rhythm that designers can create:
random, regular, alternating, flowing, and progressive.
 Random rhythms have no discernable pattern.
 Regular rhythms follow the same spacing between each element with no
variation.
 Alternating rhythms follow a set pattern that repeats, but there is variation
between the actual elements (such as a 1-2-3-1-2-3 pattern).
 Flowing rhythms follow bends and curves, similar to the way sand dunes
undulate or waves flow.
 Progressive rhythms change as they go along, with each change adding to
the previous iterations.
Rhythms can be used to create a number of feelings. They can create
excitement (particularly flowing and progressive rhythms) or create
reassurance and consistency. It all depends on the way they are
implemented.
8. Pattern. Patterns are nothing more than a repetition of multiple design elements
working together. Wallpaper patterns are the most ubiquitous example of patterns
that virtually everyone is familiar with. In design, however, patterns can also refer
to set standards for how certain elements are designed. For example, top
navigation is a design pattern that the majority of internet users have interacted
with.
9. White Space. White space—also referred to as “negative space”— is the areas of a
design that do not include any design elements. The space is, effectively, empty.
Many beginning designers feel the need to pack every pixel with some type of
“design” and overlook the value of white space. But white space serves many
important purposes in a design, foremost being giving elements of the design room
to breathe. Negative space can also help highlight specific content or specific parts
of a design. It can also make elements of a design easier to discern. This is why
typography is more legible when upper and lowercase letters are used since
negative space is more varied around lowercase letters, which allows people to
interpret them more quickly. In some cases, negative space is used to create
secondary images that may not be immediately apparent to the viewer. This can
be a valuable part of branding that can delight customers. Take the hidden arrow
in the FedEx logo, for just one example.
10. Movement. Movement refers to the way the eye travels over a design. The most
important element should lead to the next most important and so on. This is done
through positioning (the eye naturally falls on certain areas of a design first),
emphasis, and other design elements already mentioned.

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11. Variety. Variety in design is used to create visual interest. Without variety, a
design can very quickly become monotonous, causing the user to lose interest.
Variety can be created in a variety of ways, through color, typography, images,
shapes, and virtually any other design element. However, variety for the sake of
variety is pointless. Variety should reinforce the other elements of a design and be
used alongside them to create a more interesting and aesthetically pleasing
outcome that improves the user’s experience.
12. Unity. Everyone has seen a website or other design out there that seemed to just
throw elements on a page with no regard for how they worked together.
Newspaper ads that use ten different fonts come to mind almost immediately.
Unity refers to how well the elements of a design work together. Visual elements
should have clear relationships with each other in a design. Unity also helps ensure
concepts are being communicated in a clear, cohesive fashion. Designs with good
unity also appear to be more organized and of higher quality and authority than
designs with poor unity.

Other Principles of Design

Other principles of design include typography, color, Gestalt Principles, grid
and alignment, framing, and shape. Some definitely fit the definition of “principles”
while others are more like elements of design.
Typography refers to the way text is arranged in a design. That includes the
fonts used, their spacing, size, and weight, and the way different text elements relate
to each other. Good typographic design is heavily influenced by all of the other design
principles mentioned earlier in this article.
The use of color in design is one of the most psychologically important parts of
a design and has a huge influence on user experience. Color psychology and theory
heavily influence some of the other principles mentioned earlier.
Gestalt Principles include similarity, continuation, closure, proximity,
figure/ground, and symmetry and order (also called prägnanz). Some of those
principles are closely related to the principles mentioned above.
Grid and alignment are closely related to balance and refer to the way elements
are arranged about an invisible grid on the page.
Framing refers to how the primary subject of a design is placed in relation to
other elements on the page. It’s most often heard referred to in cinematography or
photography, with how the main focus of an image is placed within the overall image.
But the principle carries over into design.
Shape is also a major part of any design, both in terms of specific shapes used
as elements within the design, and the overall shape of the design itself. Different
shapes can evoke different feelings, i.e circles are organic and fluid, while squares are
more rigid and formal, and triangles give a sense of energy or movement.
These design “principles” or elements are important aspects of good design and
should be considered alongside the other basic principles to create the best user
experiences.

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Summary
What constitutes the “basic” principles of design is certainly up for debate. But
understanding and implementing the principles covered above is vital to the success
of any design project.
Designers should aim to understand how each of these design principles
actually impact their work. Studying how other designers have implemented these
ideas to structure their own designs is also an incredibly valuable tool in learning to
create better designs.
It’s entirely possible to create a good design without a thorough understanding
of these elements and principles of design. However, it’s typically done by “designer’s
intuition” and may take a lot of trial and error to create something that looks good and
creates an optimal user experience. Designers could save a lot of time and energy by
practicing the principles we have discussed until they become second nature.

Lesson5 – Design Processes

What Is A Graphic Design Process?

It’s the steps or phases taken to get a design to move from ideation to finished
product. There’s a lot more that goes into making this process smooth and effective.
When everything flows together, your project will be able to create designs faster and
more efficiently.

5-Step Graphic Design Process

Whether you’re creating a solid process for the first time or looking to refine an
existing one, here are 5 graphic design process steps to consider:

1. Start with a creative brief.

 The creative design process starts with a creative brief which sets the
tone for the entire project. It's the first and arguably one of the most
important steps in the visual design process as it will lead the ideation
phase in creating a design that meets the requirements. A creative brief
is a document that’s aimed to help the designer understand the scope of
the project and what’s needed from them. You’ll want to include as
much relevant information as possible to reduce any confusion, and as
a result, back and forth.
 Be sure to include the following in your brief: Company details, Brand
guidelines, Target audience, If there is one; define the problem the brand
is facing, What the final product should be (I.e. brochure, eBook, etc),
Timeline expectations and milestones, Budget, What you intend viewers
to do when they see the final product, and Examples of similar work you
like (and don’t).
2. Conduct graphic design research.
 Depending on the scope of the project, you’ll want to include as much
valuable information in your creative brief to minimize the time spent
in this step. However, it’s still extremely valuable for designers to go

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through the research phase themselves to build a better understanding

of the audience they’re designing for (and how to make it work for you).
 The research phase of the design process often involves things like:
o Looking at competitor designs
o Look at what the intended audience is engaging with on channels
like social media
o Look for trends on free stock
o Taking all of the knowledge they’ve learned and applying it to
the project at hand
 Designers may also want to create a mood board or collection of
comparable designs at this stage in order to get their ideas flowing. More
on that below!
3. Brainstorm your design ideas
 Before a designer goes full-throttle into a project, have them brainstorm
some ideas and present them to you. This will minimize any frustration
throughout the creative process. Don’t forget to outline this step in your
creative brief!
 If the project owner (who created the brief) has really strong ideas on
how the final designs should look, it’s best for them to add in any
relevant links or inspiration into the brief for optimal clarity.
 Once the designer presents 3-5 ideas from their brainstorming and
ideation phase, decide on which one you want to move forward with.
This will make for a smooth graphic design workflow process that gets
you the best results, fast.
4. Review at the 10/50/99 stage
 When determining your milestones in your creative brief, be sure to
check in with designers throughout the design process. The 10/50/99
feedback process ensures that you’re checking in at the most crucial
parts of a project, allowing you to give the right feedback at the right
time:
o 10% done — A skeleton, outline or wireframe of the final design.
At this stage, you can give feedback on the vision and direction
that the work is headed in.
o 50% done — The core components are coming together. The
direction is no longer at debate so leave that feedback at the door.
Instead, focus on whether or not the vision you determined is
being visualized in the design.
o 99% done — The nitty-gritty design tweaks. Finally! You can start
tweaking things like spacing, colors, you name it.
 Often, people will break these review rules and start giving feedback on
things like color choice or fonts at a stage where the designer has only
outlined a skeleton. This is not only frustrating for the designer, it’s
unproductive! Make sure to follow the above design review stages to
keep your projects moving along smoothly.

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5. Present the final product

 It’s time to get the final files. If you want to go the extra mile, ask
feedback from trusted co-designers. Ask them what can be improved on
your work. Over time, you’ll be able to scale your design
process effectively.

REFERENCES:

Graphic Design Overview: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/graphic-design

Visual Communications: https://www.infographicdesignteam.com/blog/components-of-visual-communication/
Visual Thinking: https://ideascale.com/blog/visual-thinking-definition/
Principles of Design: https://www.toptal.com/designers/ui/principles-of-design
Design Process: https://www.superside.com/blog/graphic-design-process

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