Graphic Design Fundamentals

Graphic Design Fundamentals
What is Graphic Design?

Graphic Design is a process in which we use typography, images, colors, icons and
other illustrations to communicate visually. This term was first coined by William
Addison Dwiggins on 1992 as he called himself a “graphic designer”. However,
graphic design is a thousand-year-old craft which dates back to ancient cave
drawings. In today’s era, we use graphic design not just to communicate visually
but also to having good user experience (for software developers) and also to
boost/improve one’s emotions (with the use of colors). The fundamentals of graphic
design vary from PowerPoint presentations, web/mobile applications, posters, logos,
and even paintings.
The basic elements of graphic design are the following:
• Lines
• Shapes
• Form
• Texture
• Balance
Line
A line is a kind of shape which connects two or more points. It is also considered as
one of the essential elements of graphic design. Lines can be thick, thin, curved, or
jagged.
Figure 1 shows the different styles of a line.
Thick Line
Thin Line
Curved Line
Jagged Line
Lines can be used and commonly found in drawings or illustrations,

textures or patterns, as well as on text composition – whether to give
emphasis, divide or organize content, or to guide the viewer’s eye. Impacts on
lines also differs based on their attributes.
These attributes include:

 Weight
 Color
 Texture
 Style
Shape
A shape is a two-dimensional external boundary of an object. Any
object outline that has height and width can be considered as a shape.
Together with lines, they form the foundation of your design.
There are two (2) major categories of shapes in design:

 Geometric – these are regular and mathematical shapes.
 Organic – these are freeform shapes.
Figure 3 shows the different examples of geometric and organic shapes.
Shapes can be used in organizing or dividing contents, create illustrations,

and in adding interest to one’s work/design.
Form
A form is a three-dimensional shape. Shadows, perspective, depth, and

sometimes texture creates a form. Without these attributes, a form is just a
shape or series of shapes. Plain images/objects and flat designs can be
enhanced by adding shadows or lightings to create an illusion of a form. It
also gives the object a sense of place. Figure 5 shows that a ball, if you make
it two-dimensional is just a circle.
Figure 5 Difference of a form and a shape
Texture
Texture refers to the physical quality of the surface of an object in an

artwork or design. It also refers to how an object look or feels like. An object
might be smooth, rough, shiny, hard, or soft. It can be in 3D (real texture) or
2D (visual texture). Texture adds depth and visual interest to the flat images
or objects.
Texture can be used for:

 Establishing visual value or a focal point in an artwork.
 Having contrast within a design
 Making an artwork visually balanced.
Figure 6 Real texture (left) and visual texture (right)
Balance
Visual balance is the creation of visual equilibrium by relating elements such as

line, shape, color, space or form in terms of their visual weight. Basically, there
are two kinds of visual balance:
1. Symmetrical balance. From the name itself, symmetrical balance,

which includes radial symmetry is when both two sides of a piece
are equal. If you fold your artwork or piece into two or if you put an
imaginary line between your artwork, each half is identical or
visually similar to the other half.
Figure 7 Symmetrical design example
2. Asymmetrical balance. Both sides of your composition does not

contain the same elements but contain almost the same visual weight.
Figure 8 Asymmetrical design example
Branding and Identity
Branding and identity can be found everywhere. Look around you, you may
see some of your personal items, product packaging, documents, or some
sort of advertising. All of them have one in common – identity.
Branding is simply what people thinks about you, your company, your
product or your service. For example, we think of Albert Einstein as the
epitome of intelligence, and that is how he was branded. Identity or visual
identity is the visual representation of a brand. It can be in a form of image,
choice of color or typography, and many more. For example, we quickly
recognize the company and its service but just looking at its logo, typeface, or
color combinations.
Let’s cite one example. We can easily associate the school by simple looking
at their color combination. For instance, if we see colors red and maroon, we
can easily connect it with PUP, or red and green for UP.
Branding and identity are not just for products and services, we can even
apply it to how we work or what type of output we produce. For example, the
use of bright and bold colors are often associated with the famous painter,
Vincent Van Gogh.
Lucidpress (2018) enumerated the seven steps to creating a brand identity

design:
1. Establish clear purpose and positioning. Recall why you or your

company exists, who your target audience are, and what makes you or
your service unique from your competitors.
2. Conduct thorough market research. Having a deep analysis on

your target audience on what their personalities are which will lead you
to the next step.
3. Get a personality. Based on your research, determine your brand’s

personality. Brand personality make a huge impact on the visuals of
your marketing materials.
4. Create a polished logo. In creating your logo, it should be simple,
scalable, and memorable. Observe the logos of famous companies
like Amazon, Google, and IBM. What do these logos have in common?
5. Create an attractive color pallete. Your color pallete should be
simple and contain one to three primary colors. Once you have
established your color pallete, you may play with their color family. For
example, if you choose blue as you primary color, you may use sky
blue, baby blue, and other colors under the blue family to support your
primary color.
6. Select professional typography. When selecting fonts, it is

important to consider these things:
a. Do not make it fancy. Fancy typefaces only make
your text confusing. Example:
b. Don’t mix fonts/typefaces. Do not mix fonts or typefaces

in a word or sentence as it may give mixed interpretations to
your audience.
Example:
c. Mix contrasting fonts/typefaces. This is not similar to

the above item. This means you may use serif typefaces for
your product title and sans serif for the subtitle.
7. Choose on-brand supporting graphics. Your brand identity should

have a visual library that include icons, images/photographs, design
assets, and other supporting graphics.

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Graphic Design Fundamentals

What is Graphic Design?

Figure 1 shows the different styles of a line.

Lines can be used and commonly found in drawings or illustrations,

These attributes include:

There are two (2) major categories of shapes in design:

Figure 3 shows the different examples of geometric and organic shapes.

Shapes can be used in organizing or dividing contents, create illustrations,

A form is a three-dimensional shape. Shadows, perspective, depth, and

Figure 5 Difference of a form and a shape

Texture refers to the physical quality of the surface of an object in an

Texture can be used for:

Visual balance is the creation of visual equilibrium by relating elements such as

1. Symmetrical balance. From the name itself, symmetrical balance,

Figure 7 Symmetrical design example

2. Asymmetrical balance. Both sides of your composition does not

Branding and Identity

Lucidpress (2018) enumerated the seven steps to creating a brand identity

1. Establish clear purpose and positioning. Recall why you or your

2. Conduct thorough market research. Having a deep analysis on

3. Get a personality. Based on your research, determine your brand’s

6. Select professional typography. When selecting fonts, it is

b. Don’t mix fonts/typefaces. Do not mix fonts or typefaces

c. Mix contrasting fonts/typefaces. This is not similar to

7. Choose on-brand supporting graphics. Your brand identity should

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