SLIDE 1: INTRO

Hi everyone, I am Dwight Navarro, I'm a graphic designer. I also do photography on the side. I'm
apparently a University of Northern Philippines alumni. I did work as a graphic designer in Megaworld, a
corporate company. But now, I decided I want to explore more. So I'll be working as a graphic web
designer na in na I.T. Company next week. Gladly!

SLIDE 2: What is Graphic Design

Let’s see, Graphic design is… all around you. It is everything from the calendar on your wall to that
annoying commercial on TV; it’s your email client and your company website; it’s your hand lotion bottle
and the logo of your favorite clothing brand.

This kind of design is often confused with illustration, but while an illustrator creates or draws an image
in response to an idea, a designer combines illustrations, photographs, and type in order to
communicate an idea. One way to understand this is to consider the difference between a furniture
maker and an interior designer. One makes a specific object for a specific purpose, while the other
thinks about how all of the objects and surfaces of a room create an environment for the person moving
through it. Good illustrators are often capable designers and vice versa, making it harder to distinguish
between the two practices.

SLIDE 4: Aspects

Good graphic design needs to have several elements in perfect balance. Professional designers stress on
the fact that a great design does not aim to overwhelm, but is understated and harmonious.

All the elements are in smooth accord and there is nothing that mars you visual experience.

Good graphic design aims to be functional and efficient, aesthetic, user-focused and absorbing. But to
achieve this, the designer will have to ensure the important elements work together to realize the best
result.

Let’s try to learn more about the elements.

SLIDE 5: Line

Line is one of the most significant elements of graphic web design.

Lines help demarcate boundaries and separate content on a web page. They also help draw the visitors’
attention to significant parts.

In graphic design a line is a connection between two points, but its functions are not as simple and linear
as that.

In most cases lines help enclose and highlight selections of text.

And when you think of lines do not limit yourself to the plain ones you used to draw in your class notes
while in school. Lines can be beautiful and be formed by stars, triangles, hearts, dots, dashes and you
name it.

Interesting and quirky lines give a novel look to web pages.

Youthful and interesting web pages can be created by incorporating diagonal and vertical lines.

But the main aim should be that they contribute and add value to the overall design, and help tell the
story better.

SLIDE 6: COLORS

The world is more beautiful when there are colors in it, and this applies to web pages as well.

A web designer needs to have an eye for beauty. She needs to know what color combinations work best
for the vision, mission and objective of a business.

A loud purple color will not work well on a website dedicated to war relief efforts.

In the same way cosmetic companies prefer rich, luscious and vibrant color tones. The aim is to bring
out the attractiveness of colors.

A graphic design needs to blend the various color schemes, font colors and imagery to give off the best
visual experience possible.

Color can be used to show linked text on a page, make images pop and to evoke an emotion. The
capabilities are vast and a professional graphic designer will be able to work them to the best advantage
of a business.

SLIDE 7: ANALOGOUS COLORS

A great design is built around a color scheme which uses both complementary and analogous colors.
Complementary colors are situated across from each other in the color spectrum: blue and orange, red
and green, yellow and purple, for example. Analogous colors are situated next to each other, such as
blue and purple, or white and gray.

Complementary colors should be used in those areas of the page where you want to attract the viewer’s
attention through the contrast these colors create. For the rest of the page, the color palette should
focus on soothing analogous colors, to avoid creating eye fatigue.

SLIDE 8: NEUTRAL COLORS

White and black are considered non-colors, or neutral colors. This is the best combination for blocks of
text, ensuring maximum readability and focus on the text without distractions. White and black are also
a great color scheme by themselves if you want to achieve a clean, hi-tech and professional look for your
website.
SLIDE 9: SHAPES

Shapes are of different kinds –

Geometric– circle, triangle, square etc.

Natural– leaf, people, stars etc.

Abstract– icons, graphic shapes and other designed styles

They need to be used cleverly in appropriate places in order to provide the best user experience. Their
role is functional as well as aesthetic and it takes time and effort to ensure the shapes increase the
appeal and attractiveness of the site.

When used properly, shapes can successfully create an outstanding and effective graphic design. The
mood and message of the design may be enhanced by altering its shape in terms of form, colour and
size. Shapes may be soft, curved, rounded, angled or sharp, and each conveys a different type of mood
or emotion. They may used in a variety of ways, such as to organise, connect or separate elements and
content. Shapes may also symbolise or represent a concept, create movement, provide depth or
texture, and a lot more.

Shape creation has become much easier and faster these days with the help of modern graphic design
tools. Designers today can create, transform and modify unique designs through the application of
graphics software like Adobe Illustrator. These computer programs help designers create and
manipulate simple and complex shapes with the mere click and drag of the mouse or pen. The colours,
textures, patterns and opacity of the shapes can also be transformed to get the desired results for the
graphic design. Mastery of the design programs is a must if designers were to make the best out of
them.

Create An Illusion

When used correctly, you can use geometric patterns to create a illusion of movement. Check out this
poster created for the appropriately titled “Wave Festival”. The use of bold shapes adjusted to create
wave patterns creates an illusion of movement to the design while also looking sharp and effective.
Check out how the headlining band/artist names are subtly hidden in the ‘wave’ lines so as not to
detract from the design. Don’t be afraid to get a little curvy and illusionary with your geometric patterns.

Blend Patterns With Photography

Want to add some sharp, eye-catching geometricality to your photos? Get inspired to experiment with
shapes, patterns, and photography with this example by Foreign Policy. By layering shapes and
photography in various ways, and topping it off with a muted vintage colour palette, these pieces turn
from your everyday run of the mill photographs into an unexpected, sharp and stylish design. Get bold
with colour and get brave with your geometric shapes, because the end result can put a sharp spin on
your designs.
SLIDE 10: SIZE

Size or scale of the objects, images, shapes, type and other elements of the graphic design have
paramount influence on the overall visual effect of a website.

Imagine how boring a website with fully symmetrical, equal sized and similar looking ingredients would
be. Would we not love to have some variety, unpredictability, novelty and surprise in store for us when
we browse online?

The amount of fun you can have with the scale of elements depend a lot on the type of customers and
businesses you cater to, and the content your website has.

Subtle variations do justice to professional sites and scholarly content, while an advertising agency
website can afford a lot more variety.

SLIDE 11: TEXTURE

Texture is not limited to things that can be physically touched alone. Website and graphic designing is
increasingly striving to naturalize the virtual experience.

Google ensures that maximum websites embrace material design. It is bold, vibrant and graphic and
tries to make the visual experience as close to real as possible with texture, dimensions and movement.
Material design aims to provide an immersive experience to the user.

SLIDE 12: SPACE

Negative space in whatever color it is determines the overall visual effect of a web page. Many websites
now play with white space as the dominant factor.

Once you have learned to play with the negative or empty space around elements, you will be able to
use it to create effects as with the other elements.

SLIDE 13: What does graphic designers do

Graphic designers help to make an organization recognizable by using a variety of mediums to

communicate a particular idea or identity to be used in advertising and promotions. Examples are fonts,
shapes, colours, images, print design, photography, animation, logos, and billboards. They also
collaborate with artists, multimedia animators, and other creative people on many of their projects.

Graphic designers combine art and technology to communicate ideas through images and the layout of
web screens and printed pages. They may use a variety of design elements to achieve artistic or
decorative effects. They develop the overall layout and production design for advertisements,
brochures, magazines, and corporate reports. Graphic designers work with both text and images. They
often select the type, font, size, colour, and line length of headlines, headings, and text. Graphic
designers also decide how images and text will go together on a page or screen, including how much
space each will have. When using text in layouts, they collaborate closely with writers who choose the
words and decide whether the words will be put into paragraphs, lists, or tables. Their work typically
involves the following:

 Meet with clients or the art director to determine the scope of a project
 Advise clients on strategies to reach a particular audience
 Determine the message the design should portray
 Create images that identify a product or convey a message
 Develop graphics and visual or audio images for product illustrations, logos, and websites
 Create designs either by hand or by using computer software packages
 Select colours, images, text style, and layout
 Present the design to clients or the art director
 Incorporate changes recommended by the clients into the final design
 Review designs for errors before printing or publishing them
 The rest of the story: soft skills and graphic design
Even the most artistically gifted and technically well-trained graphic designer isn’t as useful on a major
corporate project if they don’t have people skills, namely the ability to get along with anyone or
collaborate effectively. That’s why people who are looking to hire graphic designers often look closely at
portfolios, education, training and experience—and then take a final look at soft skills.

Graphic design is becoming increasingly important in the sales and marketing of products. Therefore,
graphic designers, also referred to as communication designers, often work closely with people
in advertising and promotions, public relations, and marketing. Frequently, designers specialize in a
particular category or type of client. For example, some create credits for motion pictures, while others
work with print media and create signs or posters.

Graphic designers must keep up with new and updated computer graphics and design software, either
on their own or through formal software training programs. They must be able to create designs that
are artistically interesting and appealing to clients and consumers. They produce rough illustrations of
design ideas, either by hand sketching or by using a computer program.

Graphic designers must communicate with clients, customers, and other designers to ensure that their
designs accurately reflect the desired message and effectively express information. Most use specialized
graphic design software to prepare their designs. They must be able to think of new approaches to
communicating ideas to consumers. They develop unique designs that convey a recognizable meaning
on behalf of their clients.

Graphic designers often work on projects with other graphic designers and marketers, business
analysts, writers, and programmers. They must collaborate to produce successful websites, publications,
and other products. Some individuals with a background in graphic design teach in design schools,
colleges, and universities.

Slide 14:

What makes a good logo? A good logo is distinctive, appropriate, practical, graphic, simple in form and
conveys an intended message.
There are five principles that you should follow to ensure that this is so…

An effective logo is (in no particular order):

Simple
Memorable
Timeless
Versatile
Appropriate

Slide 15:

A simple logo design allows for easy recognition and allows the logo to be versatile & memorable. Good
logos feature something unique without being overdrawn.

While in college in the mid-70’s an instructor introduced me to the K.I.S.S. Principle of design; which
translates to: Keep It Simple, Stupid. It does convey a very important design consideration. Simple logos
are often easily recognized, incredibly memorable and the most effective in conveying the
requirements of the client. A refined and distilled identity will also catch the attention of a viewer
zipping by signage at 70 miles per hour, on packaging on the crowded shelves of a store, or in any other
vehicle used for advertising, marketing and promotion. Remember, the basis of the hugely effective
international branding for the world’s largest shoe manufacturer is a very simple graphic swoosh.
~ Jeff Fisher

Slide 17:

Following closely behind the principle of simplicity, is that of memorability. An effective logo design
should be memorable and this is achieved by having a simple, yet, appropriate logo.
You may be interested to see some examples of bad logo designs.
Surprising to many, the subject matter of a logo is of relatively little importance, and even
appropriateness of content does not always play a significant role.
This does not imply that appropriateness is undesirable. It merely indicates that a one-to-one
relationship between a symbol and what it symbolized is very often impossible to achieve and, under
certain conditions, objectionable. Ultimately, the only mandate in the design of logos, it seems, is that
they be distinctive, memorable, and clear.
~ Paul Rand

Slide 19:

An effective logo should be timeless – that is, it will endure the ages. Will the logo still be effective in 10,
20, 50 years?
Leave trends to the fashion industry – Trends come and go, and when you’re talking about changing a
pair of jeans, or buying a new dress, that’s fine, but where your brand identity is concerned, longevity is
key. Don’t follow the pack. Stand out.
~ David Airey
Probably the best example of a timeless logo is the Coca-Cola logo… if you compare it to the Pepsi logo
below, you can see just how effective creating a timeless logo can be. Notice how the Coca Cola logo has
barely changed since 1885? That is timeless design.
Slide 21:
An effective logo should be able to work across a variety of mediums and applications. The logo should
be functional. For this reason a logo should be designed in vector format, to ensure that it can be scaled
to any size. The logo should be able to work both in horizontal and vertical formats.
Ask yourself; is a logo still effective if:
 Printed in one colour?
 Printed on the something the size of a postage stamp?
 Printed on something as large as a billboard?
 Printed in reverse (ie. light logo on dark background)
One way around creating a versatile logo is to begin designing in black and white only. This allows one to
focus on the concept and shape, rather than the subjective nature of colour. One must also remember
printing costs – the more colors used, the more expensive it will be for the business over the long term.
I like to work first in black and white to ensure that the logo will look good in its simplest form.Color is
very subjective and emotional. This can distract from the overall design – say if you saw your logo in all
red, that color may be the first thing that you respond to and not the composition of the design
elements. I will not even consider submitting color suggestions to a client for review until they have
signed off on a final black and white logo.
~ Patrick Winfield
One should also familiarise themself with the commercial printing process so as not to come into
printing problems further down the track. Learn to know the difference between the CMYK, Pantone
and RGB color systems. When designing logos, the Pantone colour system is recommended.

Slide 23:
How you position the logo should be appropriate for its intended purpose. For example, if you are
designing a logo for children’s toys store, it would be appropriate to use a childish font & colour scheme.
This would not be so appropriate for a law firm.
It is also important to state that that a logo doesn’t need to show what a business sells or offers as a
service. ie. Car logos don’t need to show cars, computer logos don’t need to show computers. The
Harley Davidson logo isn’t a motorcycle, nor is the Nokia logo a mobile phone. A logo is purely for
identification.
For further evidence of this, take the top 50 brands of the world – 94% of the logos do not describe what
the company does.
Paul Rand also has a say on this topic:
Should a logo be self-explanatory? It is only by association with a product, a service, a business, or a
corporation that a logo takes on any real meaning. A logo derives its meaning and usefulness from the
quality of that which it symbolizes. If a company is second rate, the logo will eventually be perceived as
second rate. It is foolhardy to believe that a logo will do its job immediately, before an audience has
been properly conditioned.
~ Paul Rand

SLIDE 25: DRAW

Now that computer-based tools are available, the ability to draw is not as important as a good sense of
design. You don't have to be an amazing artist in order to be a graphic designer, but you do have to be
able to make basic sketches and drawings on paper. Your sketches and drawings should be able to
convey your ideas to someone else, most likely your boss or a client. If you feel uncomfortable with your
drawing skills, find some tutorials on drawing and sketching. Don't worry or get frustrated, since the
more you practice, the more you will get comfortable and gain confidence.

SLIDE 26: INSPIRATION

Sometimes it's hard to find the inspiration to create a unique work of art for a client. One thing that you
can do to help open up your creative mind is to put yourself in the customer's shoes. What would
persuade you (as a customer) to buy the service or product? Why are you buying it (is it a need or a
want)? The one and only mission that a graphic design has is to sell the client's service or product (they
act like visual salesmen). So if you can come up with an idea which would compel you (yourself) to buy,
then you are definitely on the right track.

You can also look at how past graphic designers have dealt with similar products or services, and their
creative work may spark some new ideas in you. Doodle design ideas over and over again until a solid
design starts to show itself.

Slide 27: Advice

It's important to love the whole design process, from beginning to end. Make sure to keep updated with
any changes in the industry; it moves at a fast pace. Having said that, don't blindly follow trends leaving
great ideas behind. Doing design for the sake of design is not the way to go.

Sometimes you'll become overly invested in a design you're working on, so much so that you become
defensive if it's criticized. Don't get overly sensitive about criticism - keep your mind open to
suggestions. Just because someone doesn't like your work doesn't mean you are a bad designer.

Invest in your portfolio, and be selective in what goes in it. Focus on your best pieces, and make them as
impressive as you can make them. Employers will often ask you to explain what's in your portfolio and
why it's in there, so make sure you can explain why you included each piece.

Slide 28

What is it like being a graphic designer?

Working as a graphic designer is not as glorified as many would think. It can be a stressful, cutting edge
career, where one has to wear many different hats and face challenges daily. The industry technically
and creatively evolves faster than almost any other industry, so graphic designers have to constantly
stay on top of trends, learn new software, consistently stay creative, and come up with intriguing
concepts and designs that will capture the minds and emotions of those who view the work.

A huge part of a graphic designer's job is being intuitive and attentive to the client's needs; being able to
see through what they are saying vs what they are really saying (or meaning). It takes more than artistic
ability to be a good designer; it takes excellent communication skills to understand and manage the
client's expectations and criticisms. Developing client-related skills, and making the design process about
them and their product (and keeping your ego out of your work) will set you above many other graphic
designers.

SLide 29:

Growth comes from experience

Reading about a place is one thing, experiencing it yourself is a completely different thing. A lot of times
when you pick a place to travel to, it’s something you’ve read about before. But being there — hearing
the sounds, smelling the smells, experiencing the culture, and seeing how similar and how different it is
to where you’re from, is a completely unique experience.

Similarly, you can read about design as much as you want, but it doesn’t make you a designer. You have
to try things out, determining what you enjoy doing and what you’re good at. Have you noticed that
many of designers have a specific genre or style of design that they tend to work in? Most often, they
didn’t just pick that out of a hat — they tried their hand at a bunch of things, and went with what they
enjoyed and showed a talent for.

Slide 30:

Mistakes are a good thing!

The best way to learn is through doing yourself, and that’s going to lead to mistakes along the way. In
travel, it could be translating something incorrectly, then missing a train or going to the wrong place.
The experience will raise your level of adrenaline for a little while, but once you calm down and correct
the situation you’re much less likely to make that mistake ever again.

The same goes for design! You’re going to make mistakes, it’s inevitable. So you can have a panic attach
and let the possibility of mistakes deter you from doing what you want to do, or you can embrace them
as opportunities to learn and get better.

Slide 31:

Don’t build your life to impress people

Looking at social media, it can sometimes seem like the only reason people travel is to take selfies in
new locations. To broadcast to their community how successful and exciting they are, whether it’s
because they’re on a vacation or have made travel a storybook lifestyle. But that, as often as not, leads
you to to doing things that you think other people will like, rather than what will benefit you.

Design involves working with a client, giving them what they need. But this doesn’t mean that you have
to sacrifice what you care about as a designer — what your aesthetic is, or what your personal values
are. Don’t select clients solely based on how they’ll look in your portfolio. If you’re pretty sure that a
client is going to be too different from you to work well together, maybe pass on that opportunity.
Slide 32:

You can’t make everyone happy

Being a stranger in a foreign place does tend to make you want to fit in, to please the people that you’re
around so that they welcome you into their lives. The people around you enrich your experience of a
place, but it’s not always a positive experience.

As a designer, you’re never going to please every single client. If you begin work with a customer and it
doesn’t seem to be going well, develop a set of skills to help you deal with the situation professionally.
Adapt to finish the job, then when that project is finished, move onto the next (and hopefully more
compatible) client.