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BASIC PRINCIPLES OF GRAPHICS AND LAYOUT

LESSON
The elements and principles of design are the building blocks of a successful beautiful design. The elements of design are the things or
tools that make up a design while the principles of design are what we do to those elements.

THE ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

These are the materials or tools to make different designs or Arts.

 LINE – Lines are defined by points moving in space. It can create a sense of movement or direction in your design. Line is
can be smooth, rough, straight, curve, broken, thick or thin.
 SHAPE – A shape is an enclosed space, the boundaries of which are defined by other elements of art like lines, colors,
values or textures. Shapes can be used to create patterns and draw the viewer’s attention.
 DIRECTION – Applying motion to create the visual illusion of movement. Use horizontal direction for calmness, stability
and tranquility while vertical direction for emotions of balance, formality and alertness.
 SIZE (SCALE) – Size is basically the relationship of the area occupied by one shape to that of another. Large elements mean
more significant than the small one.
 TEXTURE – Texture refers to surface appearance of an object given by the dimensions, form, thickness, arrangement, and
amount of its basic parts.
 COLOR – Color is light redirected off objects. It is used to create curiosity and emotions to the viewers. It has three main
characteristics: hue (these are red, green, blue, etc.), value (lightness/ darkness), and intensity (saturation, or amount of
pigment) and temperature (warm and cool).
 THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
 BALANCE – Balance in design is the state of equal relationship. It means equal distribution of visual weight in a design. It
can be achieved by adjusting the visual weight of each element, in terms of size, color, textures, shapes or contrast. Balance
in graphic design provides stability and structure to a design.
o THERE ARE DIFFERENT KINDS OF BALANCE:
 Symmetrical balance is the simplest to create and involves placing objects of the same weight, and kind of
weight, on either side of a central line. They don't have to be identical elements as you might find in a
mirror image. What's important is that each object on one side, corresponds to a similarly weighted object,
on the other side. 
 Asymmetrical balance is also absolutely balanced on both sides of a central line. However, asymmetrical
balance achieves this through the total weight of the objects, rather than each object corresponding with
another object on the other side of the center.
 Radial balance is symmetry in several directions. Visual elements are arranged around a central point in
the composition, like the spokes on a bicycle wheel. Often, radially balanced designs are circular. Other
shapes lend themselves to radial balance as well – squares, hexagons, octagons, stars, etc.
 PROXIMITY – Proximity maintains a relationship between items that go together.
It helps creates organization by grouping the same elements together or in close
proximity. The elements should be connected visually.
 ALIGNMENT – Alignment refers to lining up the elements of a design along the top, bottom, center or sides of the
elements. It allows us to create order and organization in our design. The whole point of the alignment is that nothing in your
design should look as if it were placed there randomly.
 REPETITION, PATTERN, AND RHYTHM – Repetition duplicates the characteristics of similar elements to contribute to
design consistency. It strengthens a design by tying together individual elements; pattern is a regular arrangement of
alternated or repeated elements like shapes, lines or colors; rhythm--is a combination of elements repeated, but with
variations.
 CONTRAST – Contrast refers to the use of conflicting elements or colors while still
remaining harmonious and unified when the artwork is viewed as a whole. It allows
you to give emphasis to key elements in your design.
 SPACE – It refers to the area that an object occupies. Both positive and negative
space should be considered in graphic design. White space gives your design
breathing room.

INFOGRAPHICS

The term Information graphic or Infographic is a photographic presentation of data and information that use the different elements
of design to make data easily understandable at a glance. Infographics make complex messages become more visually appealing
to the viewers. Visual Message Design can help with effectiveness of delivery of a message. It can lend assistance in presenting
your ideas clearly.

TYPES OF INFOGRAPHICS

1. Timeline infographic
A timeline infographic is the ideal infographic type if your goal is to:
 Visualize history
  Plan for an event 
 Highlight a sequence of events
 Take your audience on a journey
 Share a story in chronological order
 Set the audience’s expectations on how long a process will take
From sharing the origins of dessert to presenting an overview of your work history, a timeline infographic allows you to
demonstrate how an idea, project, or story came to be. 

2. Process infographic 
A process infographic is the best infographic format if your goal is to: 
 Break down a complex process into easy-to-digest pieces of information
 Provide a summary of steps in a process
 Visualize a procedure 
Use process infographics if you want your audience to retain the details of a process or procedure quickly. 

3. Informational infographic
As one of the most popular types of infographics, the informational infographic format is perfect if you want to:
 Share an overview of a specific topic 
 Introduce a new idea or concept
 Make a plain blog post or article more engaging for your readers
An informational infographic is a suitable infographic format if you’re about to present a highly technical subject to an
audience who is not familiar with the topic. 

4. Map infographic 
A map infographic is your best bet if you want to present demographic data or share location-based information. This
infographic type is one of the easiest ways to: 
 Illustrate trends on a specific location — global, national, states, cities, towns, and even your neighborhood
 Share visual stories of a particular place
 Communicate survey results or product statistics based on location.

5. Resume infographic
A resume infographic, also known as the visual resume, helps job seekers put their best foot forward by visualizing their
plain CV.  
Use the visual resume format if you want to: 
 Set yourself apart from other candidates and get the hiring manager to call you for an interview
 Caught the eye of recruiters, leave a remarkable impression, and compel them to learn more about you
 Showcase specific sections in your resume like certain skills, projects, and teams you’ve worked with.
6. List infographic
The human brain adores lists, which explains the popularity of list infographics. From checklists to to-do lists, infographics
are excellent infographics formats if you want to:
 Share a collection of tips 
 Support an idea or topic with major points
 Summarize your presentation

7. Data visualization infographic

Of all the infographic chart types, a data visualization infographic is best used for communicating data using charts and
graphs. They are beneficial if you want to: 
 Make a case for an argument, opinion, or perspective
 Share statistics and make them more impactful 

8. Comparison infographic 
The comparison infographic or versus infographic is another popular infographic style you see in blogs, social media, and
emails. It’s commonly used for a reason — it helps provide clarity when deciding between two or more objects, places, ideas,
or concepts.  Use comparison infographics if you want to: 
 Encourage your audience to see two or multiple perspectives
 Compare pros and cons
 Show similarities and/or differences 

9. Flowchart infographic the flowchart infographic is a powerful infographic format to: 

 Simplify workflows 
 Present solutions
  Brainstorm ideas
 Visualize chain of command
 Share possible scenarios or consequences
 Describe processes with multiple paths clearly and concisely

10. Interactive infographic

An interactive infographic combines traditional infographic design, motion, and interactive elements. This infographic style
is often used in data visualization and content that employs gamification. Use interactive infographics to: 
 Allow audiences to uncover new information
 Explore the infographic based on their interest 
 Increase the time spent of your audiences on your infographic

PARTS OF AN INFOGRAPHIC
 THE CONTENT - This includes the text, statistics, time frames and references.
 THE KNOWLEDGE - This refers to the facts and conclusions to convey the overall message or story.
 THE VISUAL - This refers to the colors, graphics and icons used in designing the infographics.

PRINCIPLES IN CREATING INFOGRAPHICS

 BE UNIQUE. One of the most important aspects of designing an effective infographic is to make it engaging and memorable
with a unique twist on something that everyone can relate to. You need to design something unique that will capture the
attention of the audience you are seeking to draw in.
 KEEP IT SIMPLE. Even though you want to shoot for interesting and unique, don’t throw in so much detail and extraneous
information that the audience is overwhelmed by everything going on in your infographic.
 BE CREATIVE AND BOLD. For a truly impactful design that gets your message across, it’s important to make sure that
your main message is bold and obvious. It also needs to be creative enough to just give it that special little twist. You can
perhaps use shapes or images in place of some of the letters or words to emphasize meaning.
 LESS IS MORE. Keeping your text minimal will most likely produce more impact than a page full of words. Your goal is to
entice them to stop scrolling and look at your infographic. An effective image will grab the attention of the audience with
something as simple as an effectively displayed word that makes them stop and read the important information below it.
 SHARING / THE FORTUNE IS IN THE FORWARDING. The final and most important thing you want from an
effective infographic is a simple way for people to share it with their friends. Be sure to include links reminding people that
they want their friends to enjoy the information they have just found. Make sure that forwarding can be done in only a couple
of clicks. If it gets too complicated, most people will close the box and move on to something else. Never forget that your
biggest harvest of unique visitors and audiences will come as everyone passes your infographic around with the magic of
internet forwarding.

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IMAGE MANIPULATION TECHNIQUES
LESSON

Image manipulation is an art that involves enhancing or modifying an image

using different methods and techniques to achieve desired result. By using image
manipulation on your photos, you can remove blemishes on your face, change
backgrounds, smooth out rugged areas, and so on and so forth.

Different ways to manipulate images