GRAPHIC

DESIGN FOR
NON
DESIGNERS
By www.socialpollinators.net
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create derivative works, transmit, or in any way exploit any such content, nor
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of database.

Agustín Contreras
Social Pollinators
The first impression is very important. You must focus on a strategy to help
you create effective visuals that moves your business forward.

NEXT
What should be considered
before composing a graphic
piece?

The Color | The Content | The Grid

 DISCLAIMER
The following material is not intended to be an extensive book about
graphic design and digital marketing; but a quick "pocket" guide to design
the visual content of your business like a "professional".

The content presented here is not entirely of my authorship, I have

selected the best information for you and I will provide you special notes to
reinforce the learning process.

I HOPE YOU ENJOY AND LEARN SO MUCH!

THE COLOR The Color | The Content | The Grid

Colors have a SUTILE effect on the way we perceive information. Tones,

combinations and gradients communicate in conjunction with the information you
present. This is why we must know them and choose our colors palette wisely.

Let’s see some examples

 The Color | The Content | The Grid
THE COLOR

Depending on your culture

and environment, you will
perceive the message in
different ways.
I WANT YOU HERE I WANT YOU HERE
… … But do colors have a
different influence? See
next page
 YES! In this case the message is difficult to read due
to the wrong color choice.

I WANT YOU HERE

…

“Our preference for a specific color can

be related to how we feel in any
situation, how we want to feel, and even
how we remember certain experiences.”
Joe Hallock
Principle Design Manager at Microsoft
 The Color | The Content | The Grid
HOW DO WE
CHOOSE THE RIGHT According to Joe Hallock:

COLOR FOR OUR

AUDIENCE? 56%
WOMEN
The age, the gender, the niche, the culture PREFER
and the tastes are very important to PINK
determine what colors your should use. By
doing a research we can find the favorite colors
of our target.
“With maturity comes a greater liking for hues of
shorter wave length (blue, green, purple) than for hues The Color | The Content | The Grid
of longer wave length (red, orange, and yellow)”
Birren, 1961
MEN
PREFER
BLUE
PURPLE
& GREEN
WHAT ARE THE BEST
COLOR
COMBINATIONS?
Using the color wheel
 The Color | The Content | The Grid

THE COLOR WHEEL

Is an abstract illustrative organization of color hues
around a circle, which shows the relationships
between the colors.

The color wheel can be also used to select our color

palette, or to know how to combine different
colors.
DOMINANT
COLOR HARMONY
It consists of a color that dominates the
composition, this does not mean that the other
colors do not participate, it is just that they do
so in a smaller proportion.

Dominant

Complementary

Mediator (Cool)

Mediator (Warm)
ANALOGOUS
HARMONY
It is made up of groups of three to four
consecutive colors in the chromatic circle,
among which there is a color in common. It will
always work better if it is of the same
temperature, all warm or all cool.
 OTHER COLOR HARMONIES
Here are some other ways to build a color palette using the color wheel.
Remember that colors have different hues, which means that you will not use exactly
the colors present in the color wheel shown in this guide.

Adjacent colors Triadic Tetradic

The Grid | The Color| The Content

Original file

Color Palette
THE CONTENT The Color | The Content | The Grid

Your content must to catch people’s

attention.
WHAT SHOULD A
GREAT GRAPHIC The Color| The Content | The Grid

DESIGN HAVE?

Creating a graphic piece that catches your clients' attention depends on your
knowledge of perception, and your ability to break the rules once in a while in
an elegant way.
 THE ADVANTAGE
THE HOOK

THE MESSAGE

SIMPLICITY
 The Color| The Content | The Grid f

Your composition must have a visual hook that directs the customer's eye to
your product or service. It must be "original" and focus on an emotion that
must be transmitted to the public.
 The Color| The Content | The Grid

Don't confuse your audience. The message should be only one, and it should
be easy to understand.
CONTACT US NOW!
Original Pic

Will You Press The Button?

THE GRID The Grid | The Content | The Color

“In design, a grid is a system for organizing layout. The layouts could be for print
(like a book, magazine, or poster), or for screen (like a webpage, app, or other
user interfaces).” https://uxplanet.org
GRIDS FOR PRINT The Grid | The Color | The Content

Rule of Thirds Columns Golden Ratio

LET’S SEE SOME
EXAMPLES

The Grid | The Color | The Content

THE GOLDEN RATIO The Grid | The Color | The Content
It’s a mathematical ratio.
And when used in a design,
it fosters organic and
natural-looking
compositions that are
aesthetically pleasing to
the eye.
“Consider the Golden Ratio a
useful guideline for
determining dimensions of
the layout.”
Golden Ratio
“The composition is important for any
image, whether it’s to convey
important information or to create
an aesthetically pleasing
photograph. The Golden Ratio can
help create a composition that will
draw the eyes to the important
elements of the photo. Using the
Golden Ratio, you split the picture into
three unequal sections then use the
lines and intersections to compose the
picture.”
RULE OF THIRDS The Grid | The Color | The Content

Complex Magazine
FOR SCREEN The Grid | The Color | The Content

Digital Columns Grid AR 9:16 Hierarchical grid

mobile
Each element of a design is as
important as the sum of its parts.
The elements of our brand must be
able to be admired in an aesthetic
way being side by side and at the
same time separated.
No matter what graphic
design software you have,
you can create convincing
visual pieces!
 THE BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN
SOFTWARES
PAID SOFTWARES OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARES
Adobe Photoshop: a raster graphics Krita: is a free and open-source raster
editor. graphics editor.

Adobe Illustrator: is a vector graphics Inkscape: is a free and open-source vector

editor. graphics editor.

Canva: A graphic design platform, used to GIMP: is a free and open-source raster
create social media graphics, and other graphics editor. used for image
visual content. It’s free to use and offers a manipulation (retouching) and image
paid subscription. editing, and more specialized tasks.
IF YOU ARE HERE,
THANK YOU!
Do not hesitate to contact
me to clarify your doubts!

www.socialpollinators.net