Welcome!

Graphic Design Club Meeting #2

December 7, 2010
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First Name_3 initials of Last Name_Teachers Name_Grade
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 What did we discuss last time?
• Steps in the Graphic Design Process
• Creating Effective Layouts
• General Guidelines for Layouts
• Organizing Layouts
• Capturing the Readers' Attention
• What not to do!
• Fonts and design mistakes to avoid!
 Last Meeting’s Project:

• Make a poster about yourself! This

poster should represent YOU!
• Be creative! There are no RULES!
• Include pictures, quotes, words,
text, images, etc – you don’t need
to include ALL of these things!
 Principles of Design
These are the tools that blend the
ingredients for any design project. You can
use all the design elements or ingredients for
a good design, but if you don’t blend them
with rhythm, balance, contrast, etc., then
you will not have a cake – just a mushy bowl
of batter!
 Design Principles to Consider
1) Balance - Balance helps the viewer decide
how to interpret your design. If it’s designed
with asymmetrical balance, the design will
evoke emotions like excitement, curiosity, or
anxiety. If the design is symmetrical, or
totally even, it will convey peace, calm, and
tranquility.
2) Contrast - Without values, you can’t
create contrast. Without smoothness or
roughness (or the illusion of those textures),
you aren’t dealing with contrast. You can use
various design elements to create contrast.
Without contrast there would be no day or
night and without contrast you cannot create
an interesting design.
3) Direction - Direction is the way to lead the
viewer’s eye through your design layout or
composition. Direction is created by line, but it
also can be created by the way you use color to
lead the eye through a design. Shapes, spaces,
values, and perspective all create the illusion of
depth in two-dimensional design, and this depth
is needed to create a direction for the eye to
take that journey. In three-dimensional design
those shapes, spaces, values, and perspectives
are all used to lead people through a design.
4) Economy - If you can remove an
element within a design and that design
still works, then you’ve practiced
economy in design. Don’t offer more
than is needed, but be sure to include all
that is needed to create an intelligent
and economical design.
 5) Emphasis - You can lead that viewer
all through your garden, through your
building, through your advertisement, or
through your painting, but if you don’t
stop that viewer with one point of
interest, then you’ve lost your viewer.
The emphasis in a design is the message
that you want to convey.
6) Proportion - You can use proportion to create
surreal images (like Dali) to shock your viewers
into noticing your work. Or, you can use
proportion realistically to emphasize the
message conveyed through typography.
Proportion gives the viewer a leg to lean on. In
other words, a realistic composition creates a
feeling of balance, whereas unrealistic
proportions create a feeling of emphasis on the
object that’s out of proportion.
7) Rhythm - Repetition, rhythm, bam, bam,
bam. While this principle of design can
create boredom, it can also be used to create
depth (one element smaller than the next),
excitement or peace (contrast), or emphasis
on a certain subject. Like music, rhythm
keeps the world singing and dancing.
8) Unity - This is the principle that
pulls a design together. While
there’s no one rule for unity, this
principle can remind you to check
all the other design elements and
principles so that you know you
haven’t missed a tick in your plans.
Let’s Look at Some Examples!
 Our Next Project!
• Design a movie poster!
• You can make up a movie or redesign a
poster for a movie that is already made.
• Remember to use the design elements and
principles we have discussed.
• Look at movie posters for ideas.
• Keep in appropriate for school
• Kmail Ms. Medina and Ms. Syed your posters
Thank you for attending!
Have a GREAT day!!