INTRODUCTION

TO GRAPHIC DESIGN
Graphic Design is the art or skill of combining text and pictures in
advertisements, magazines, or books.

The term graphic design can refer to a number of artistic and professional
disciplines which focus on visual communication and presentation.

Various methods are used to create and combine symbols, images and/or
words to create a visual representation of ideas and messages.
When he gets a graphic design job, be it a poster design, book design, web
design, advertising, he has to start with asking himself the following
fundamental questions:

What is the objective of the communication

What needs to be said first and then next and then

after that? (levels of hierarchy)

How do you want the eye to flow through the page?

What is the tone of voice?
Who are you speaking to?
 The Principles
of Design
Learn how to create and introduce graphic designs in terms
of graphic design principles.
Elements
of
Design
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

The elements of design are the things

that make up a design.

1) Line 4) Size
2) Shape 5) Texture
3) Direction 6) Color
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

Line: An element of art that is used to define shape,

contours, and outlines, also to suggest mass and
volume. It may be a continuous mark made on a
surface with a pointed tool or implied by the
edges of shapes and forms.
Characteristics of Line are:
Width- thick, thin, tapering, uneven
Length - long, short, continuous, broken
Direction- horizontal, vertical, diagonal, curving,
perpendicular, oblique, parallel, radial, zigzag
Focus- sharp, blurry, fuzzy, choppy
Feeling- sharp, jagged, graceful, smooth
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

Types of Line:
Outlines- Lines made by the
edge of an object or its
silhouette.
Contour Lines- Lines that
describe the shape of an
object and the interior detail.
Expressive Lines- Line
that are energetic and catches the
movement and gestures of an
active figure.
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

Sketch Lines- Lines that captures

the appearance of an object or
impression of a place.
Calligraphic Lines- Greek word
meaning “beautiful writing.” Precise,
elegant handwriting or lettering
done by hand. Also artwork that has
flowing lines like an elegant
handwriting.
Implied Line- Lines that are not
actually drawn but created by a
group of objects seen from a
distance.
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

•A shape is a self contained defined area ex.

Squares, circles, free formed shapes or natural
shapes.
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

Categories of Shapes:
Geometric Shapes-Circles, Squares,
rectangles and triangles. We see them
in architecture and manufactured items.
Organic Shapes-Leaf, seashells,
flowers. We see them in nature and
with characteristics that are free
flowing, informal and irregular.
Positive Shapes-In a drawing or
painting positive shapes are the solid
forms in a design such as a bowl of
fruit. In a sculpture it is the solid form
of the sculpture.
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

Shap
•eA positive shape automatically creates a negative
shape.
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

Shap
•eA positive shape automatically creates a negative
shape.
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

Categories of Shapes:
Negative Shapes-In a drawing it is
the space around the positive shape
or the shape around the bowl of fruit.
In sculpture it is the empty shape
around and between the sculptures.
Static Shape-Shapes that
appears stable and resting.
Dynamic Shape-Shapes that
appears moving and active.
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

Shap
•eA positive shape automatically creates a negative
shape.
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

Directio
•n
All lines have direction Horizontal, Vertical
or Oblique.
•Horizontal suggests calmness, stability
and tranquility.
•Vertical gives a feeling of balance,
formality and alertness.
•Oblique suggests movement and action
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

Siz
•eSize is simply the relationship of the area
occupied by one shape to that of
another.
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

Textur
•eTexture is the surface quality of a shape
- rough, smooth, soft hard glossy etc.
Categories of Texture
Real Texture is the actual texture of
an object. Artist may create real
texture in art to give it visual
interest or evoke a feeling.
Implied Texture is where a design
is made to look like a certain
texture. Like a drawing of a tree
trunk may look rough but in fact
it is just a smooth piece of paper
ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

Colo
r•Color is light reflected off objects.
•Color has three main
characteristics:
• hue or its name (red, green, blue,
• etc.) value (how light or dark it is)
• intensity (how bright or dull it is).
 Color Harmony
Analogous Complementary Split-Complementary
(Also Compound)

Triad Monochromatic
 Popular Color Combos

Jewel Tones Color Pop Grayscale Rich

Nature Based Muted Tones Bright Nature

Find more at color.adobe.com

Principles
of
Design
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN - DEFINITION

The Principles of design are what we do

to design elements. How we apply the
principles of design determines how
successful the design is.

1) Balance 4) Repetitio
2) Proximity n
3) Alignmen 5) Contrast
t 6) Space
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Balance
•Balance in design is similar to balance in
physics. A large shape close to the center
can be balanced by a small shape close to
the edge.
•Balance provides stability and structure to
a design.
•It’s the weight distributed in the design by
the placement of your elements.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN - DEFINITION

Balance

Is the design
balanced ?
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Balance

Balance in graphic
design can be
achieved by
adjusting the visual
weight of each
element, in terms
of scale, color,
contrast, etc.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Balance

balance in
graphic design
can be
divided to
two types.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Balance - Symmetrical
balance
occurs when the visual weight of design elements
evenly divided in terms of horizontal, vertical, or
radial. This style relies on a balance of two similar
elements from two different sides.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Balance - Symmetrical
balance
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Balance - Asymmetrical
balance
• occurs when the visual weight of design elements
are not evenly distributed in the central axis of the
page.
• This style relies on visual games such as scale,
contrast, color to achieve a balance.
• We often see a design with the big picture offset
by the small but visible text balanced because
of the visual games.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Balance - Asymmetrical
balance
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Balance – before &

after
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Balance by
value

occurs when a small area with

bright/high value colors is
combined with a large area
with a dark/low value color.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Balance by
value

a man and a dog that has a high value (solid black)

with a broad area that has a lower value (gray).
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Balance by
shape
• Created through field of
complex composition
with a flat field.
• Complex/more detailed
field will appear in
balance with the flat area
in the opposite side.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Balance by
texture
Small area with an interesting
texture looks balanced when
combined with a large flat
area (no texture).

Rippling water has a water

texture which attracts the
focus, appears balanced with
a wider area but not textured.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Proximit
•yProximity creates relationship
between elements.
•It provides a focal point.
•Proximity doesn’t mean that elements have
to be placed together, it means they should
be visually connected in someway.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Balance by
position

another example of Asymmetric balance, where a

large object on one side balanced by putting the
smaller objects on the other side.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Balance by
position
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Balance by eye
direction

help guide the eye and mind movement of the viewer.

They can also bind the work into a single entity.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Balance by eye
direction
• Can also occur when we lead
the reader's eyes to the main
content.
• The objects are used as "tools"
to guide the reader's eyes
composed with a larger area,
while the main content
displayed in a smaller area.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Proximit
y
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Proximit
y
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Proximit
y
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Proximit
y
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Proximit
y
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Proximit
y
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN - ALIGNMENT

Alignment
•Allows us to create order
and organization.
•Aligning elements allows them to
create a visual connection with each
other.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Alignment
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Alignment
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Alignment
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Alignment
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Alignment
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Alignment
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN - REPETITION

Repetition
•Repetition strengthens a design by
tying together individual elements.
•It helps to create association
and consistency.
•Repetition can create rhythm (a
feeling of organized movement).
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Repetitio
n
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Repetitio
n
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Repetitio
n
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Repetitio
n
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Repetitio
n
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Repetitio
n
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Repetitio
n
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN - CONTRAST

Contras
•tContrast is the juxtaposition of opposing
elements (opposite colors on the color
wheel, or value light / dark, or direction -
horizontal / vertical).
•Contrast allows us to emphasize or
highlight key elements in your design.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Contrast
Simply contrast tells the viewer where to look first
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Contrast
Some types of contrast to keep in mind are the
relative darkness (called value in color theory),
weight, form, placement, quantity, texture, and
scale.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Contrast in
size
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Contrast in
value
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Contrast in
quantity
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Contrast in
weight
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Contrast in
placement
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Contrast in
texture
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Contrast
Without contrast, a designed piece may appear
static, uninteresting, and hard for the reader to
access because it is not immediately clear what to
look at first.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Spac
•eSpace in art refers to the distance or
area between, around, above, below,
or within elements.
•Both positive and negative space are
important factors to be considered in
every design.
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Spac
e
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Spac
e
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Spac
e
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Spac
e
Thank
You