Basics of Graphic Design

8/4/2019 Basics of Graphic Design

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BASICS OF GRAPHIC DESIGN

This subject will assist you in developing a good graphic design foundation. They are helpful in avoiding

design pitfalls, but because of the nature of design and audience variations these rules can always be bent.

The intent is to elevate the level of design and encourage the learner to go beyond the rules.

1. AUDIENCE

Be aware that age makes a difference. Younger readers need larger print because it is difficult for them todistinguish the characters and comprehend words. As a guideline:

Grade Font Size/StyleKindergarten-First Grade 24 pt. boldSecond Grade 24 pt. plainThird-Fourth Grade 18 pt. plainFifth Grade 14 pt. plain

Know that readers over 40 usually have eye sight problems, a minimum of 14 point type will help them read.

Make sure that there is good visual separation between the words and the background. Avoid light or bright

colors. Avoid complicated backgrounds.

Ensure that great design and great content make a great product.

Know your audience. This includes knowing what our audience wants or how they best receive the message

Be aware that reading skills influence design. It is especially important that the page layout is not

intimidating for people who don’t read well (or who don’t like to read).

Provide visual breaks and rest spots. Plenty of white space helps as do narrower columns (39 to 52 character

-- 8 to 12 words) and pullout quotes that paraphrase or summarize the content. Use color to categorize

content. Most important: treat similar information similarly.

Remember that you are not designing for yourself, you are designing to communicate to others. Take the

audiences needs, skills, and abilities, into account when developing your design.

Consider the cultural differences of your audience. Western cultures read from the upper left across to

the right and then down. Asian cultures read from the upper right down and then across. The habits and

orientations of the culture are difficult to override.



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Afnity Express Phils., Inc.

2. LAYOUT

2.1 Borders

Use borders when you want to frame and draw attention to information (e.g., table of contents,

calendars, special notes).

Allow the edges of text columns and artwork to create the illusion of borders.

Draw attention to boxes or images by using borders with a drop shadow.

2.2 Directional Flow

Create directional flow with ruling lines and lines of type. Don’t forget the lines within illustrations.

Use the conventional “Z” pattern of reading (western cultures) for the strategic placement of

important information. Start in the upper left corner, work across to the right and then back to theleft again, going top to bottom

2.3 Focus

Draw the reader’s attention to important elements by contrasting size (scale), color, and page

position. Make sure the elements have a function that supports the content.

Use large, bold display type and/or graphics for the creation of focus. Use elements with visual

weight, intensity, or color for focus.

Remember: a brilliant project completed after the deadline may never see the light of day.

“If time be of all things the most precious; wasting time must be, as Poor Richard says, the greatest

Prodigality Sin, as he elsewhere tells us, lost time is never found again”-- Benjamin Franklin.

Don’t let bad design hurt great content.

Be prepared to makes lots of revisions. Start with the big concept, and work through until you’ve

eliminated all of the mistakes.

Don’t forget that concept and content are everything.

Be consistent, help the reader recognize, identify, and comprehend different types of information.

Remember that design is evolutionary, turn mistakes and accidents into opportunities.

Don’t be deluded, great design can help bad content, but only for a while.

Have someone who represents your audience review your materials.



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Production Workshop

Remember, “I like it..” is not a reason to include it in your design. Logic, clarity, and meaning should

drive the design.

If you really want to be different, do it right.

Keep it simple.

Only include layout elements and copy that support the message.

Remember, the design is intended to help clarify and support the content.

Use graphic devices such as white space, rules, images, and layout to help the reader understand

the content.

Use graphic devices to direct the reader through the material.

2.4 Page Organizers

Use a grid to help organize elements on the page. Make sure that the grid is flexible, but that the

grid sections are not too small. Divide the page into four or five columns for most flexibility.

Use multiple columns to organize text and visuals into smaller (more easily read) blocks of

information.

Divide text into two or three equal columns for best results on a standard page.

Use a single wider column with a smaller column for pullout quotes and other types of supporting

content.

If printing, make sure to accommodate for three-hole punch, or other bindery techniques by

adding a little extra white space to the inside margin.

2.5 Rules

Place rules between headlines, subheads, pull-quotes, and other elements to separate content.

Separate columns with vertical rules. Be careful: they can interfere with content or misdirect the

reader.

Use thicker rules at the bottom than at the top, but be consistent.

Show care when creating thick rules for printing because they can cause problems with ghosting

(ink transfer to other parts of the document).

When printing, thick rules may not receive full ink coverage -- they may streak or lighten.



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Provide ample white space around thick rules.

Include reverse type within thick rules, or bars. This draws attention to subheads or section breaks.

2.6 Screens

Screen images or other elements for an effective, inexpensive way to add “color” to a page.

Approximately 40% in printing costs may be saved by using two colors, screens, and reverses, over

the cost of four-color printing.

Avoid using screens when limited separation is available between the copy and screened image.

If an image must be placed behind text, make sure the type is bigger and bolder than normal and

keep the screen at 5% to 10%. One should not have to fight to read the text.

2.7 Text Organizers

Grab the reader’s attention with headlines -- visually but also in content.

Avoid headlines that create interest that is not met by the following copy.

Write short clever headlines of five to eight words for ideal results.

Use subheads to break the body of text into smaller, more understandable sections.

Use block quotes to separate long quotations -- four or more lines -- from the body text.

Use captions to clarify and give support to the image. Make sure the image supports and clarifies

the content.

Use pullout quotes as an excellent vehicle to visually break a large body of text, or to give the

reader a summary of what is on the page.

Use sidebars, related stories or blocks of information that stands off from the main body of text.

They are a good way to add interest and help support the content.

Set captions, cutlines, and callouts in a manner that distinguishes them from body type by

changing point size, weight, or leading. Italics are OK, but not on the Web.

When stories feed into multiple columns, set headlines to span all columns of a story.

Set bylines and continuation lines smaller than headlines, and with a style that distinguishes them

from body text.

Set continuation heads above continued stories, and if stories are nested (run in multiple columns

at different column depths), use a rule or box to span all columns.



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Production Workshop

2.8 White or Negative Space

Leave plenty of white space around type and graphic elements (an eighth to a quarter inch

depending on size relative to the layout).

Leave a little more white space at the bottom of a page relative to the top of the page (e.g., 0.75

inch at the top and 1 inch at the bottom). This will optically balance the page so it won’t look like it

is slipping off at the bottom.

Create a wide margin to direct the reader’s attention into the copy or image area.

Use at least a quarter-inch gutter between columns.

Use left aligned (unjustified) text to create visual relief. Be careful that the “rag” indents on the

right are not too big.

Increase leading (white space between lines) to lighten the look of the page.

Invite the reader into the page by leaving open space at the top and along the left margin.

3. TYPOGRAPHY

Speed up reading by using an optimum column width of 39 to 52 characters.

Implement general rules about body copy by using a minimum of 9 point type and a maximum of 14

point type (depending on age and reading skills of the audience and physical size of the piece). Leading

should be 2 points more than the point size of the type (e.g., 9 point type, 11 point leading).

When using more than one type face, make sure they are very different (e.g., Kuenstler (fancy script) and

Helvetica (sans-serif).).

Avoid using more than two different type families in one project.

Safely use one typeface with two different styles (e.g., use a light or regular weight with a bold or extra

bold weighted font). Try to skip a weight (e.g., light and bold vs. light and medium). When you can’t skip a

weight increase the size of the heavier font.

Never use all caps for body copy - in the immortal words of Nancy Reagan, just say NO!

Never use all caps with highly decorative typefaces (e.g., Zapf Chancery, Kuenstler).

Use rules rather than the underline style, which runs through the descenders of lowercase letters. Set

rules to clear the descenders by a least 2 pts.



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3.1 Hyphenation, Orphans, and Widows

Avoid hyphenating more than two consecutive lines.

Don’t leave orphans! (a word or short line at the top of a column or page).

Avoid widows! (a single word on a line by itself at the end of a paragraph with no one to love).

Never hyphenate a widow. For that matter, never hyphenate an orphaned widow! (typographic

counseling is recommended for individuals with this problem)

3.2 Justification

Don’t use a short line width with justified text.

Use justified text to be more formal (the left and right margins are parallel)

Take care when using justified text. Ensure the column width, the size of the type, and the number

of characters per line don’t leave big gaps between words.

Left justified ragged right is more personal (left margin aligns and the right margin ends at

different places depending on the characters/words in the line).

Adjust centered and right-aligned type, use soft returns (keeps lines within the same paragraph) to

force line breaks when necessary to make the line lengths noticeably different.

Take care when shaping the text around a graphic. With text wrap, justified text gives a better

over-all look, but be careful of big gaps between words. Text wrap requires extra work to make it

look good including editing the copy.

3.3 Kerning and Spacing

Look for visual gaps between letters or numbers that may occur because of the shapes of the

adjacent letters (AT, AV, Te, Wa, 11, etc.). To correct this visual anomaly, known in the trade as ca-ca

type, use kerning. Kerning is the removal of incremental space between the offending pair.

Kern type so that the white space between characters is visually equalized. Take the first three

letters and visually center the second letter between the first and third letters. Do this for all lettersin the word until there are no irregular gaps between letters.

Standardize vertical spacing as much as possible (e.g., spacing between headlines and text, before

and after subheads, between paragraphs).

Reduce wordspace and tracking (letter spacing) carefully. If the words or letters are too close

together they become difficult to read.



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Production Workshop

3.4 Proofing

Always have someone who did not write the copy, edit the copy.

Always proof your copy for misspelled words.

Always have another person (hopefully literate) proof for typos and inconsistencies in style. It’s

very easy to overlook your own mistakes - just like in life.

Remember, spell checkers only catch about 90% of the mistakes.

Remember, spell checkers only check for spelling, not meaning (e.g., two, too, to or even tutu).

Don’t forget that one misspelled word can undermine the credibility of the entire piece.

3.5 Text on Background

Be careful when reversing type, white or light color, out of a background. Ensure that the type is

big and bold enough, minimum point size should be 14 points and the type style should be bold.

Avoid delicate serif fonts. Avoid ornate patterns. Avoid four-color photographs if the material is

going to be printed.

Make sure you have enough visual separation between the type and the background. When

reversing copy the minimum gray value should be 40%.

Use color and type carefully. Contrast, separation, and vibration are all important issues that effect

readability.

That’s All...Isn’t It?

Check and adjust letter spacing and word spacing within lines, specifically for large gaps between

words or letters; then paragraph, column, and page breaks in terms of:KerningHyphenation

zones (ragged right text).Hyphenation blocks (right justified text).Widows and orphans

4. IMAGE

Use graphic devices such as white space, rules, images, pull quotes, large initial caps, decorative caps,

and dingbats (a decorative typographic character, not to be confused with Edith Bunker) to help thereader understand the content.

Maintain consistency in the use of ruling line thicknesses, fill patterns, and spatial relationship to text and

other graphic elements.

Use a grid to help determine the size of images relative to other images (scale). Be consistent when

images have the same importance within the piece, but enlarge or reduce if content dictates. Maintain

consistency of page position, text-wrapping standoff, and border or frame, if any.



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Remember that a picture is worth a thousand words, perhaps not, but a dynamic image that supports the

copy certainly clarifies what you are trying to say.

Use graphic devices to direct the reader through the material.

Use graphic devices and images to breakup the layout so that the reader has opportunities to absorbinformation.

Add color images and graphic devices for more impact.

Keep the style of imagery consistent. It is alright to mix line art, photography, and painterly images, but

make sure that the feel of each image complements the other images.

Find a balance between imagery and copy. Too many images can confuse the reader, but too few can

leave the copy dry, or BORING.

Be careful that the images used can be reproduced without losing resolution.

Know the limitations of the medium you are using for the final presentation.

Remember for Web reproduction, there are many variables. The transfer speed, platform, browser, and

resolution of the monitor used dramatically varies the final outcome.

Don’t use color images indiscriminately.

Remember, color is too expensive to use unless it is truly adding to the image. The costs are not always

financial. Often, the image loses quality and impact when not reproduced properly. In the case of the

Web, transfer time can cause frustration and premature termination on the part of the viewer.

4.1 Halftones

Don’t forget that photographic images can be very problematic.

Remember that inexpensive photocopying will probably not do justice to the photo; although you

can create some interesting effects.

Know that newspapers typically print at 85 line screen and have inconsistent ink coverage;

meaning that subtlety and detail are often lost.

Consider that high-end printing is expensive. Pre-press operations such as scanning, photo

manipulations, and final separations require lots of memory, time, and money.

Be aware that halftones, not necessarily photographs, but images with graduated or shaded

images, can lose subtlety when using the wrong medium. Typically halftones are more effective

when using higher-end reproduction tools.



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Production Workshop

4. 2 Line Art

Use line art in most mediums. Make sure the line weights are not too thin, or that there is not too

much detail that may be lost. When producing for screen presentations, watch out for jaggies.

5. COLOR

5.1 Color Properties

Know that hue is the actual shade or color itself.

Remember that saturation is the relative brilliance or vibrancy of a color. The more saturated a

color, the less black it contains.

Use warm colors to suggest warmth (e.g., red and orange are the colors of fire). Cool colors

suggest coolness (e.g., blue and green are the colors of water).

Remember that warm colors appear larger than cool colors.

Know that warm colors seem to move toward the viewer and appear closer; cool colors seem to

recede from a viewer and fall back.

Use highly saturated or high-intensity colors (a pure hue with no other colors mixed in) or busily

detailed areas to draw attention and therefore give the appearance of carrying more weight than

less saturated, low-intensity or visually simpler areas.

Use hues that are lighter at maximum saturation (e.g., yellows and oranges) to appear larger thanthose that are darker at maximum saturation (e.g., blues and purples).

Create a monochromatic color scheme that uses only one hue and its values for a unifying and

harmonious effect.

Use analogous colors; colors that contain a common hue and are found next to each other on the

color wheel (e.g., violet, red-violet, and red) to create a sense of harmony.

Remember that value is the relationship of light to dark.

Consider that black and white are thought of as neutrals because they do not change color.

Know that the primary colors are red, yellow and blue. When mixing pigments, primary colors

make up all other colors.

Remember that in printing, process colors: yellow, cyan (bright blue), magenta (blue red), and

black make up all other colors.

Know that on computer or television screens, red, green, and blue make up all other colors.



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5.2 Spot Color

Consider that spot color results from adding a specific second color to the single color normally

used (black is the traditional single color).

Use spot color to direct the reader’s eye to special sections or important information for fast

identification.

Screen one, or both, of your colors, and achieve the effect of printing in multiple colors. Screening

is the process by which you use a percentage (or lower value) of a full color, creating a lighter shade

of the original. You can also add black to the color to make it darker.

Add a single color to black-and-white photographs (creating a duotone) to bring depth and

richness to the document. Look for examples of different duotones in design books.

Substitute a different color for black in a two-color job as an effective way to increase the appeal

and richness of the document.

Be smart, a well designed piece with two-colors and screens (tints of the two colors) will always be

less expensive and probably better looking than a piece designed with mediocre four-color images

Know that if you are designing a four-color piece, it will probably require a five, six, or more run

through the press. You will probably want a spot color (a special non-process color other than

Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black), a varnish (protective coating), and among other things a double

hit (a second printing of a background color).

5.3 Uses

Use color to emphasize type or graphics, even if it is a subtle use of color. Avoid colors that are too

similar to black (e.g., dark brown, dark blue).

Show separation between design elements, inject color into the layout. Color also helps the reader

segregate different types of information making it easier to read and find specific content.

Remember that most colors carry emotional and psychological implications.

Red hot, passionate, and urgentBlue cool, melancholy, and qualityGreen nature, health, cheerfulness, liveliness, and friendliness

Purple royalty and intelligenceYellow warm, cowardice, and caution

Use values that are close together to give the design a calm appearance.

Use values of pure hues as well as those of tints and shades to create movement.

Use value contrasts to show texture and as an effective means of directing viewer attention in a

composition.



Production Workshop

Know that the color wheel is simply a guide on how colors relate to one another, it is by no means a

formula for making successful art.

Remember adjoining colors on the wheel are similar and tend to blend together. They are effective

at showing depth.

Be aware that two colors opposite one another on the color wheel are complimentary colors (e.g.,

blue and orange).

Use a pair of high-intensity complementary colors, placed side by side to vibrate and draw

attention to the element.

Not all color schemes, based on complementary colors are loud and demanding -- if the hues are

of low-intensity the contrast is not too harsh. Intensity can only be altered by mixing a color with

its complement, which has the effect of visually neutralizing the color. Changing the values of the

hues, adding black or white, will soften the effect.

If you select a color from a color swatch book and ask 1,000 printers to reproduce that color, you’ll

get 1,000 different colors.

The color of the paper affects the color of the ink.

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Basics of Graphic Design