Contents#1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8#9

#10

focal pointscost cutting palette

legibility vs readabilityexperimentation is the key

leading is importanthand rendered design

monochrome design

breaking the grid

typographer

simple ideas

Focal points are a major considera-

tion when creating designs, especially

ones that are supposed to communi-

cate something very clearly.

The focal points are where the eye

is drawn to immediately, usually the

middle of the page or largest/boldest

piece on the page.

These two images represent exactly

where the focal points are. Red

as the main immediate ones, and

cooling to blue to the areas which

are looked at afterwards, usually the

bottom corners.

In website design, the important

articles are strategically placed to

where the eye subconsciously goes

to straight away, usually the centre

and top centre of the page,.

1 || #1 Focal Points ||

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#1

A cost cutting palette is ideal for a graphic designer. Printing in full

colour is expensive so learning to design with a limited palette is an

easy way to save money, and also helps think of more ways to make

the desgin stand out and more dynamic instead of trying to make it

stand out by being in full colour.

Two or three colours and stock usually make design which is bold

and memorable because it’s so clear and so bold. It also helps get

the message across in a very easy, simple way because there’s only

so many colours, tones and opacities that can be used.

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#2|| #2 Cost Cutting Palette ||

The images

show two ways

in which low

colour palettes

can be exce-

cuted. They also

show how ef-

fective a simple

idea can be, as

well as how a

more complex

design can work

in a low colour

palette. Low col-

our palettes can

also work better

than a full colour

image as there is

bigger con-

trasts between

colours.

4

Legibility.Capability of be-ing able to read and distringush the characters on a page with-out them being displayed in thei simplest form.

5 || #3 Legibility Vs Readability ||

Readability.The quality of written language that makes it easy to read and understand. Readability is pri-marily down to leading, kerning and font choice and size.

6

#3

#4

7

Post-modernist

approach to ex-

perimentation.

Digital collage.

|| #4 Experimentation Is Key ||

Experimentation is key to successful

graphic design. Without experimen-

tation a designer can not grow and

learn new skills, and is just stuck

doing the same thing over and over

again.

Experimentation can be as little as

changing a typeface to changing the

colour of lines in a piece, to larger

changes like trying something com-

pletely different and opposite to the

usual and comfortable aesthetic.

It never has to be a huge change

which is noticeable, but if the design-

er knows it is there and learns from

it then it is successful. Experimenta-

tion also never needs to be a good

outcome, it just means the designer

has tried something new and in

uncomfortable territory.

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Ideal

Bad

Readable

9 || #5 Leading Is Important ||

Leading directly affects the readability of written pieces of work.

It is the distance between each line in the written piece. If the

spacing between each line is too little then the reader is going

to have a hard time trying to read the sentences straight. If the

lines are closer the readers eye will automatically jump from line

to line, quickly tiring the eye and making the whole piece hard to

read in general.

The same can be said for when the leading is too big, it also tires

the eye as it has to look down a greater amount to get to the

next section. If the leading is too large or too small the viewer

might not even bother to read the majority of it because of how

it tires the eye easily.

Usually the ideal leading is the font size multiplied by 1.2. It is also

dependent on the font used, font size, and size of the text box.

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#5

Not all designs have to be

so clean cut and perfect

to make them the desired

outcome and give the

correct message. Some-

times the best way to put

a message across is to use

hand rendered work.

Hand rendered work adds

a personal touch to a de-

sign and gives individuality

and quirkiness.

It also is sometimes

considered to be more

interactive for a viewer as

they engage more because

it’s not perfectly digitised.

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#6

|| #6 Hand Rendered Design ||

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�� Breaking the grid set is

something designers need

to be careful about. Usually

sticking to the grid does

create the best possible

outcome as everything

is balanced and works in

harmony together.

However sometimes, given

the right circumstances and

concept, breaking the grid

is necessary and makes the

design a lot more diverse

and work a lot better as a

visual piece.

Post modernists like Caron

or Brody were all about

breaking the grid, the rules

and doing whatever they

wanted to create the visual

outcome they wanted.

13 || #7 Breaking The Grid ||

��

Breaking the grid

can be as simple

as moving a line

of text from it’s

original place, or

twisting it so it’s

not in line with

everything. Basic

things like that

are what start

explorations

into the grid and

how it can be

broken success-

fully and still be

visually inter-

esting to look

at, not a mess

which doesn’t

put across the

message.

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#7

Grapihc design is all about communicating a message in the simplest and most under-

standable way. In this sense, it’s only logic to make the ideas for a concept simple and to

the point. Overcomplicating an idea or concept will limit your designing, whereas using

a simple idea can be built upon and turned into a strong concept. Some of the most

memorable pieces of design are those that use one simple idea, especially in Branding &

Identity, logo’s for companies.

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#8

|| #8 Simple Ideas ||

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17 || #9 Monochrome Design ||

#9

Design doesn’t always need colour to make it memorable or give an im-pact. Some of the most iconic designs are in monochrome design.When designing, colour is just anoth-er thing to take into consideration, and sometimes it take a lot of time to get that just right. Designing in black and white takes away the problems which arise when working in colour, like trying to get the whole design to work in balance and harmony.Working in monchrome does not make you a bad designer, it makes ]SY�E�HIWMKRIV�[LS�MW�GSR½HIRX�MR�the design and doesn’t rely on colour to help get the intended message across.

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Just because you create a typeface, or

work with one, it doesn’t make you a

typographer.

Traditionally a typographer is

someone who was a specialised

knowledge in type, type setting and

creating type. Staying in that sense,

laying a bit of type over an image or

manipulating a typeface and calling

yourself a typographer is completely

wrong.

To be a typographer you have to

know the ins and outs of type and

typefaces, be able to create typefaces

which are individual, clean cut and

have a lot of work put into it.

19 || #10 Typographer ||

Typeface created

using perfect

circles & straight

lines.

One continuous

line to create

every letter.

Set on a blue &

pink background.

Digital.

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