Anybody can put images and text together to make a graphic design. It is the way those images and text are put together that distinguishes a good design from an ordinary one

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• Anybody can put images and text together to make
  a graphic design. It is the way those images and
  text are put together that distinguishes a good
  design from an ordinary oneI want to make you
  all good designers!
• The design or arrangement of the parts on any 2D
  surface is called its composition
• Every graphic designer creates compositions by
  using designs most basic building blocks the
  elements of art and the principles of design

Once you think you have finally solved a design
problem, put it aside and start over. Your next
solution might be even better. Chava Ben Amos
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The Elements and Principles of Visual Design
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The Elements of Design

• These are the building blocks that the artist
  uses separately or in combination to produce
  artistic imagery. Their use produces the visual
  language of art.
• Line
• Shape
• Form
• Color
• Value
• Texture
• Space

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• Line
• Line is a path on a two-dimensional plane.
• Line is the simplest way to communicate visually.
• It has length and width, but its width is very
  thin compared to its length.
• A line is created by the movement of a tool and
  pigment, and often suggests movement in a drawing
  or painting.

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• Lines have direction vertical, horizontal,
  oblique
• Direction evokes emotion oblique lines and
  zigzags connote action, danger, suddenness.

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• A solid line separates columns of text, a pair of
  lines set apart a phrase, and a short dotted line
  separates a section of text from other parts of
  the page.

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Shape

• When a lines ends meet or overlap to enclose a
  space, a shape is created.
• Shapes have two dimensions, length and width, and
  can be geometric or free-form (organic).
• Design in painting is basically the planned
  arrangement of shapes in a work of art.

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• Some ways to use squares and rectangles
• To symbolize honesty, stability, equality,
  comfort, or familiarity. It could also symbolize
  rigidity or uniformity.
• Related to the first bullet item, use repeating
  squares to suggest familiar themes (checkerboard
  pattern to represent a game board, the checkered
  flag at the end of a race, a tablecloth).
• To highlight, organize, or set apart information
  using a solid or outlined box.
• Use a square unexpectedly. Set a block of text in
  a solid or outlined but tilted box with or
  without also tilting the text.

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• Some ways to use triangles
• To symbolize action or conflict.
• In a logo, a triangle might be better suited to a
  growing, dynamic high tech company than the more
  stable, familiar square, for example.
• Related to the first bullet item, use triangles
  to suggest familiar themes (flag, pyramid, arrow
  or pointer).
• A single or a series of triangles can point the
  eye to important information or act as an arrow
  to get readers to turn the page.
• To highlight, organize, or set apart information
  using a solid or outlined triangle.
• Use a triangle to suggest progression.
• Place it behind a 'Top 10' list or the steps to
  accomplish a specific task.
• Replace the letter A or V in text with a
  triangular shape that suggests that letter.
• Try a wedge of pie for the letter A in the phrase
  Amy's Desserts.

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• Some ways to use circles
• To symbolize infinity and protectiveness.
• Circles could also suggest something well-rounded
  or complete.
• Related to the first bullet item, use circles to
  suggest familiar themes (bullet holes, a stack of
  cannonballs, a bunch of grapes -- or just about
  any round fruit or vegetable, a target, the
  earth).
• To highlight, organize, or set apart information
  using a solid or outlined circle.
• Try a freeform circle that looks like it was
  drawn with a marker or pen to highlight important
  text.
• Replace the letter O or other 'round' letters in
  text with a circular shape that suggests that
  letter.
• Try an orange in the word Orange or a basketball,
  baseball, or soccer ball to replace an O or other
  letter in the nameplate of a sports newsletter.

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Form

• Form describes volume and mass, or the
  three-dimensional aspects of objects that take up
  space.
• Shading, shadow, texture or a gradation of tones
  help create 3D form in a 2D work

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Space

• Can be described as the empty or open areas
  around or within a work of art
• The space around objects in a composition is
  called negative space
• The objects, elements or images in the
  composition form the positive space

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• The Graphic Designer needs to think about how to
  fill the space they are working with
• The layout of font and imagery is importance for
  developing a sense of space

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Texture

• Texture refers to the surface quality, both
  simulated and actual, of artwork.
• Texture gives the surface of any shape or form a
  particular quality or personality, and thus
  enhances the viewers emotional response

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Color

• Color depends on light because it is made of
  light.
• There must be light for us to see color.
• A red shirt will not look red in the dark, where
  there is no light.
• Color can play a symbolic role as well which is
  important for designers trying to portray a
  particular mood or feeling
• Designers should always be aware of how color can
  add emotional or other meaning to any design!
• Color may connote emotion (excitement, rage,
  peace) and stimulate brain activity (action,
  relaxation, concentration).

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• Primary Colors
• Red
• Yellow
• Blue

• Secondary Colors
• Orange
• Green
• Purple

• Complimentary Colors
• Yellow-purple
• Red-green
• Blue-orange

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Primary colors can be used to make strong visual
statements
What makes this low-light design interesting,
even without color?
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Value

• Value refers to the degree of lightness of
  darkness of a color
• Value contrasts help us to see and understand a
  two-dimensional work of art.
• This type can be read because of the contrast of
  dark letters and light background.
• Value contrast is also evident in colors, which
  enables us to read shapes in a painting.

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The Principles of Design
The elements are the basic tools of designers and
the principles are the glue that pulls the
elements together and guides their use

• Balance
• Movement
• Rhythm
• Emphasis
• Unity
• Variety

• Pattern
• Proportion
• Contrast
• Dynamics
• Closure

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Gestalt

• When you look at an image, you perceive the image
  as a whole, rather than seeing all its specific
  parts.
• This overall impression is called a Gestalt
• It conveys a total visual message and makes an
  impression because of the individual experiences,
  past and present, that you, the viewer, bring to
  the ad or design youre looking at

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Balance

• Balance refers to the distribution of visual
  weight in a work of art.
• Balance can be either symmetrical or asymmetrical
  in a work of art.
• Symmetrical design appears stable
• Asymmetrical creates tension which can help
  create visual excitement

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Movement

• Visual movement is used by artists to direct
  viewers through their work, often to a focal
  area.
• Such movements can be directed along lines,
  edges, shapes, and colors within the works, but
  moves the eye most easily on paths of equal
  value.
• Techniques to enhance the principle of movement
• Repetition Repeating lines, shapes, colors can
  make a composition seem to jump or swirl
• Rhythm Repeated lines and shapes can be used to
  create patterns that suggest rhythm and tempo

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Movement in Graphic Design
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Rhythm

• Rhythm is the repetition of visual movement -
  colors, shapes or lines.
• Variety is essential to keep rhythms exciting and
  active, and to avoid monotony.
• Movement and rhythm work together to create the
  visual equivalent of a musical beat.

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• A designer may repeat elements in order to
  achieve emphasis
• The repeating curves that make up the hills,
  leads the viewer through the design

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Emphasis

• Many of the elements and principles of design are
  present in every visual image. It is the degree
  of emphasis that makes one element or principle
  dominant or more noticeable than another
• Emphasis is used by artists to create dominance
  and focus in their work.
• Artists can emphasize color, value, shapes, or
  other art elements to achieve dominance.
• Various kinds of contrast can be used to
  emphasize a center of interest.

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Emphasis in Graphic Design

• You can lead that viewer all through your
  advertisement, but if you dont stop that viewer
  with one point of interest, then youve lost your
  viewer.
• The emphasis in a design is the message that you
  want to convey

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Dynamics

• Your eyes perceive different amounts of tension
  according to what you are seeing
• This tension creates a level of stress called
  dynamics
• Designs create energy, and that energy can be
  more dynamic or more static depending on how the
  components of the image have been used

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• Unity
• Visual unity is one of the most important aspects
  of well-developed art and is planned by the
  artist.
• Unity provides the cohesive quality that makes an
  artwork feel complete and finished.
• When all the elements in a work look as though
  they belong together, the artist has achieved
  unity.

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Unity in Graphic Design

• Nowhere is unity more important than in an an
  campaign. Creating unity is a form of branding
  you must establish a look and attitude that are
  recognizable even before the content of the ad is
  read. This particular campaign for Target works
  quite well in this way. The design is fresh and
  attention-getting.
• As simple as the idea iscombining related
  objects with images of the products the ads
  featureit is sure to get noticed because it is
  also playful. Too often, the tendency is to take
  our assignments so seriously that we forget the
  value of whimsy and entertaining design in making
  customers feel good about the products we are
  endeavoring to sell.
• Another nice feature of these ads is the
  treatment of the type. Not only are the headlines
  clever but the type is tastefully applied to the
  ad. It is interesting that the Target nameplate
  does not exist anywhere on the ads. The symbol is
  enough to identify the store.

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Variety

• A design that shows variety may use many
  different colors, textures, shapes or lines
• The use of different colors, sizes, shapes, etc.
  to create interest and avoid monotony.
• About variety
• Variety may be achieved by varying aspects of the
  same theme

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Pattern

• Visual patterns are created by repeating basic
  elements also called motifs- such as dots,
  lines, symbols or shapes

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Proportion

• Size relationships between the parts of an object
• Proportion helps designers send important
  messages without using words
• Graphic designers must make decisions about
  proportion
• How much of an area should be blank, and how much
  should include text and images?
• How big should words be in relation to a
  photograph/image?

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Contrast

• Contrast refers to differences in values, colors,
  textures, shapes, and other elements.
• Contrasts create visual excitement, and add
  interest to the work.
• If all the art elements - value, for example -
  are the same, the result is monotonous and
  unexciting.

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Closure

• Seeing an unfinished form or shape as completed
  in the minds eye
• When you see something incomplete in your
  everyday life, you probably look for some sense
  of resolution
• Finding that resolution lessens stress and
  creates restfulness
• Visual closure creates the same sensation, by
  letting the viewer complete the image
  perceptually, the designer makes the viewers mind
  work

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Harmony

• The sense of order or agreement-among the parts
  of a whole aesthetically pleasing relationships
  among parts of a whole.