Graphic Design Basics

 

Graphic design basics is a beginners guide to great design by Anne Ink. Corporate success and building a successful brand that stands out in the marketplace hinges upon great graphic design. Start with discovery of your esthetic perspective, then use that information to guide your branding materials.

Discover your aesthetic perspective and
the elements of great design.

When you look at art, do you notice tiny details, or rather the larger view? Explore your esthetic ideals and be open new opportunities. Identify your perspective and definition of great design, then create the design map for your project.

What is great design?

It is design that gets the target audience to act, pick up your product, investigate and purchase. It's that simple. Great design can be subtle, complex, simple, decorative, or plain. The goal is to align your market, your target audience, and design that positions your product and company to attain market presence and retain positioning.

 

Follow our graphic design basics - tips and methods:

1. Develop your color pallet.
Start with the main color and expand the pallet to a complimentary color or hue. How will color be used? What is the message?
Color will define your brand, the tone and mood.

2. What are your primary and secondary font choices?
A bold font choice determines all others, choose your headline font carefully. It is best practice to keep body copy easy to read. Does it immediately identify your business?
Fonts will influence the way headlines and body copy will be read.

3. Define the graphic design perimeters. 
Discover your design goals as a corporation.
Identify core values and purpose to guide the graphic design process.
Images, videos, fonts and color combine to create the design focus.

4. Where will the graphics be seen?
Think print, packaging, web, social, or all of them. It will be easier to ensure consistency of design when you account for variances. Think about headline length, available space, how different formats require image formatting.

Key questions to answer to refine your graphic messaging:

1. Who is your target audience?
Think in specifics to find your target audience.
Your audience will have specific tastes, level of sophistication,
idea of what's fun, and standards of elegance.

2. What design elements do your competitors use?
How do you wish to be perceived and interact with your audience?
You do not want to copy your direct competitors, and to develop messaging that stands out as great graphic design, you need to be aware of the methods they use.

3. What are your strengths to stand out from competitors?
Explain how you are uniquely suited to succeed in your business aims. Use your strengths to create great design that stands out. Is it the product itself. the way it is prepared or manufactured, the way it is packaged, or all of the above?

Steps for Graphic Design Success

Your answers will help determine how you proceed.

• Develop the largest and the smallest foreseen sizes your message will be designed for. This will help you set boundaries for font use. Pinpoint the color scheme you will work with.

• Choose key art elements - background images, product images, and logo to set the tone for graphic design. It's like assembling the ingredients before you start to bake a cake.

• Remember consistency is key. Great graphic design is all about what works for your audience. Cohesive messaging is all about standing out in the market, delivering engaging and compelling design.