Is Graphic Design A Technical Skill?

Is Graphic Design A Technical Skill?

There are a lot of design rules that you should consider as a graphic designer, and sometimes they can be overwhelming. You might probably think:
“Wait for a minute! I thought it was just creativity to be a graphic designer—and creativity knows no rules!”
But to be honest, if you are just at the beginning of your professional career as a designer, it is a good start to get acquainted with some of the most essential design basics.

So, before you try to mix your layouts with the first three fonts that come your and throw some fancy colours just to be original—please take a deep breath, relax and read through these basic design rules, and your next design project should be a lot easier to handle! Learning from our online graphic design course at Blue Sky Graphics, will help you learn how to use the following factors in your design.

Focus

If you need to accommodate multiple design elements in a layout, you should definitely keep the focus of your design in mind. Start your design first by thinking about what the focus should be—or where the focus should be.

Where do you want to take the eye of the beholder? If you are clear about the focus of your design, build your entire design process around that element. Define and design important factors in a way that makes them visually stand out. All the less important design elements have to take their back seat.

Balance:

When preparing your design elements, make sure that the balance of the overall composition is maintained. In our case, “balance” basically means nothing more than a balanced interaction of your design elements. If your design is visually balanced, it looks much more harmonious to the viewer. This is an advantage because it requires less thought to understand the information that your design is supposed to convey.

The right balance can be achieved in a variety of ways: both symmetry and inverse asymmetry. From an optical point of view, each of the design elements you use in a layout has its own weight. Large bold font-size headlines appear heavier, while small graphic ornaments appear lighter.

If you make the most of this design option, it is a big plus when it comes to telling a storey using graphic design.

An infographic on the symmetrical and asymmetrical balance of the graphic design.

White Space:

Good design needs breathing air. Imagine that you are in a clothing store where as much clothing as possible has been squeezed onto a single coat rack—and everything is lined tightly, fully, and pressed together so that you can barely get through to the dressing room. This may have its appeal, but in most cases it is quite annoying and fun.

The same applies to your design: sufficient white space is an essential part of any good layout—you need it to create some necessary distance between your design elements and also to provide clarity.

However, generous white space also supports the use of images and makes your entire layout look much more luxurious. This is particularly important when it comes to designs where the focus should be solely on the image of the product, and a sense of high quality must be shown to the viewer.

Contrasts

By using contrast intentionally, you ensure that your design creates a certain tension in the viewer’s mind, so that the use of contrasting elements is also an essential stylistic device for graphic design. Just like balance, contrast can be created in a variety of ways. For the sake of simplicity, let us look at three of the most commonly used contrast variants: colour, shape, and proportion.

Colour

Creating colour contrast is undoubtedly one of the easiest ways to make your design interesting for the viewer. The contrast between black and white is, of course, a popular classic in this case. But you can also achieve interesting results in your design by using complementary colours or by juxtaposing light and dark shades.

Proportions

An exciting contrast can also be created by different proportions of individual design elements. The combination of one large design element in conjunction with several smaller ones creates a specific dynamic that draws the viewer’s attention to your design.

Shape

In addition, opposing contrasting shapes is another way to add excitement to your design. Let us say you are designing a logo: just try putting together different shapes and find out how the contrast changes as the combination of your design elements changes. You will be surprised by what is possible with a clever combination of different forms.

Hierarchy:

A clear outline of your design is absolutely necessary if you do not want the viewer to be confused. As a graphic designer, your job is to control the eye of the beholder through your design. You can accomplish this by arranging your design elements in a particular order (similar to point 1, the focus) (similar to point 1, the focus).

Particularly if you have to work with large amounts of text, a clear hierarchy is essential. Make sure your message is clearly communicated: the most important message should come first, then the next one, and so on.

Movement:

Create your design elements to look as if they exude a movement or dynamic. This method gives your entire design a kind of energy that attracts the viewer. Of course, your design does not really move, but you can still see some kind of dynamic. This works via invisible (but suggested) lines that indicate the desired direction of motion, e.g. by optical emphasis—and then our brain does the rest.

Make sure you do not set up a trap for yourself, because movement can have different effects on the viewer—and make your design look bad all of a sudden: the elements that aspire to the top have a positive impact on the viewer, while the falling elements are perceived rather negatively. You should definitely avoid that.

Grid of Design

Whenever you have a more elaborate layout, e.g. multi-page print media, such as catalogues or brochures and flyers, you should not operate without a grid design. When it comes to your creative work, a design grid is no hindrance at all, even if it is sometimes claimed.

On the contrary, the design grid encourages and supports your design process, as you can use it to arrange and position images, text and graphics much more easily and quickly.

With its optical axes and lines, the design grid ensures that you stick clearly and—especially—consistently to your design style. The advantage is that you can handle graphic elements that are always the same by aligning them with the grid—always in the same way. In addition, the design grid allows you to make the desired changes or corrections faster.